Salted Caramel

Matthew 5:13-20

When I first began hearing about salted caramel a couple of years ago, I was not impressed. I was, in fact, quite skeptical. Putting salt on caramel just sounded plain weird. Why mess up perfectly good caramel by sprinkling it with salt, I wondered? When some well-intentioned person gave me a box of salted caramel chocolate candy, I put it aside. I was not convinced I would find this confection to my liking.

But then the flavor became wildly popular. You see it now in everything from ice cream to flavored coffee. So, I finally tried it, and once I did, found that I like it. I really, really like it. You see, as strange as it may sound, a little bit of salt brings out the sweetness in the caramel. The salt rounds out the edges of the chocolate; it highlights the smooth sweetness of the buttery, creamy caramel.

A little bit of salt can transform what it touches. I wonder if this is what Jesus had in mind when he spoke with his disciples that day. A little salt – can transform the world.

When used appropriately salt brings out the flavor of whatever it is sprinkled on. And Jesus declared that his disciples are the salt of the earth!

Salt alone isn’t worth much. But applied to or mixed with something else, salt brings out the flavor of whatever it is sprinkled on. In ancient times, salt was more than just a flavor enhancer. Salt was in indispensable commodity which served as a preserving and purifying agent, was used to sterilize fields and was used in connection with grain offerings and sacrifices in the temple. Salt was used when a sacred bond was forged between two parties. And in the Gospel text today Jesus declares that his disciples are the salt of the earth! Not will be or should be, but already are salt of the earth.

Most of us know that food without salt seems tasteless. We need a bit of salt to brighten the flavor on our tongues and in our lives. Most of the time, salt does its best work when it compliments, highlights, and brings out other flavors in food without bringing notice to itself. And saltiness as Jesus speaks of it, points to the kingdom of God. How blessed are we to be used as seasoning for God’s realm.

Today’s Gospel text is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount which began last week; in fact, today’s reading follows directly on the heels of what we know as the Beatitudes.

At the beginning of this core teaching, Jesus stirred our moral imagination: the blessed are already among us, he told his disciples and they are not who you might think.

In the realm of God it is not the wealthy, powerful, happy-go-lucky, and strong who are blessed, but the meek, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice, those who are pure in heart, the merciful, the peacemakers, and the Christ-followers whom God raises up.  It is not the haves but the have-nots whom God favors. Further, Jesus said, you are blessed not when you possess qualities the world embraces but when you follow Jesus and live Jesus’ values and are persecuted for doing so.

Today we might see them as the soldier with PTSD, or the new mom with severe post-partum depression, or the bi-polar friend or acquaintance. Or perhaps you might know them as the teen who is bullied in school and on-line, or the family member who struggles with alcoholism or drug addiction, the aged person who mourns over the many losses they experience for just having lived so long; or the homeless person you encounter on the street or at the shelter. You know, the ones who feel farthest from being blessed.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Remember? Jesus includes as blessed the ones who see the least among us as beloved of God and reach out to help them – organizations that seek to assist the man, woman or child – refugees - who have been driven from their home by religious, economic or political oppression and violence; or the church that welcomes the LGBTQ teen and reminds him that he is a Child of God, and that nothing can strip him of that identity, or the ministry group that work with the ex-con to help her find a path to new life upon release from prison, or the faithful Christian who loves God and  struggles to discern what it means to live her faith in the current atmosphere of division, hostility and judgement.

In today’s gospel Jesus follows the Beatitudes by telling his disciples that they are salt and light for the world. Notice, Jesus doesn’t just compare his disciples to salt and light, or tell them that they need to become like salt and light. Rather, Jesus says they are already the salt of the earth; made that way not by their own doing but by the grace of God. And it is God’s grace to which the Sermon on the Mount pushes us.

Jesus makes a promise to his disciples in this text this morning: You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, a sheer blessing to those who hunger because of who God created you to be, and God, who is righteous, sends you into the world as valuable as this commodity, blessing you in order that the world might be blessedly transformed.

Together, my friends, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, shining God’s love and light into the world by our very being, surprising the world with our saltiness and our light.

This community is created by God for relationship with God, with each other, and most of all, to the neighbor we are called to serve. Jesus has called us each to come together with other disciples in worship to our Lord, to be fed, strengthened, forgiven for the times we forget whose light we are sent to bear and then to be sent out into the world to be salt the world and increase its flavor – to soften the sharp edges of injustice and to sweeten the diversity in our world through our inclusivity, helping transform the bitterness of suffering through a word of God’s grace.

The salted followers of Christ round out the flavors of the world by pursuing justice for the least among us. We recall that salt does its best work when it compliments, highlights, and brings out other flavors in food without bringing notice to itself. Our saltiness is for the sake of the kingdom of God; we are seasoning for God’s realm.

