Being Salt and Light
2-5-23 Sermon Notes “Being Salt and Light”
One day a woman got on an elevator in a tall office building. There was just one other person in the elevator - a strikingly handsome man. She pushed the button for her floor and then “casually” looked over at the man and was suddenly very surprised. Could it be? The man looked exactly like Robert Redford (the movie star, in case you don’t know). She just stared at him. She couldn’t help it. Finally, she blurted out, “Are you the real Robert Redford?” He smiled and said, “Only when I’m alone.” The elevator doors open, and Robert Redford stepped off and waved goodbye to her.
This makes me wonder…when are we our real selves as a church? Is it only when we are inside the four walls of the church building? Or - are we “being” the church when we go out into the world? I think that is what Jesus was getting at when he preached the greatest sermon ever preached…preached it from a mountain, not inside the walls of the synagogue. Here’s what he said about being salt and light…
13 “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.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 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. (Matt. 5: 13-16 NRSV)
Notice the way Jesus phrases these essential parts of our identity. He didn’t say, “You have the potential to become the salt of the earth. You have the potential to become the light of the world.” He quite pointedly said, “You are salt…you are light.” Both of these are very precious, and very much necessary.
Salt? Precious? As common as it is for us, in the time Jesus said this, salt was considered very precious indeed. Roman soldiers were paid partly in salt. That’s where the English word “salary” comes from. It’s also where we get the old saying, “Anyone worth their salt…” Jesus was saying, “You are both very precious, and every essential to life.”
Light? We tend to take light for granted until it goes out and we are in darkness. Then we really appreciate how precious and valuable it is. So, why in the world would we try and hide out light? The Cotton Patch Gospel version of this passage says it really clearly. “You are all the world’s light; you are a city on a hill that cannot be hid. Have you ever heard of anybody turning on a light and then covering it up? Don’t you fix it so that it will light up the whole room? Well, then, since you are God’s light which he has turned on, go ahead and shine so clearly that when your conduct is observed it will plainly be the work of your spiritual Father.”
When the Church neglects to “be” who we really are - salt and light - then the results are evident. Edmund Burke is credited for saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Wasn’t Jesus saying this to us - the Church - that day in the greatest sermon ever preached?
See you Sunday,
Pastor Sam