Salt and Light

Sunday, February 20th, 2005
Lent 2A
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton (WMU Missions Emphasis Sunday)
Text: Matthew 5:13-16 (not from the Revised Common Lectionary)

“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, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”
(From The Message )

The life marked by the beatitudes is not to be lived in isolation.

We often assume that these inner qualities can only be developed or displayed in isolation from the world; but Jesus wants us to live them out before the world.

That’s why we were called to the Northern Neck by the Rappahannock Baptist Association and by Jerusalem Baptist Church, to live out our faith before the world that we find in Essex, Richmond, Westmoreland, Northumberland and Lancaster counties.

Jesus points to broadness in the impact of the disciples that must have seemed almost ridiculous at the time; how could these humble Galileans salt the earth, or light the world? But they did!

We were faced with the impact we could make – as individuals, as a congregation, and as an association, through the ministry to the migrant and Hispanic community on the Northern Neck very soon after meeting and getting to know the people we work with FROM that community.

Within a couple of months of meeting them, we had already been extended an invitation to come visit them in their homes in Mexico. At the time, it honestly didn’t seem to be anything more than a dream. Time constraints and other demands and commitments seemed to confine us – in the best sense of the word – to the work we are involved in on a day-to-day basis both here at Jerusalem and in the Hispanic community that is here at any given time of year. So we went on about our business … the business of the Kingdom, we hoped.

Back to the passage: Notice that Jesus does not challenge us to become "salt" or "light"; He simply says that we are - and to put it bluntly, we are either fulfilling or failing that responsibility.

Salt as a picture of the Christian

In Jesus' day, salt was a valued commodity; Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt, giving rise to the phrase "worth his salt". Salt was used to preserve meats, and to retard decay; Christians being salt points to their preservation of society.

And as today, salt was used to add flavor - Christians should be a "flavorful" people. However, salt must keep its "saltiness" to be of any value; it is rightfully trampled under foot; in the same way, too many Christians lose their "flavor" and become good for nothing.


****

On the 5th day of our visit to Mexico, we were sitting in Isidra and Norberto’s living room, having just gotten up from an afternoon nap that they insisted on, after having traveled from Tlaxcala, where we’d spent the first part of our trip with Mundo Perez and HIS family, visiting the men who work in White Stone and their families. Isidra began to talk about how much it means to her to be able to worship with us when we have our gatherings. She said she feels the presence of God when we are together.

She spoke about how she doesn’t practice the veneration of saints, and freely tells others who do that they don’t need to be praying to saints, but directly to God through Jesus, that it is through faith in HIM that they are receive salvation. She spoke about her local priest coming to her house and leading a study on the importance of studying scripture, of understanding how it can impact their lives, and how important it is to seek daily communion with Christ. She went on to say that the priest still talked to the group of women about the importance of observing the sacraments, and how critical they were to carrying out their faith, so there was no question about where she stood in relationship to the Roman Catholic tradition, but she still looked straight at us and said ‘There needs to be a Baptist presence here.” I came across a Baptist Church not too far from here several years ago, and I’ve not been back by that area since then, but I think we need to go to see if it is still there, and at least establish contact with the Pastor and the people who attend there.’

This was a devout Catholic telling us that there needed to be a Baptist presence in her city. It made me wonder what we had shown her Baptists to be. I honestly wondered if we were presenting her with a true portrait of what Baptist believe … and the longer I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized that I think she came away with exactly the impression … that God wanted her to have. I don’t mean that we were necessarily that attuned to what God wanted to come out of the encuentros, though I hope we were more attuned than not, but I think that we were tuned ENOUGH to what God has been trying to say through the ministry and the heart of the Rappahannock Baptist Association, and Jerusalem Baptist Church in particular, to where the Hispanic Community that has chosen to JOIN with us is coming to understand that though there may be differences between us, we have at the heart of what we believe a common bond, the Lordship of Christ, and that that is a starting point for all the rest.

*****

Back to the passage:

Light.

