Jesu Juva

“A Salt and Light Life”

Text: Matthew 5:13-20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12; Isaiah 58:3-9a

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Last week we heard the Beatitudes, the beginning of Jesus’ teaching called the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes come at the beginning of Jesus’ teaching because they set the stage for His life and the rest of what He will say. They come at the beginning because, as we considered last week, sometimes it’s good to start at the end. It’s good to know who you are, where you’re going, and how it’s all going to turn out in the end. For knowing where we’re going enables us to live where we are. So the Beatitudes teach us not what to do in order to be blessed, but that blessed by Jesus and His life, who He is and all that He has done for us, knowing who we are in Him, where we’re going in Him, and how it’s all going to turn out in Him, that enables us to live a Beatitude life now.

And so it is with that foundation that we move onto the teaching of Jesus that we heard today. It’s important that we keep this all together, that we build on this foundation laid last week, as we hear Jesus say, first of all, that you are the salt of the earth . . . you are the light of the world.

So notice this, first of all - Jesus does not say here that this is what you are supposed to be. He is not saying: go be this. He says: this is who you are. These are not imperatives, commands; they are indicatives, statements of reality. As His children, blessed by Him, as you live a Beatitude life, you are being salt and light for the world. You are helping to preserve a world bent on destroying itself in sin, and bringing the light of God’s truth, mercy, love, and forgiveness to a world in the deep darkness of falsehood, selfishness, lust, and revenge. And as we see the craziness in our world today, how people live, and what passes for truth, it’s probably not a stretch to say that this salt and light is needed now more than ever.

The salt and light, as Paul said, of proclaiming Christ crucified as the center of who we are and of all we say and do.

The salt and light, as we heard Micah say last week, of doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God.

And the salt and light, as Jesus said last week, of mourning and repenting of the sin in us and in the world, of being meek and relying not on our own strength but on God’s strength, of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of being merciful, of being pure in heart, of being peacemakers, and of enduring persecution and reviling not with anger, bitterness, and vengeful hearts, but with gladness, joy, and loving hearts.

To do this, to be this, is not easy, but what we can do - or, at least, begin to do - because of all Jesus has done for us; because He has blessed us and made us His own. Because we know who we are, where we are going, and how it’s all going to turn out in the end. With that confidence, we can be who we are, who Jesus has made us, and be His salt and light in the world.

So then, if who you are is His doing, then where you are is His doing as well. He will shake out His salt where there is need of it, of preserving; and He will shine His light where there is need of it, of enlightening. Which means you are where you are for a reason. Your life is not by chance, by accident, or by fate. The hand of God is working, for you and for others. So you are His salt and light for your families, your neighbors, those you work with, those you go to school with, those you social media with, those folks you run into only now and then. You may not even know the impact you’re having - you’re just being who you are in Christ! But who you are in Christ is extraordinary. Who you are in Christ is different than the norm. And though maybe sometimes you know, often times you may never know when what you say or how you say it, or how you live and react to things, is going to make an impression on others, is going to help them in their need, is going to bring a little salt and light into their lives.

Now, sometimes, when we think about living as a Christian in this world - this world which seems more and more opposed to the truth of God and His Word - it can fill us with fear and trembling. It’s easier to blend in than to stand out, right? To be sugar, not salt, and a light that’s not tooooo bright! But guess what? That was true for the apostle Paul, too! We heard him say today that he was with the people of Corinth in weakness and in much fear and trembling. Paul! His speech and message, he says, were not impressive according to worldly standards; weren’t going to win him any prizes or acclaim. But through him the Spirit and power of God worked and did extraordinary things.

And sometimes maybe we think that being salt and light means having to do big and impressive things. But as we heard from Isaiah today, we don’t have to out-holy one another, pick fights, and make a show of our sanctity. In fact, Isaiah says, that’s not what God wants at all, for us to be focused on ourselves and try to make others admire us and our life of holiness. No, he says. Instead, help others with the burdens they bear, share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless into your house, cover the naked man. Things that perhaps seem little to us and maybe go unnoticed, but with these you are being salt and light in the world. Being who you are, where God has put you.

