Matthew 5:13-16: Salt and Light
Easter Friday, April 22, 2022
As we celebrate Holy Week and Easter, we have spent a number of days with the Beatitudes, exploring the inverted ways of the kingdom where the poor are central, the mourning find comfort, the meek receive abundant gifts, the merciful are treated with mercy, the clean of heart see God and the persecuted inherit God’s kingdom. This way of living is not celebrated and is even alien to the first century and modern societies in which power, influence and comfort are the most coveted goals. As much as Jesus enacts Gospel thinking, we humans seem determined to strive for the opposite; and perhaps this is why Jesus describes his followers as salt and light.
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.
Salt without taste is like life with a misdirected purpose.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand where it gives light to all in the house.
Light of its own nature moves outward in warmth and does not retract in coldness.
You are the salt and the light of the world . . .
Let your salt bring out the goodness in life. Let your light shine before others and glorify God.
Matthew records the words of Jesus’ lessons in his Sermon on the Mount. During this Eastertide, let us savor these words like fresh salt. Let us hear these verses in new light. And let us determine to put away our tastelessness and darkness to live the Gospel as salt and light to the world.
Tomorrow, Jesus’ teaching about the Law.
For an interesting read on salt, check out Mark Kurlansky’s novel about salt at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/salt-mark-kurlansky/1102487050?ean=9780142001615
Image from: http://www.saltsistersonline.com/resources/info-guide
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