However, instead of going with the Hebrew prophet, I stuck with the words of Jesus. The fifth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew begins the so-called Sermon on the Mount, one of the more well known passages written as direct teaching from Jesus. Chapter 5 starts off with the well known Beatitudes, but the complete teaching is much longer. The assigned reading for this past Sunday is the next immediate section of Jesus's teachings (see Matthew 5:13-20).
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I imagine that many of you are familiar with these words from the Gospel according to Matthew today. The passage comes to us from the so-called Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus’s most well known teachings. At the beginning of chapter 5, we are told that Jesus noticed the crowds following him and his disciples, so he climbed a ways up a mountain, sat down, and was eventually joined by his disciples. Then he begins to teach them.
Most Christians, and even plenty of people who are not Christians, are familiar with the opening of this teaching, the Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…,” “Blessed are those who mourn…,” “Blessed are the meek…,” and so on (see Matthew 5:3-12, NRSVue).
Jesus starts off his teaching by laying out the qualities of people who are blessed, who are favored by God. The qualities of those who are considered Holy. Unlike the culture of his day - and I would suggest still today - that praised the wealthy and powerful and mighty, Jesus lifts up the lowly, he lifts up the righteous, he lifts up the peacemakers, he lifts up the merciful. He is giving his disciples a roadmap for how he expects them to act in the world.
And then he continues his teaching with the section that we read today.
“You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13a)
I imagine most of you have used salt in the kitchen or on the dining room table. It is perhaps one of the more common and useful minerals we have available to us while we prepare food. Salt as we use it in relation to food has two main uses: it preserves and it enhances.
Salt is a preservative. It can make foods last longer, an important necessity in a time before refrigeration. Salt can also enhance the flavor of foods, bringing out the natural flavors and making them more prominent. Even in the time of Jesus, people understood these properties of salt, and salt in ancient times was highly valued and sought after.
What does this have to do with the disciples? Why does Jesus refer to his disciples as the “salt of the earth”? In the previous section of this teaching, Jesus has laid out what qualities those who follow him should have, the qualities that will give them God’s favor and blessing. But as salt, they are to take those blessings into the world, to preserve and to enhance the earth with the things they have learned from Jesus. Their presence is meant to make the world a better place by living in the way that God favors and blesses, not by judging the world but as examples of the one who sent them.
“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a).
In our day, it is sometimes difficult to imagine total darkness. In our modern world, there are street lights, porch lights, headlights. Many of us have devices with tiny lights on them that flash or display at all times.
I don't know about you, but I am a person who finds it difficult to sleep when there is light in my room. We have blackout curtains on our windows to keep out the light from a nearby streetlight, but enough light still leaks around the edges to disturb my sleep, not to mention the lights occasionally flashing on my phone, the light from the nightlight in the other room, the light blinking on the front of the nearby wireless router, the watch, the clock. So now I wear a sleep mask to provide total darkness as I sleep.
For those who live in or near large cities, the lights of the city can completely wash out all but the brightest stars in the sky at night. Living in Chicago for so many years, I always enjoyed trips away from the city so that I could enjoy the night sky again. In our modern age, we have done all we can to push back the darkness, ever seeking eternal day.
But in Jesus’s time, there were no flashlights, no street lamps, no devices in their pockets to provide a bit of light. In the darkness, they had nothing but the moon and the stars, the light of a fire, or the wick of a lamp to light their way and push back the darkness for a bit.
For one lost in darkness, a light flickering on a hill provides guidance, much as lighthouses might offer guidance for those at sea. Light can guide one through the darkness to places of refuge and safety. In a land devoid of our modern lights, a light on a hill can be seen at great distances.
Again, what does this have to do with the disciples? What does it mean for them to be “the light of the world”? Jesus makes this metaphor even more clear: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NRSVue).
As with the salt metaphor, Jesus is making it clear that his disciples are to do the work of good, to live as he instructed in the previous verses, in order to give glory to God. They are meant to follow Jesus’s example, to be meek, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, all for the glory of God in heaven. Again, Jesus is not sending his disciples out to condemn the world, but that they might be examples of God’s blessings in the world, so that they might serve as a guide and a beacon for others.