Retaining the best properties of salt, therefore, is important. We maintain our saltiness through worship, by remaining close to the word of God, through daily prayer and reflection on the scriptures.

As a community in relationship to each other our salt blends and mingles with our many flavors bringing out the best in our community and in our world. It is in grace-shaped, salt-seasoned relationships through which Christ’s disciples best reflect the grace and richness of the kingdom.

Jesus also calls his disciples to be the light of the world, and in the text today he warns his disciples against hiding their light; a light which cannot be seen or doesn’t actually shine is useless in revealing the good which leads to the praise and glory of God. You might recognize words from verse 16, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good work and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

These words are said at each baptism, as the baptismal candle is lit and presented to the newly baptized. Again, we are not called to become the light of the world, we already are the light of the world, gifted in baptism to shine brightly for the sake of God’s kingdom.

It is through baptism that God turns us into salt and light. Through the Holy Spirit we are given the stuff that we need to shine our light on God’s love and care for the world. We are called to be disciples and to follow Jesus up the mountainside, to sit at his feet and learn there how to retain our saltiness and our light so that it shines appropriately – not on us, but on God and the good that God is doing in the world.

In worship come together to be empowered to action and service in Jesus’ name. We are blessed to praise and glorify God as the community God draws together to be salt and light. God expects great things from us! God expects godly things from us. God expects us to salt and light the world with his grace and love.

In the first reading this morning Isaiah reminds us what it means to maintain our saltiness with an outward-looking perspective and reach on the world God has placed in our care. Isaiah’s words convey the same values that Jesus raises up: to loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke. As salt and light for the world, in Jesus’ name we are called to share our food with the hungry, give shelter to the homeless poor, to cover the naked, provide clean water for the thirsty, to love the lonely, isolated ones, to comfort the grieving and despairing ones, to speak for the voiceless ones, to love the unlovable ones, and to constantly turn to the Word of God for the strength and wisdom to carry these things out.

Today we may worry about the dwindling size of Christian churches around the world – but remember what a little bit of salt can do.

God makes us salt and light to shine thousands of points of light into the darkness, to round out the sharp edges of the world to bring out its sweetness; to highlight God’s grace and mercy, love and everlasting presence through our interactions and works. Whether we do that by swinging a hammer with Habitat for Humanity or making a meal and sitting with residents of the Interfaith Shelter, or making bagged lunches to deliver to the homebound, or giving cans of soup and coins for the hungry, may God bless us and those we serve, making our world and the lives God touches through us sweeter and smoother by our salt. Amen.

The Light is Shining

Matthew 4:12-23

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.

These words echo back and forth between our readings this morning.

The people who walked in darkness—the people who sat in darkness—the darkness….

What do we identify as darkness today?

Right now, our daylight hours are still a bit on the short side. Literal darkness comes early to our days. Dawn creeps in late each morning. So, there is the physical aspect of darkness.

Then, there is the mental or emotional aspect of darkness with which many of us are all too familiar. Depression, for instance, affects at least 1 in 10 Americans, and the rate of people diagnosed with depression is steadily growing. Yet it is estimated that 80% of those suffering with depression do not seek treatment. The mental and emotional aspect of darkness can be particularly crippling.

Finally, there is the spiritual darkness that seems so pervasive in our world. Spiritual darkness may come from never having had the opportunity to know Jesus, or it may come from the isolation of living on the margins, or from the deep pain of disillusion, rejection, or victimization.

Spiritual darkness may result from the distraction of the many voices which arise out of the various parts of our lives, each attempting to drown out the other, working together to draw us away from the light.

This distraction increases as allegiance to our idols overshadows our allegiance to God.  

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.

The darkness that weighs us down includes:

worry for our future;

• Perhaps our job is in jeopardy, is unfulfilling, or is the source of great conflict; o
• The disease we are fighting or test results we are waiting to come in;
• Our child or our parent may be struggling with demons that threaten relationships, health and well-being; or,
•  our financial security is threatened by causes outside our control. Perhaps our darkness comes from the unraveling of relationships.
• There are people who are just one catastrophic loss or illness away from losing their home; others worry, will we lose our medical insurance, Medicare or Social Security? Are our pensions safe?
• And of course, the chaos and deep divisions in our world fills many with fear and the darkness of despair leaving us afraid to do the things that once brought us joy.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.

      Our gospel text today reminds us that into our darkness, God brings life-saving light. Repent, Jesus says, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Jesus doesn’t tell us to repent so that that kingdom can come, but tells us instead that the kingdom is here – therefore, repent, so that you might follow the light of its coming.

Jesus is the light of God that has ushered in God’s kingdom and shines into every dark corner and crevice our lives. Jesus is the light that transforms our world.

God’s light will prevail against every darkness. And God’s light is to be light for all people. Jesus is that light.

