The Salty and the Shining
3Brian and Kathy Emmet
“You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14)
Jesus tells us that God’s kingdom is like no other kingdom we know. It seems completely upside down, but in fact it is our world which is upside down. Jesus announces the kingdom that makes things right. As we head into the early weeks of 2020, we’re asking the Spirit to help us learn how to live right side up in our upside-down world, using Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as our guide.
Last week, we paid attention to Jesus’ blessings (the “Beatitudes”, Matthew 5:3-12). We saw how Jesus begins this sermon by upending our understanding of who the blessed are: the poor, those who mourn, the meek, the righteousness-starved and justice-thirsty, those who work to make peace, the pure in heart, even those who are persecuted.
Jesus now says his kingdom-people function like salt and light. Salt was the primary seasoning and preservative in the ancient world. Salt can only do its job through proximity, it has to be in contact with whatever is being seasoned or preserved. And salt needs to be scattered, sprinkled. A recipe might call for a teaspoon of salt, but a teaspoon of salt, swallowed altogether – blech! Jesus doesn’t call us into the “saltshaker” of a “holy huddle”, he wants to scatter us all around: workplace, classroom, coffee shop, gym, and neighborhood.
More upside-down-ness: light actually functions best in the darkness! No one needs a lamp on a bright sunny day. And if light is needed, you don’t put a bucket over your lamp. So Jesus places his “salt-and-light communities” in places where there is darkness. When you think about it, pretty much every place has some darkness.
“You are salt” – so get out there, touching a world in need of seasoning and preserving. “You are the light” – so allow Jesus to place you in some dark places. And when he does: shine!
Where does God ‘sprinkle’ you week by week – who are the people and the situations into which you get ‘shaken’ like salt regularly? What needs some kingdom seasoning, or preservation from spoiling?
Where might you bring some ‘kingdom illumination’ this week? Light does its work simply by shining! What could some shining from you look like?
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3 Comments
Brian Emmet Jan 8, 2020 @ 10:34 am
Karen Ferrier Jan 8, 2020 @ 10:07 am
Jan Ross Jan 8, 2020 @ 9:30 am