So how ya’ doing with that? Are you more salt or sugar? Are you a bright light or a dim bulb? Are you living a Beatitude life, knowing who you are, where you’re going, and how it’s all going to turn out? Confidently focused on Christ? Or more focused on the people and things of this world, which make us uncertain, fearful, and timid? If you’re like me, it’s a mixed bag. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Sometimes confident, sometimes not so much. Which is why we have confession and absolution at the beginning of the Divine Service every week, so I can repent of my mixed-bag-edness. Which is why we pray forgive us our trespasses in the Lord’s Prayer every day, to repent every day. We know who we are, but we don’t always live that way. We know where we’re going, but sometimes we go the wrong way. And while maybe it’s all going to turn out alright in the end . . . we still worry about now! Next week, next month, next year . . . I’m not always so sure about that!

A mixed bag. That’s a pretty good description of us and our world. We are both saint and sinner. Our world is both good and infected with evil. We have good days and moments that make us cringe and wish we could have a do-over. Sound about right?

Maybe that’s the best we can do, the most that can be expected of us. And that’s all God can expect, isn’t it? Just do your best!

Sorry, that’s not what Jesus said today. If you’re not salty salt, you are no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. And unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Just do your best is not in the Bible. Anywhere. Jesus is not going to abolish the Law or the Prophets. He is not going to water them down, tone them down, relax them, or let you get away with your sin. Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished, He says.

Now, did you hear the good new there? It sounds like really bad news for us who are mixed bags . . . but there is hidden in those words a promise . . . that all will one day be accomplished. By Jesus. The one who did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but fulfill them. Fulfill them, fill them up, 100 percent, for you. To do what mixed-bag-you cannot and could never do. He will fulfill their demands and fulfill the punishment and condemnation they demand. He will love perfectly, fulfilling all the Law and the Prophets, and then despite that - and because of that! - be thrown out with the garbage on the cross, trampled under the feet of both sacred and secular authorities, and the light of His life snuffed out - not put under a basket, but laid in a tomb.

Because, you see, while you are a mixed bag, Jesus is not. He is, as we confessed again today, God of God, Light of Light, very God or very God. And He is also true man, 100% man, just like you and me, except without our mixed-bag-edness. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. And when He rose again on the third day, your salvation was accomplished. Your salvation for the Last Day, but also your salvation now.

Because, you see, when we repent of our mixed-bag-edness, when we repent of our unsaltiness and our dim-bulb-edness, His absolution makes us salty and bright again. We can’t do that, the world can’t do that, but He can. His Strong Word (LSB #578). The one who died and rose can. The one who fulfilled all can. Baptism does that, the Gospel proclaimed to us and growing in us does that, His absolution does that, and His Body and Blood fed to us do that. He is what we’re not, and He gives what we’re not, what we need, to us. To be what He has created us to be. To accomplish His will not just in the world, but in us. Because Jesus is your salt, to protect and preserve you, and He is your light, to shine the light of His love and forgiveness on you. So that living in you, and His Spirit living in you, you are salt and light, too.

Which means when Jesus shakes you out as His salt where there is need of it, of preserving; and when He shines you as His light where there is need of it, of enlightening, you are not alone or on your own there. He is with you. And the salt you are is Him. And the light you are is Him. And the Beatitude life you live is His Beatitude life. And all that He is accomplishing for you, and in you, and through you . . . well, as St. Paul put it today:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him.”

What we see and hear now, in this world and life, looks like the cross. But this, too: what we see and hear now, in the church, in the Word, in Jesus, we cannot even begin to imagine. That from a manger could come a Saviour. That by a cross could come the life of the world. That from water could come new birth. That from bread and wine could come heavenly food. And that from sinners like us could come saints; could come those Jesus uses as His salt and light in the world. But that is exactly who He is, what these are, and what you are. And when you know who you are, where you are going, and how it is all going to come out in the end, you can live now. A Beatitude life. A blessed life. A Jesus life. An everlasting life. A salt and light life. Not because you have to, but because that’s who you are.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.