Offered to the United Presbyterian Church of Alpha NJ on February 8, 20236
Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder, PCISA
Salt & Light [Matthew 5:13-16]
These words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel today are not the most famous, most recognizable words that Jesus had spoken during his ministry; but these in Matthew’s Gospel today are perhaps the pithiest.
We all have favorite stories in the Bible that jump out to us. For me, Luke 15 is the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the Gospel of all his teachings. Jesus’ parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost coin and the Lost Son speak to me with the most resonance.
We also all recognize Matthew 28:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We all have seen John 3:16 signs held up at sporting events worldwide.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 which precedes today’s text are also highly recognizable:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
These are stories and quotes from Jesus that we recognize and remember most clearly and that have had great impacts on us as Christians.
But these three verses in Matthew’s Gospel today have some of the most deeply rich meanings for us as Christians. If we stop to really understand them, we can clearly hear what Jesus is calling [us] his disciples to be. I would like to dive into them with you today. Let’s first look at Salt.
In the ancient world Salt was a highly valued commodity. There was a phrase the Romans coined that expressed their appreciation of the value of Salt. It was, “There is nothing more useful than Sun and Salt.” The Romans considered Salt to be the purest of all things because it came from the two most basic elements of all things, the Sun and the Sea. Salt was valued because of its qualities to preserve and to add flavor to food.
So, when Jesus is using Salt as an image for what his disciples should be like, the characteristics of its purity and to flavor should be two that should jump out at us. Taking this one step further, if Christians are to be Salt to the world, we are to be examples of purity and to bring flavor to the world.
Bible scholar, William Barclay expands on this further. He looked at his world in the previous century and characterized it as a world of lowering standards. In his words, “Standards of honesty, standards of diligence in work, standards of conscientiousness, moral standards, all tend to be lowered.” It is amazing isn’t it; that no matter how dramatic the changes have been in the last 80 years since Barclay wrote his commentary – in our economies, politics, sciences and even in religion are today, his comments from the past century seem to still hit the mark.
Barclay continues, “The Christian must be the person who holds aloft the standard of absolute purity in speech, in conduct, and even thought.”
Being absolutely pure examples of Jesus is a tall order. Being asked that when you go from this place today to be absolutely pure examples of the love of Jesus is an absolutely difficult thing to do. I know that in a few short hours, I probably will do something that will somehow disappoint.
But I can take solace in knowing that Jesus didn’t pick perfect people to follow him. The first time Jesus spoke to Peter telling him to throw his nets on the water so that he and his companions could pull in an enormous catch of fish, Peter came ashore and fell at Jesus’ feet begging Jesus to go away saying from him, “…for I am a sinner.”
Jesus selected a Tax Collector to follow him. Tax Collectors were notoriously corrupt people. They skimmed off the top from the taxes they collected cheating the people as they gouged their profits.
He selected Judas to follow him. Judas was a zealot. And by that, I mean he had a militaristic ideal of what he expected the Messiah to be. He wanted a Messiah that would expel the Romans and return Israel to its previous glory. He was willing to sacrifice everything that Jesus could give him so that he could persue his own goals.
These people were not perfect in purity. They struggled as we do. So don’t be taken aback when Barclay suggests that a Christian must uphold the absolute standard of purity to the world. I would suggest that absolutely TRYING to be pure is what Jesus is calling us to be.
But still, it is an awesome responsibility – to reflect the image of God into the world; to reflect God’s love and compassion in everything you do.
As Christians, we cannot depart from the standards of honesty. We cannot accept the lowering of moral standards or the elimination of Truths we believe and know to be true. These are not commodities that we can barter or trade with. We must stand up for the purity of Christian life even though we may fail along the way. We cannot shrink and hide away inside our own little cocoons making believe that what is happening in the world around us does not concern us. In the first chapter of the Apostle James’ letter, he writes to us, “Religion that is pure and undefiled … is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
What does that mean? What is James trying to tell us?
It is this. Religion, Christian Religion that is pure is one that cares for the least among us. In Matthew 25, we listen to Jesus’ discourse about the Son of Man who will sit at the throne in judgment. He will look out at those who had compassion for those who needed to be fed, clothed and cared for and say to them you are welcomed into the Father’s Kingdom because you fed and cared for me. And the people will ask when did we do this for you? And he answers in verse 40: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”
And of course, we know how the Son of Man turns to those who scorned and ignored the needs of the community around them. Then the King looks out upon them and casts them out of the Kingdom. They ask the same question, “…when did we ever see you in need…? We know the Son of Man’s response. “…whenever you did not do it for the least among you, you refused me, as well.”
