Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
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Matthew 5:13-16
Salt and Light
13 “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 underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In yesterday’s Reflection, we started a series of gospel readings from the part of Matthew called “the Sermon on the Mount.” By way of introducing this block of teachings from Jesus, we thought about what some New Testament scholars say about the themes that unite those teachings. We said that one of those themes is that the followers of Jesus are supposed to be a “counter-culture” in the world – as the saying goes, “In the world, but not of it.” And now, in today’s reading, Jesus uses two simple metaphors to illustrate how that counter-culture is meant to influence the world in which we live.
The first of these metaphors is a pretty famous one – Jesus says his followers are “the salt of the earth.” In past Reflections, we’ve stopped to think about how much of the teaching of Jesus takes the form of parables and metaphors. And we’ve said that teaching like that compels the listener – or in our case, the reader – to contemplate what Jesus meant, and what he wants us to do. Parables and metaphors can be interpreted differently by different people, and people can even interpret them differently at different stages of their lives of faith. It seems likely that Jesus had exactly that in mind when he taught the way he did.
The metaphor of “the salt of the earth” is a good example. In the ancient world, salt was used for three main purposes. First of all, of course, it was used as it is today – as a seasoning to give flavor to food that could be bland otherwise. Second, salt was used to preserve food so it could be stored longer without spoiling. And third, salt was used as a medicine – to clean wounds and promote healing.
You don’t really have to be a Bible scholar to see why Jesus might use the metaphor of salt to illustrate the role of his followers in the world. We are supposed to be a force for healing wherever there is hurt or disease. We are supposed to preserve social order so that the world around us doesn’t decay into chaos and despair. And we are intended to give life a better flavor for everybody who comes in contact with us.
So as we said about the parables and metaphors of Jesus, this one sort of yields new things to think about as you turn it over in your mind. For instance, it suggests that those of us who are followers of Jesus can have positive effects on the world just by being what we are – at least when we’re faithful to the teaching and example of Jesus. When we followers of Jesus are really living out his vision for us, other people should find their own lives easier and more enjoyable even if they don’t share our faith.
If people around us really do find that the presence of followers of Jesus is improving their lives, eventually those people will want to know more about the master we serve, and some will become his disciples, too. My favorite church motto comes from a Presbyterian congregation near in Pittsburgh. Their motto is: “Love them until they ask why.” If people are asking why you’re showing them that kind of love, I’d say you’re living out a pretty ‘salty’ faith, as Jesus would see it.
The second metaphor Jesus uses here, that his followers are to be “the light of the world,” has a similar sense to it. Being in darkness can be a scary experience. There’s danger in the darkness. You can’t see predators coming. And you can’t see where you’re going. We all know that the world can be a dark place, full of scary and harmful things.
But those of us who follow Jesus are supposed to be the light of that darkened world. We’re intended to live out the love of Jesus in a way that makes others feel more hopeful, and gives them the sense that Jesus has sent us to help them find their way through life. And Jesus says we’re supposed to be intentional about letting his love shine in the darkness – to serve others in his name and let it be known that’s why we’re doing it.
There a tension of sorts in the life of faith, as it’s expressed in these two little metaphors. On the one hand, we’re called to be humble and modest about being “salt and light,” but on the other hand, we’re called to practice our faith in a way that leads others to praise God. That probably means that when we are living out our faith, serving others and doing good works in Jesus’ name, we should look for chances to let the glory go to God. If someone says, “Oh, thank you, that’s so nice of you!” we should probably be ready to say something that’s become something of a mantra in our little corner of the church: “Our love for Jesus compels us to help those in need.”
It’s worth noting that Jesus doesn’t command us to be the salt and light of the world; he says that’s what we are. So if we fail to live out our faith as Jesus intends, the world will be without the healing, preservation, flavor and light it needs. That kind of turns up the urgency of our mission, don’t you think?
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the privilege of being the salt and light of the world in your name. Help us to practice our faith in such a way that we bring flavor and healing to those around us, and shine a light that drives away fear and confusion in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 5 and 6; I Kings 22:29-45: and I Corinthians 2:14-3:15. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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