Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-16 (read here)
How many of us wish that this religion of the heart, this thing called Christianity, this born-again lifestyle that we’ve been looking at up until now…… how many of us wish that it could stay neatly tucked up in the heart. Well, it can’t. Jesus, having spoken at length about persecution being a possibility or even an outcome for living the way that he suggests, immediately goes on and says, “Don’t hide your Christianity. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden, so let your light shine before people.”
Jesus now begins to teach, using metaphors of salt and light, that Christianity is a social religion in which love of God, which is inward holiness, prompts or automatically leads to outward holiness, which expresses itself as love of neighbour. We cannot be solitary or secret Christians. Yes, there certainly are times in our Christian life where periods of solitude and withdrawal are called for and are important. But the beatitudes we have looked at: meekness, gentleness, humility, showing mercy, being a peacemaker – these all imply being out in the world, among people.
Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” It is your very nature (as a born-again Christian) to season, to freshen, to prevent from going rotten, the world around you. Sin infects. Our presence should prevent sinful infection. Just as salt preserves and prevents rottenness from setting in, our presence in the workplace, in the boardroom, in the school, in the home, should prevent sinful infection.
Where you are, is usually where Jesus wants you to be useful. But as we continue in verse 13, hear this: if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It’s no longer good for anything except to be thrown out. Jesus is speaking here of people who were once useful,…..heavenly-minded,….. doing good works, …….but who have now lost the spiritual seasoning that was once within them. Wesley says that if a Christian has grown flat, insipid, dead, careless of his or her own soul, useless to the souls of others, how will he or she be restored? They can’t be. And they are really only good, according to this reading, for being thrown out.
On another occasion, Jesus will talk about vines and he will say, “If you abide in me, I will abide in you. If a branch remains in me, it bears much fruit. Branches which remain in me will bear fruit, branches which don’t remain in me will be broken off and will be thrown away.” In other words, branches must be useful.
So, in the Sermon on the Mount, it is useless salt that is thrown away. In John’s gospel it is useless branches that are thrown away. Whatever the metaphor, are you and I useful to the Kingdom of God? This question needs to be asked of individuals, of small groups and of societies, and of the church. You see, we are called to be useful. Some of us like to think or say, “Well, my way is to work kind of invisibly. I’m a behind-the-scenes person. I don’t really go out and announce that I’m a Christian. I’m like salt, which kind of just gets on with its job without drawing any attention to itself.” In other words, we keep our faith to ourselves, but often we do this because we don’t want to offend others, or are afraid of the persecution which Jesus warns will come our way if we don’t keep our faith to ourselves.
So Jesus goes on and he says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” There is no way to hide Christianity in a person, just as you cannot hide light in the world. True Christianity and a person born of water and of spirit, what Jesus calls being born again, is as conspicuous as the sun in the sky. We cannot keep our religion to ourselves. Why on earth would we want to? Can a Christian be ashamed of Christ and his way of spiritual poverty, holy mourning, his way of meekness, of longing for holiness in our lives, of showing mercy, of being pure, of making peace? These are all things that cannot help but shine in the world around us. NO, Jesus says, we cannot be embarrassed by his way and by his truth.
Still in vs 15, “Neither do people light up a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.” On another occasion, Jesus will say in Luke 9:26, “Anyone ashamed of me in this life, I will be ashamed of them when I come in judgment.” Friends, we dare not be ashamed of Jesus and of his way, and especially of the way he is revealing to us in the Sermon on the Mount. So in vs 16, “Let your light shine!” says Jesus.
What is your light? Christians get their shininess from the beatitudes: lowliness of heart, spiritual poverty, gentleness and meekness, sorrow for sin and the misery it causes in others. Your serious desire for holiness, showing mercy, making peace – these things make us shine and they are beautiful to see. They are especially beautiful to see when they shine through in the midst of persecution. People who live like this and people who die like this, they shine.
Still in vs 16, “Let your light shine, so that people may see your good works.” Remember Jesus is describing real religion, true Christianity. Describing what flows from a life that is saved by faith. So what are good works? I guess the shortest definition of good works is plain and simply this: Love your neighbour. Loving your neighbour sums up good works. Or, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. For a slightly more specific list of good works, Jesus gives us one towards the end of Matthew’s gospel. He says, “Feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick, visit those who are in prison.” He says, “When you do these things for the least of these, you are doing them for me.” Early Methodist people used to meet regularly and used to challenge and build one another up in these areas of good works.
Christianity is social religion, it cannot exist on its own. You and I, as born-again Christians, we exist for others. So Jesus says, “Let your light shine, so that people will see your good works and praise your father who is in heaven.” As you and I are salt and light, doing our good works, we must be careful of the temptation to seek the praise of people around us. And when we do fall into this temptation, when we find ourselves doing things and hoping that other people are watching, remember this beatitude, blessed are those who mourn. When you fall into this temptation, mourn the sin. Be broken-hearted about it, and God will comfort you.
Hunger then and thirst for holiness in this area of your life and he will satisfy you. And you will suddenly find that you are doing your good works in a way that has people responding with praise and thanksgiving to God. That’s how it works.
You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled. You are the light of the world – a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.
Amen