Jesus, the light of salvation, goes to Capernaum after he hears that Herod has arrested John. The stage is set: God will not let any earthly leader silence the good news of God’s love and mercy. God will continue to provide hope through God’s authority, as God acts through Christ to bring light and salvation to everyone.

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them a light has shined.

       The thing is that long ago, in the region where Galilee now lies, the people of Zebulun and Naphtali had once experienced great defeat. Isaiah brought God’s people the good news of light to be delivered into their darkness by God’s own hand. In today’s gospel, Matthew quotes Isaiah, reminding the people, God is in control, so don’t let the darkness of this time bring despair. God won’t let it overwhelm you.

The people of Jesus’ time once again lived in the kind of deep darkness and despair that had once afflicted their ancestors, as they endured imperial rule and oppression, this time, under Rome. This is a place where Judaism intersects paganism and nation intersects nation. Jesus chooses to begin there, and to live among the marginalized peoples, on the frontier known as “Galilee of the Gentiles.”

As Jesus relocates to this northern territory to begin his ministry, he reminds the people that while deep darkness once existed there, God, in his faithfulness, has spoken into the darkness of oppression and tyranny, and has delivered hope and light.

God is, once again, taking this amazing initiative towards those who are powerless and who have never even been considered.

       The first century people who populated this place feared the future. They wondered what would happen to them.

They wondered if they would lose their homes, their land, even their lives, when they could no longer pay the exorbitant taxes imposed by the Roman government.

They wondered if they would be able to feed their families. What would happen to them if they became too old or too sick to work?

What would happen to them and to their families if they said the wrong thing in the presence of the wrong people?

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them a light has shined.

But God sent the Word, the Light of the World, to this frontier land. And as Jesus began his ministry there, he began to tell the people to repent, for the kingdom of God has come near. It is this kingdom that will bring light to their darkness.

The light of this kingdom will banish darkness, and all those who live in fear, who doubt the future, who hunger and thirst for justice will be satisfied. And then, Jesus gets right to work.

Immediately Jesus called his first disciples. He calls these two sets of brothers, fishermen. Come, he says. Follow me.  So much about what Jesus does in this gospel is about inviting disciples, teaching disciples, calling people into discipleship: Come, follow me.

According to Frederick Dale Bruner, “Follow me” in rabbinic speech meant come, “become my students, be apprenticed to me, join my school, live with me.” Students spent almost every waking moment with their rabbis, they didn’t just come to temple to hear them lecture or speak. Discipleship was study-in-residence, it was home-schooling; you were immersed in your studies not only as theoretical learning but as a way of life. Jesus recruited his students, they didn’t come seeking him as was the norm for rabbinical studies. But Jesus is no ordinary rabbi. He is Lord and light of all life.

The gospel text today illustrates two important things: Jesus began his ministry not among the rich, nor within the population of Jews, “his people,” rather, he began with those quite literally on the margins.

Jesus valued all people and went first to those who were most in need – those who desperately needed that light, those who were powerless. And right away Jesus began calling disciples to serve along with him in those places. Jesus calls us the same way today.

       I wonder what Jesus might say if he came to visit us here today? We do some really good work with our outreach projects and with collections we have, but much of our work and most of our budget goes to maintenance. We maintain our building, we maintain a staff to serve us, we maintain the traditions and practices that have long been the staples for Grace Lutheran Church.

       What might it look like if we did as Jesus did and took the light of Christ and his ministry to the streets, to the places desperately in need of the light of Christ shining into the darkness of the world?

     
What might it look like if the main function of our worship was really to seek God’s forgiveness for our failures and then to seek the empowerment of the Spirit, so that we might boldly step out into the world with intentionality, sharing the light of God’s love and mercy, advocating for God’s values and justice, inviting others to hear and know the good news of this light-wielding God?

        The good news is that the kingdom of heaven has come among us – and between now and the time when Jesus comes again, we get to disciple with Christ and share the light of the kingdom with the world.

As Jesus chose to begin his work out on the frontier, so must we go out into the world to bring and bear the light of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and working as disciples of Christ.

As Jesus called Andrew and Peter, James and John, and all the disciples that followed, Jesus calls you and me. Jesus calls us together in word and prayer, he calls us as church to shine his light and share his love and mercy and grace out into the margins of the world, where so many fear the darkness.

Jesus calls us to live our lives shaped by his light, because wherever we share his light and love through spreading peace and justice in the world, the kingdom appears and is made known.

Jesus calls us to hope as he shines the light in our lives and on our world. Jesus calls us to shine his light in worship and prayer, with and for each other, and in witness to the holy hope and life-giving light of Christ.

            Listen – Jesus is calling; Jesus calls to us, “Come follow me.”  

Let us follow as true disciples of the Light of the World.

Amen.