Salt & Light

In Nomine Iesu
St. Matthew 5:13-20
February 5, 2017
Epiphany 5A

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

I wrote the first draft of this sermon on Thursday, which was Ground Hog Day. AMC was running the movie, “Ground Hog Day,” featuring Bill Murray. You’ve probably seen it. He plays a TV weatherman who gets sent to Puxatawney, PA to cover the annual Ground Hog Day festivities there. But somehow every morning he awakens there . . . it’s Ground Hog Day all over again—the very same day, the very same people and places, the very same situations, over and over again. Same ol’ same ol’. Been there, done that. No surprises. Each day just a replay of the day before.

Sometimes in real life we begin to feel just a bit like the Bill Murray character. The days of our lives become utterly predictable. The people, the places, the predicaments don’t change much from day to day. “I’m in a rut,” you hear people say. And when that happens, you begin to ask yourself some questions: Do I matter? Do I make a difference? Am I doing any good for anyone? Does my all-too-predictable life have purpose and meaning? Today Jesus weighs in with an answer to questions like these. And the answer He gives to every disciple—to all who follow Him in faith—is a resounding “yes.”

You are the salt of the earth, Jesus says. Salt seasons and preserves. Salt melts snow and ice off our streets and sidewalks. And it really doesn’t take much salt to do the trick, either. If you do much cooking, then you know that many recipes call for salt—but usually only a half-teaspoon or just a dash. How often have you taken that first sip of soup from the stovetop only to realize, “This needs salt?” And just a tiny bit of salt transforms your soup from something bland and flavorless into a savory, tasty, zesty, explosion of flavor. Behold the power of salt!

Jesus says you are salt. You are the special seasoning that Jesus has scattered around this world to make a positive difference for the benefit of those around you. As you go about your daily business at work, at school, at home, at church—as you live out your faith in Jesus, doing the important vocations He has called you to do—you are making a huge difference. Now, your difference-making is largely unseen and unnoticed. That’s how it is with salt. When salt is doing its job, no one notices. No one takes a bite of a chocolate chip cookie and says, “Mmmmm. What type of salt is in this cookie?” Salty saints of Our Savior, you season the world with the good news of Jesus Christ—baptized into His name, forgiven by the blood He shed, confessing your faith in word and deed.

If you still need convincing that you make a difference in this world, then hear what Jesus says next: You are the light of the world. Present indicative. You are light. He doesn’t say you should aspire to be light. It’s no achievement on your

part. It’s a done deal according to Jesus. As you follow Him in faith, you are the light of the world. The great difference made by light is impossible to miss. On one of these dark winter nights take a drive from the well-lit streets of Whitefish Bay into darkness of Fox Point where, apparently, street lights are an unaffordable luxury. Or just think about that long stretch of dreary, cloudy days a few weeks ago, and what a welcome sight it was when bright sunshine finally returned. Behold the power of light! Light is inherently beneficial; and so are you, dear baptized believer.

You are light shining in the darkness of this world. You light the way. You illuminate the truth. You send the deeds of darkness skittering away. You shine; and in your shining, the life of Jesus is revealed to the world. Let your light shine before others, Jesus says, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Note that last part carefully. The goal is not to do good works so that we get recognition and admiration and applause. The goal isn’t that people sit up and take notice of us and of how good we are. God forbid! But rather, as your light shines, people will see the Source of that light and give praise to God. As salt and light, our attitude should be like that of St. Paul when he first went to Corinth. He said, “I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” It’s all about Jesus for us. In Him we are absolved of every sin. In Him we have the promise of resurrection life. In Him already today we are salt and light, making an eternal difference with our words and actions.

Of course, we can easily botch up the work we have been given to do. We can lose our saltiness. We can dim our light. We can stop being difference-makers and just slide right into the sinful status quo. Jesus warns against one of the ways this happens. It happens with how we handle the Law of God. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. To “relax” one of the Lord’s commandments—to “loosen” the burden of the Law—to water down God’s Word of Law—is to contribute to the darkness.

It’s tempting to relax the commandments, especially when we want to ease the burden for someone else. It’s always tempting to water-down God’s commands to keep from hurting people’s feelings. It’s always tempting to tell people that it doesn’t matter what they say or do or think because God loves them. But it does matter. God’s commandments should always shape our words, thoughts, and actions. Part of being the light of the world is being a beacon of truth.

Back in my seminary days, I shared with a brother in Christ something that was troubling my conscience—a commandment of God that I had not kept. It bothered me greatly. So, when I confessed my sin to him, I was disappointed that his response was to tell me that he had been guilty of the same thing also. He was trying to comfort me—to let me know that I wasn’t alone in my guilt. I needed to hear that my sin was forgiven in Jesus. But he, unintentionally, watered down the law of God—in effect saying, everybody does it. Don’t worry about it. What he should have said was, “Yes, your sin is very great; but you have an even greater Savior who bears your sin away.” But he relaxed and loosened the Law of God so that I wouldn’t be so troubled. We’re all tempted to do that—to relax and water down God’s commands concerning marriage and adultery and homosexuality and you name it. It might be for the best of intentions, but it’s not living as the salt of the earth or as the light of the world.

Jesus didn’t relax the commandments. No, as you’ll hear in Bible class this morning, Jesus amplified the commandments. He made them even harder to keep. The Law said, “Don’t murder,” but Jesus said that even the one who hates is guilty of murder. The Law said, “Don’t commit adultery,” but Jesus said that even he who imagines committing adultery is an adulterer. The Law said, “Love your neighbor,” but Jesus said, “While you’re at it, love your enemies too.”

To relax the Law—to water down the commandments—is to diminish the work of Jesus Christ. He came to fulfill the Law with His perfect obedience and His death on the cross. When we write-off the commandments we are, in effect, writing off and watering down the work that Jesus came to do for us. If you water down the commandments enough—erasing dots and iotas here and there—sooner or later you don’t really need a Savior from sin. Why do you need a Savior if you have no sin? Why do you need a Redeemer if the Law doesn’t convict you of anything in particular? Let the Law do what it’s intended to do—to show you your sin. Why? Because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Jesus has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won you from all sins, from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness—so that you can live each day as the salt of the earth, as the light of the world.

All that you are is a gift from Jesus—God of God, light of light. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven. For us and for our salvation He became man—was crucified, died, and was buried. For us He lived a perfect life of obedience. His righteousness exceeded even that of the Scribes and Pharisees. He kept the Law perfectly, every last iota—even the fine print. He was the righteousness of God. And wonder of wonders, He gives that righteousness to you. He gives you the credit for something He did. That’s how you’ve become salt and light. It’s not by what you do; it’s by what He did (and still does) for you. As you eat and drink His body and blood, He puts His life in your life. You are baptized to live each day beneath the umbrella of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. Under that grace, you are a city set on a hill. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. You are doing good for all people, making an eternal difference, living a life filled with purpose and meaning. Amen.