“Salt in an Open Wound” – sermon on February 9, 2014
February 9, 2014
Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20
Jesus said to them: “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 underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 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.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Sermon: Salt in an Open Wound based on a reflection by N. Nettleton 2/7/1999
Rev. Doreen Oughton
The Gospel reading from Matthew this week continues the sermon on the mount that we started last week. Now I’m not certain, but I’d be surprised if Jesus preached all this in just one sermon. It lasts 3 full chapters and covers a variety of topics and themes. My guess would be that Matthew gathered parts of many sermons, many teachings, and put them together in one long sermon. Even just this passage today seems like two sermons. It starts with salt and light, and moves into how to understand Jesus’ relationship to the Law of Moses, and more about entering the kingdom. After he blesses the poor-spirited, the meek and the persecuted in the beatitudes, he moves right into: “You are the salt of the earth.” This is not a command or a suggestion from Jesus, it is a statement of fact. “You are the salt of the earth.” He goes on to say that we can be good salt or bad salt, but either way, we’re it – we, the people of God, are the salt of the earth. If we fail to have the effect that salt is supposed to have, that’s it, there’s no back up plan. We are the salt of the earth.
Similarly Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” Again, we’re it. If the light is under a bucket we’re a wasted light, we’re just burning up fuel for no benefit, but we’re still the light – the light of and for the whole world. These sayings – light and salt – are the link between the beatitudes – Jesus’ illustrations of the kind of characteristics God really values in people – and his discussion of the law of Israel, the beginning of which we heard read. “Do not think I have come to abolish the law, not to abolish but to fulfill.”
“You are the salt of the earth.” Eugene Peterson, in his bible translation The Message translates it like this: “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste Godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bring out the God-colors in the world.”
God is present and active in the world all the time. But God acts through us. The whole world is full of the presence of God, but if there are no groups dancing to God’s song, then the presence of God will go largely undetected. Just as many people can barely taste the flavours in their food unless there is some salt to bring them out, so too the Godliness of life will be almost undetectable unless we are living it out boldly.
We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. The purpose of our life together is to bring out the flavor, the colour, the zest of life – the godliness of creation. Sometimes our saltiness will enrich the good that is always present. Sometimes it will enable the preservation of the good that might otherwise be lost. But sometimes too it will sting in the open wounds of the world, a healing sting, but painful nevertheless. Isak Dineson said, “The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.” The cure may be bitter or exhausting or abrasive, but there is healing nonetheless.
The people of God are called to bring this salt to the wounds of the world. If we lose our saltiness, will anyone taste godliness? How is anyone going to see beyond the greyness, the hardness, the paralyzing conformity of this society? If we do not mourn the hurts of the world, if we are not humble, merciful and pure of heart, if we do not hunger and thirst for justice and strive for peace, how will anyone see beyond the callous, winner-takes-all culture of competition?
The law alone, the written word, cannot be salt for the earth. The word must take flesh in us, as it took flesh in Jesus. As Isaiah made so clear in our first reading, when people just go by the written word they end up with just another version of death. People can fast and offer the required prayers without living a word of it. Going through the motions, knowing the gestures and the responses, memorizing scripture, quoting it at others to get them in line or to impress them, attending worship every single week, even tithing – any rote, pedantic or self-interested law-keeping is not life in the Beloved Community of God. We are salt and light, not the conscience, or the moral watch dogs, of our communities. It is easy to point fingers and judge when others don’t live up to our religious standards. It happens on both sides of the conservative / liberal split of Christianity with one side accusing the other of not taking seriously the bible’s teachings on sin, and the other accused of not walking enough in the way of social justice. But this judgment and finger pointing rarely brings any real change. It is when we are salt and light – those who live out in our own lives what we want to see in the world – that we make a real difference. Salt and light people are those who bring flavor and color, integrity and insight, healing and compassion into the world by the way they live, love and interact. Salt and light people touch others with grace and truth and compassion and calls out to the best in them, leaving them longing to live better lives themselves. This is what it means to let our good deeds be seen so that others will praise God, and it’s the only thing that really brings change into the world. As Gandhi famously said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
By all means read the scriptures, meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, contemplate the God revealed there. But don’t do it to memorize lists of do’s and don’ts to be rigidly executed. Do it so that the mind of Christ may be more and more formed in you and may bubble forth in joyous living, in full-flavored passion for life and compassion for all who share the earth with you. In so doing you will be good salt of the earth, and a bright light of the world. And that will certainly surpass the righteous of the scribes and Pharisees who were so very busy obsessing over proper adherence to the dry letter of the law that they never found themselves living in the kindom. Let the mind of Christ grow in you, and you will enter, not later, not as a reward to come, but right here and now. You will find know the glory of our loving God who lives and reigns in all. May it be so.