Jesus is telling us that we must be the purity, the Salt that lives within the world and preserves its purity. Our world today needs us to be Christ’s agents of his pure love and compassion more than ever before.
Salt in the ancient world was also a preservative. Salt was used to keep things from corruption. If we Christians are to be Salt unto the world, we are to work to keep it from corruption. There is a Jewish Proverb. It says, …from an evil thing keep far away.
Now you might think this verse in Scripture is telling you that when you see evil you should turn and walk away, not confront it, not get sullied by it, move as far from it as you can. But Rabbinical teaching was just the opposite. Rabbis taught that when you are confronted by evil, we are to push back on it. We are not to let is get a foot hold and grow. We are to stamp it out before it becomes a malignancy that festers and infects the body.
One more thought about Salt. It is that Salt adds flavor to things. Food without Salt, let’s face it, is unappealing and unsatisfying. As Christinas, we are to be Salt adding flavor to life. We are not to be dower and sullen, tasteless. That is not what Christianity is about. We are to express the Father’s Joy and love for God’s Good Creation and bring that Joy and love into God’s Good Earth around us. We are not to live our lives acting like a mourner at a funeral. We are to bring flavor to life and be diffusers of the Father’s Joy and love.
This is a point that our Christian witness makes again and again. We are not fulfilling our purpose if we are not being Salt to the Earth.
Now to verses 14 – 16. “…You are a light for the whole world. A city built on the top of a hill cannot be hidden. And no one would light a lamp to put it under a bushel … Make your light shine so that others can see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”
Jesus had also said to us, “…As long as I am in the world, I am the light to the world.”
Barclay writes, “When Jesus says to his followers, we are to be lights to the world, he is demanding nothing less than that we be like himself.” This is another of Barclay’s bars set high.
Once again, I take solace in the knowledge that Jesus didn’t select perfect people to follow him and that being like Jesus is a process, not something that we instantaneously become overnight.
Nevertheless, let’s talk about being the light to the world.
There was Rabbinical foundations to Jesus’ teaching about being the light to the world. Rabbis often spoke of Jerusalem as the light to the Gentiles. Understanding how these Rabbis’ used this metaphor will help us to understand what Jesus was saying.
Of that light Barclay writes, “The Jews understood that no man lit his own light. Jerusalem was a light to the Gentiles, but it was God that lit Israel’s lamp. The light that Israel was to shine out to the world was borrowed light.”
And that’s what a Christian’s light should be. It is not one that we can light on our own. It is a light borrowed from God. It is one that reflects the light of God shone through us. The radiance of joy that we should reflect comes from the presence of Christ within our hearts.
We cannot be a light hidden under a bushel. The utmost important thing about reflecting Christ’s light is that it is meant to be seen. This goes back to being Salt to the world. Salt is meant to add flavor. The Light is meant to be seen. Our Christianity cannot live within the walls of our church only or within small circles of our own families and friends.
When Jesus spoke to us about loving our neighbors, he asked, “If you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect for that? Even Tax Collectors love their friends.” So, if those are your limits – that you love only your family and friends, then your light is under a bushel.
Our light needs to be seen in everything we do by everyone we come in contact with.
When we have an exchange with the receptionist at a doctor’s office. We may be there because we are sick and feel horrible but still, we have a light to shine. When we are checking out at the grocery store and we’ve been shopping for an hour and we can’t find what we need because they have reorganized the isles, still we have a light to reflect to the frustrated people standing in line with us. When we get stuck at a stop light behind a driver who is texting and doesn’t see that the light has turned green, then they drive off leaving us stuck at another red light, the finger we give them should be a thumbs up and not…
Our Christianity needs to be perfectly visible to everyone at all times, even though at times we may stumble and use the wrong finger. We are not perfect. I think that Jesus knows he is working with imperfect stock. While it is difficult for us to absolutely be Salty and to absolutely shine God’s light, I think Jesus is gracious in forgiving our shortcomings. What is important is that we ABSOLUTELY try to be Salty and ABSOLUTELY try to shine God’s light. What we cannot do is absolutely NOT try.
