Tuesday, 10^th week in ordinary time – Matthew 5:13-16

The Sermon on the Mount which we began yesterday is one of the five blocks of teaching in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus addresses his disciples. By calling them his disciples he has given them their identity. In the Beatitudes that follow, Jesus lays out the behaviour of the disciples.  If the Beatitudes are the description of the disciple, the text of today is the prescription; they are to be the salt and the light of the world.

Jesus presents us with two metaphors; salt and light. A modern mindset would look for more glamorous words to describe a disciple, but these metaphors were aptly chosen for the generation of Jesus.

Notice that Jesus does not say, ‘try to become the salt” or “if you work hard, you might become the light” Jesus states an objective reality; “you are’’. It is said in the indicative not the imperative. Jesus is not asking us to become something new, he is simply asking us to stop acting like something we are not.

Salt, as practical and useful as it may be today, was highly prized in the Roman world. While it may not be true that Roman soldiers were paid in salt, what is true is that the English word ‘salary’ has its roots in the Latin word, salarium, which in turn is derived from sal, the Latin word for salt. In Roman times, ‘Salarium’ was a specific monetary allowance given to soldiers to purchase salt and other necessities. Hence the phrase, “you are not worth your salt.”

But salt was also highly prized for two primary purposes. In a world that lacked refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative to stop meat from rotting. More essentially it was used as a flovouring, to make food palatable. Jesus is not calling us to be the whole meal. He is simply asking us to be the seasoning that makes people hungry for God.

The second metaphor of light to the world is drawn from the Old Testament. Israel as a nation was called to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6). Jesus gives this title to his disciples and redefines God’s people not by ethnicity but by faith to him. By calling a small band of Galilean peasants to be “the light of the world,” Jesus was making a radical exclusive claim. He was saying that true spiritual illumination does not come from Rome’s political power or Greece’s philosophies but through his followers. Yet, the mission is not exclusive but radically inclusive; the light must shine for ALL people.

Oil lamps, that dispersed light were placed on elevated stands in the house to illuminate the entire house. Lighting a lamp and keeping it under a bushel was illogical; as illogical as a Christian whose faith is ‘privately’ practiced or hidden from the world. Private faith is a biblical contradiction. A city set on a hill cannot hide its glowing torches at night.

What then can we learn from these metaphors?

1. As disciples of Jesus who are called to be salt, we need to acknowledge that like salt we are essential and not some optional luxury item. You can do without a Gucci bag; you can’t do without salt. Like salt, a Christian is essential to preserve the world.

2. Salt was a preservative; it kept things from rotting. As Christians, we must act as a moral preservative against society’s decay. We are called to bring flavour into the life of people.

3. We need to acknowledge that our ‘saltiness’ that changes the world is gift of grace and does not come from our self-effort. We are not the primary source of illumination or flavour, rather we are mirrors reflecting Jesus.

4. This gift can also be corrupted when we lose our saltiness because we watered down the message of Christ. Compromise does not make you relatable to the world; it makes you useless. Light does not negotiate with darkness; its mere presence expels it. Even a small fragile flame exposes hidden stumbling blocks and provides direction.

5. Salt works silently to stop meat from rotting. It does not complain about the decay, rather it actively prevents it. Christians often complain about their situations around us rather than be the silent agent that prevents the rot. If your faith does not change the flavour of your workplace, then check your purity.

6. Salt naturally makes people thirsty. As Christians we need to create a spiritual thirst for Jesus. We are called to make the world thirsty for Christ and not bitter towards us.

7. The metaphor of light is as challenging as the metaphor of salt. A hidden lamp is just a waste of oil. Covering a lamp with a bushel is self-defeating. If believers hide their faith out of fear or rejection or a desire for comfort or social awkwardness, then they are as absurd as a lamp covered with a bushel.

Finally, Human nature craves for recognition. Jesus demands that his disciples do things selflessly and beautifully in order that the observer looks past the human delivery system and praises the divine architect. The goal of Christian visibility is radically different from the world of self-promotion. The light shines so that onlookers bypass the mirror and praise the source. As mirrors we shine the light but deflect the praise. Your job is to do the good deeds, God’s job is to receive the glory.