Matthew 5:13-16

Posted by DJL on Feb 7, 2014 in Daily Bread | 1 comment

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

This is an easy passage to misread. Because we are prone to think of God primarily in terms of the law – that is, telling us what we should or should not do – it’s very easy for us to hear Jesus in this passage telling his disciples – then and now – that they’d better be salt and light. Or maybe how to become salt and light. Or the kinds of things they should be doing if they’re going to continue being salt and light.

But that’s not what’s going on here at all. What Jesus says is sheer declaration and promise: You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

And because that’s true, Jesus says, we won’t be able to help but do things that salt and light do – preserve, add flavor, illumine, guide. In short, because God has created us to help each other and care for the world, we can’t help but live into that identity.

Can you believe that?

I know, at times, that can be difficult. Day after day, after all, we see enough evidence in the lives of those around us – and, truth be told, in our own as well – to recognize that we don’t always live up to Jesus’ pronouncement. We fall short, hiding our light, and wonder how in the world this promise could possibly be true.

Which is why it’s so important, I believe, to go to church. Not because going to church is a good thing to do (which of course it is). And not simply because God wants us to go to church (although I’m sure God does). But rather because when we come to church we hear words of confession and forgiveness by which we can acknowledge where and how we’ve fallen short and then receive God’s forgiveness and love and be commissioned once again to go and be, in fact, salt and light for the world.

Being salt and light, you see, isn’t something that we do, it’s who we are. And each time we come to church we are reminded that whatever our successes and failures, whatever our good deeds or misdeeds, whatever we’ve done or has been done to us, nevertheless our essential identity as God’s beloved children called to be salt and light to the world has not changed.

We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus says – those loved by God in order to love those around us. We just can’t help it. Why? Because a city placed on a hill simply cannot be hidden. So go out into your life this day and always to let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Prayer: Dear God, remind us each and every day that we are your beloved children, called, equipped, and empowered to be salt and light to the world and to love others as we have been loved. In Jesus’ name, Amen.