The purpose of light is to illuminate and expose what is present; therefore light must be exposed before it can be of any value - if it is hidden under a bucket, it is no longer useful. It goes against the very nature and purpose of light for it to be hidden - so a Christian is truly fighting himself and the Holy Spirit by never letting his light so shine before men. Even as lamps are placed higher so their light can be more effective, we should look for ways to let our light shine in greater and broader ways.

Jesus gives the Christian both a great compliment and responsibility when He says that we are the light of the world; He claimed that title for Himself as He walked this earth (John 8:12 and 9:5).

The purpose in letting our light so shine by doing good works is so that others will glorify God, not us.

*****

That same evening, Isidra and Norberto convinced us to go with them to see if we could find that Baptist Church she’d seen so many years ago. By then it was nighttime, but still relatively early in the evening. We walked down to the main street, about 2 or 3 blocks down from their home, and hailed a taxi.

Taxis in Mexico are not like taxis here in the States. They are mostly, though not exclusively, Volkswagen Bugs, with the front passenger seat pulled out, to make exiting and entering the cars easier. Picture this: there were 4 of us, two of us pretty tall. Occasionally you’d see a larger model taxi go by, but not very often. One finally did stop, but it was the standard VW Bug. Isidra, Leslie and I piled into the back seat, and Norberto squatted in the front, beside the driver, where the passenger seat would have been had it been left in. Isidra explained to the taxi driver where to go, and as we got closer, the conversation got more specific about what we were looking for. We finally came out and asked the driver if he’d seen a Baptist Church around, as he was driving his fares back and forth. He thought a minute and finally said “I’m not sure. I think there may be one at ‘such-and-such a place, but I can’t be certain.” He proceeded to take us to a couple of churches, one where there was no meeting going on, and the other where there was. Both were Pentecostal. As we pulled away, Isidra tried to explain what a Baptist Church was like. She finally drew it down to the point of saying “Baptists are just like Catholics.”

The part of me that studied Baptist history in the face of state-sanctioned religious institutions cringed every time she said that. But the part of me that longs for a world where, rather than tearing each other down, or spending more time telling you why you should belong to this or that denomination, and how much better one’s chosen tradition is than others, denominations could recognize a common purpose, a shared GOAL, THAT part of me was thrilled to hear her say that.

Don’t get me wrong. I am proud to be a baptist, to stand for historic baptist principles of soul competency, local church autonomy, and religious freedom, but at the same time I long to join with other traditions and agree to disagree on some things but still maintain a common union … under the Lordship of Christ.

As the taxi ride got longer and longer, the conversation with the driver got deeper and deeper into the subject of why there are so many denominations. I finally spoke up in the midst of the expressions of some confusion and a little frustration, to say that I thought it was a good thing that there are so many denominations, that everyone needs to find a place where they are comfortable expressing their faith as they understand it, even though that results in differences, and sometimes arguments, my hope was that there would come a day when all our different traditions could be seen for what they are – a reflection of the wonderful varieties God has gifted us with – varieties of thought and understanding, varieties of styles and presentations, varieties of song and praise.

*****

A key thought in both the pictures of salt and light: distinction

There are, of course, any number of distinctions between Baptists and Catholics. But those distinctions disappear in the face of someone who has no faith, no inkling of what it means to have a relationship with God, who has never experienced that redeeming and welcoming love in the faces and words and actions of a congregation wholly given over to the task of being Christ’s presence in this world.

Salt is needed because the world is rotting and decaying; if our Christianity is also rotting and decaying, it won't be any good. Light is needed because the world is in darkness; if our Christianity imitates the darkness, we have nothing to show the world.

To be effective we must seek and display the Christian distinctive; we can never affect the world for Jesus by becoming like the world. So how will we be different?

The passage ends with a short, but beautiful picture at the end:

“Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

What was so overwhelming to us over the course of those 7 days in January, was that everywhere we went, everyone we greeted and hugged and sat down and talked with, all the families of those we’ve sought to minister to here, showed us what it is like to be on the receiving end of that gift – and prompted us to open up with God.

Let’s pray.