This is what Jesus teaches his disciples, his original followers. First he tells them how those who want to be holy and blessed should inhabit the world. Who are those who are considered blessed in the world? What qualities should they have? And then what does it mean to be blessed?
Being blessed is not simply about having God’s favor for one’s own personal gain. It is not a trophy or a medal. It is not a title or a diploma. It’s not a badge we earn and then move on with our lives. Rather, living as one blessed by God should make one into a beacon, a sign of God’s covenant in the world.
This becomes even more obvious when we consider that Jesus intentionally chose symbols of God’s covenant with the Hebrew people. As Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish, these references would also have been obvious to them.
In Leviticus, the Hebrew people are told that their grain offerings must include salt as a sign of the covenant (Leviticus 2:13, NRSVue). In Numbers, we are told that God said that all the good things that the Israelites have come from God, and that their offerings and their children are a sign of their perpetual devotion to God, a sign of the enduring covenant of salt (see Numbers 18:19, NRSVue).
In similar fashion, God led the Israelites through the wilderness, using a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22, NRSVue). This way, even in the darkness, the people would be able to see the light of God before them.
Salt as an enduring sign of covenant, and light from God to lead the way.
Jesus is telling his followers that they are to be signs in their present age of God’s love and presence. They are to be signs of the covenant, a light leading the way.
As Jesus’s disciples in the world today, how are we enduring signs of God’s covenant with the world? How are we beacons of light guiding the way? How are we examples of Jesus’s teachings? How are we living by his example?
In our present world, what does it mean to live as the blessed ones of God’s favor? How are we meek and merciful? How are we peacemakers? How do we hunger and thirst for righteousness?
As Christians, as those who follow the teachings of Jesus in our relationship with God and the world, we are called to share our good works with our communities that God may in turn be glorified. That is ultimately Jesus’s point. The blessings are not about the disciples themselves. It's not about what they get out of it. It's not about power. It's not about might. It's about leading the way. It's about showing signs of God's love in the world.
That's what Jesus was getting at. He starts off his teaching by telling them how to inhabit the world in order to receive God's favor, and then he tells them that this blessing is meant to be a reminder of the covenant between the people and God, a sign for them to follow, so that God might be glorified.
In the end, it's not really about us. That's what Jesus wanted his disciples to understand. We have a role to play. Jesus has told us what we must do. But it's always to bring glory to God, not to ourselves. It is always about pointing the way.
As we each go about our day today, may God’s love and holiness be seen through our actions.
May God's light shine through us that God might be glorified.
Most Christians, and even plenty of people who are not Christians, are familiar with the opening of this teaching, the Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…,” “Blessed are those who mourn…,” “Blessed are the meek…,” and so on (see Matthew 5:3-12, NRSVue).
Jesus starts off his teaching by laying out the qualities of people who are blessed, who are favored by God. The qualities of those who are considered Holy. Unlike the culture of his day - and I would suggest still today - that praised the wealthy and powerful and mighty, Jesus lifts up the lowly, he lifts up the righteous, he lifts up the peacemakers, he lifts up the merciful. He is giving his disciples a roadmap for how he expects them to act in the world.
And then he continues his teaching with the section that we read today.
“You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13a)
I imagine most of you have used salt in the kitchen or on the dining room table. It is perhaps one of the more common and useful minerals we have available to us while we prepare food. Salt as we use it in relation to food has two main uses: it preserves and it enhances.
Salt is a preservative. It can make foods last longer, an important necessity in a time before refrigeration. Salt can also enhance the flavor of foods, bringing out the natural flavors and making them more prominent. Even in the time of Jesus, people understood these properties of salt, and salt in ancient times was highly valued and sought after.
What does this have to do with the disciples? Why does Jesus refer to his disciples as the “salt of the earth”? In the previous section of this teaching, Jesus has laid out what qualities those who follow him should have, the qualities that will give them God’s favor and blessing. But as salt, they are to take those blessings into the world, to preserve and to enhance the earth with the things they have learned from Jesus. Their presence is meant to make the world a better place by living in the way that God favors and blesses, not by judging the world but as examples of the one who sent them.
“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a).
In our day, it is sometimes difficult to imagine total darkness. In our modern world, there are street lights, porch lights, headlights. Many of us have devices with tiny lights on them that flash or display at all times.
