Salt and Light

First Reading Isaiah 58.1-9a(b-12)

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

Gospel Matthew 5.13-20

When the Gospel is announced the reader says
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who 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 practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Baroness Warsi recently gave a speech in which she warned that hatred of Muslims had passed the dinner-table test of Britain. I don’t think Islamophobia is rife in Cheddington, but on the other hand I don’t think we can dismiss statements like hers out of hand either.

Extremism and fundamentalism are not confined to the faith of Islam. They can be found in very many places. To identify any one faith as being characterised by fanaticism is almost certainly wrong, and this goes for Christianity the same as any other. If there is discrimination or persecution against any faith it is contrary to our basic human right to freedom of expression.

Reacting against perceived threats to one’s faith with violence is wrong, but the grave risk is that the very many places where Christians are persecuted tends to go unnoticed because their resistance is peaceful.

Recent headlines include:

• New Year’s Day bombing of church in Egypt
• Last Christians ponder leaving their home town in Iraq
• Gunmen kill soldier guarding church in Nigeria
• Christians might die out in Middle east, say experts
• Eritrean government arrests 100 Christians in major crackdown
• UN condemns ‘rising religious fanaticism’
• Burma army oppresses Christians, study says

Isaiah’s advice is that his people should shout aloud and not hold back. But all they have done for their faith is mute. All they have done is to observe days of fasting. Yet God condemns them for exploiting others, for violence, quarrelling and strife. They did not share their food with the hungry, they did not shelter the poor or help the homeless.

God says ‘I do not want fasting. I want you to do away with the yoke of oppression. Stop pointing the finger and using malicious talk. Spend money on the homeless, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.’

It’s a very practical gospel, isn’t it? Much more about doing good, and less about religious rituals, observing feast days, coming to church, or worshipping in a particular way.

During Epiphany, we heard a lot about light and darkness. Here Jesus uses the analogy again: this time it’s about justice and fairness, through which our light will shine forth. The other analogy he uses is salt. We must be like Salt and like a Lamp. What does this signify? What do we have to do, in order not to lose our flavour? How do we have to act, if we are to shine out like a light on a hill?

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ mission statement. In it, he teaches us about the nature of righteousness. Justice and Fairness is the in-phrase. It’s popping up everywhere. In legislation, as a test for each new measure, as a universal benchmark for how people are treated. The aim is to ensure everyone gets what they deserve.

The sermon opens with the Beatitudes. They are not commands. God is not demanding anything of us. Jesus tells us whom God favours: those who mourn; those who have an active peace-making strategy; those who have a hunger for righteousness; those who show mercy, and so on. Once again, they are all things we do, not just religious observance. Nothing Jesus says countermands the law: but to obey his words, that is the new law.

So against this practical background of righteousness and justice, does that help us decide how we should act if we are to be like Salt? Salt does many things. It doesn’t just flavour, so why do we immediately think about that one property? Salt purifies. Salt preserves. Salt seasons. Salt was a currency – it represented a Roman soldier’s salary.

Notice that Salt is no use on its own. Its importance is its application to other things. It’s what it does not what it is.

Light is the same. It cannot be touched or felt. Light is no use, except to illuminate. That’s its application. Obscure light, and it ceases to have any effect at all.

In Jesus’ world, the darkness was extreme. To be without a lamp was to be blind. Lost. In danger. Darkness of course can be physical, but it can also be spiritual. Transparency is something light can shine through – very often we hear of government wanting to hide things. Withholding evidence from public enquiries in the national interest. Making announcements on days when the news won’t be noticed. Playing with statistics to conceal the truth. All this shows a lack of transparency.

So – these are the properties of Salt and Light. Putting them together with the Beatitudes is one way of trying to determine what it really means for us to be like salt or like the light – after all this passage comes immediately after the beatitudes in the sermon on the mount.

Who then are the salt of the earth? They are the humble, the ones who mourn, the meek, and those who thirst after doing what is right in the world.  Who are 'light'? They are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who receive abuse for standing up for what is right.

This is what follows for those who would follow Jesus. They must be like him. They must be more committed to God’s justice and fairness than any of the standards of this world. They must lead virtuous lives. They must have the characteristics of those who are blessed by God, according to the Beatitudes.

But putting it in this way risks giving you yet another thing you should do. Something else to fail at. Happily it’s not like that. Being salt – being the light – is not a burden, it’s a gift. Not something you have to make sure you do. Something you are. So rejoice in it.

Great. But it does beg a couple of questions. One – where have you seen or encountered someone who acts like they are salt or light? Where have you seen God at work in others?

Secondly – at a more personal level – what does it mean to live like that? Ponder this – if you will – during the week to come. How can you be light salt in the world? How can you be the light? And how will that change the way you are, and the way others see you?

Amen