I don't know about you, but I am a person who finds it difficult to sleep when there is light in my room. We have blackout curtains on our windows to keep out the light from a nearby streetlight, but enough light still leaks around the edges to disturb my sleep, not to mention the lights occasionally flashing on my phone, the light from the nightlight in the other room, the light blinking on the front of the nearby wireless router, the watch, the clock. So now I wear a sleep mask to provide total darkness as I sleep.
For those who live in or near large cities, the lights of the city can completely wash out all but the brightest stars in the sky at night. Living in Chicago for so many years, I always enjoyed trips away from the city so that I could enjoy the night sky again. In our modern age, we have done all we can to push back the darkness, ever seeking eternal day.
But in Jesus’s time, there were no flashlights, no street lamps, no devices in their pockets to provide a bit of light. In the darkness, they had nothing but the moon and the stars, the light of a fire, or the wick of a lamp to light their way and push back the darkness for a bit.
For one lost in darkness, a light flickering on a hill provides guidance, much as lighthouses might offer guidance for those at sea. Light can guide one through the darkness to places of refuge and safety. In a land devoid of our modern lights, a light on a hill can be seen at great distances.
Again, what does this have to do with the disciples? What does it mean for them to be “the light of the world”? Jesus makes this metaphor even more clear: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NRSVue).
As with the salt metaphor, Jesus is making it clear that his disciples are to do the work of good, to live as he instructed in the previous verses, in order to give glory to God. They are meant to follow Jesus’s example, to be meek, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, all for the glory of God in heaven. Again, Jesus is not sending his disciples out to condemn the world, but that they might be examples of God’s blessings in the world, so that they might serve as a guide and a beacon for others.
This is what Jesus teaches his disciples, his original followers. First he tells them how those who want to be holy and blessed should inhabit the world. Who are those who are considered blessed in the world? What qualities should they have? And then what does it mean to be blessed?
Being blessed is not simply about having God’s favor for one’s own personal gain. It is not a trophy or a medal. It is not a title or a diploma. It’s not a badge we earn and then move on with our lives. Rather, living as one blessed by God should make one into a beacon, a sign of God’s covenant in the world.
This becomes even more obvious when we consider that Jesus intentionally chose symbols of God’s covenant with the Hebrew people. As Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish, these references would also have been obvious to them.
In Leviticus, the Hebrew people are told that their grain offerings must include salt as a sign of the covenant (Leviticus 2:13, NRSVue). In Numbers, we are told that God said that all the good things that the Israelites have come from God, and that their offerings and their children are a sign of their perpetual devotion to God, a sign of the enduring covenant of salt (see Numbers 18:19, NRSVue).
In similar fashion, God led the Israelites through the wilderness, using a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22, NRSVue). This way, even in the darkness, the people would be able to see the light of God before them.
Salt as an enduring sign of covenant, and light from God to lead the way.
Jesus is telling his followers that they are to be signs in their present age of God’s love and presence. They are to be signs of the covenant, a light leading the way.
As Jesus’s disciples in the world today, how are we enduring signs of God’s covenant with the world? How are we beacons of light guiding the way? How are we examples of Jesus’s teachings? How are we living by his example?
In our present world, what does it mean to live as the blessed ones of God’s favor? How are we meek and merciful? How are we peacemakers? How do we hunger and thirst for righteousness?
As Christians, as those who follow the teachings of Jesus in our relationship with God and the world, we are called to share our good works with our communities that God may in turn be glorified. That is ultimately Jesus’s point. The blessings are not about the disciples themselves. It's not about what they get out of it. It's not about power. It's not about might. It's about leading the way. It's about showing signs of God's love in the world.
That's what Jesus was getting at. He starts off his teaching by telling them how to inhabit the world in order to receive God's favor, and then he tells them that this blessing is meant to be a reminder of the covenant between the people and God, a sign for them to follow, so that God might be glorified.
In the end, it's not really about us. That's what Jesus wanted his disciples to understand. We have a role to play. Jesus has told us what we must do. But it's always to bring glory to God, not to ourselves. It is always about pointing the way.
As we each go about our day today, may God’s love and holiness be seen through our actions.
May God's light shine through us that God might be glorified.