Isaiah 49:8-16a
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Anybody tired here today? I’m tired. Anybody discouraged? Anybody been praying a long time and waiting for God to do something? Anybody ever wonder if God is really listening? If God really cares? Today’s scripture is for you. In recent weeks at Peace, we have been hearing some challenging words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount about being salt and light, about managing anger and making peace with one another, about going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, and so forth. In ten days, we will enter the Season of Lent, with an Ash Wednesday service, which calls us to recognize our own mortality and to walk with Jesus in making sacrifices, in resisting temptation. So today’s text is a friendly respite from the hard work we’ve been doing and will do in self-examination in the coming week.
Today our reading today in the middle of what’s called 2nd Isaiah, that is chapters 40-55 of Isaiah, a message of comfort to discouraged and worn down people. These are words written to exiles, people who were forced from their homes to live in a foreign land. It has now been two generations long – this exile. Can you imagine how discouraged you’d be if you had been forced to move to Mexico, or even further away, where you must adopt all the ways of the people there, not live as you were accustomed. Can you imagine your discouragement if your adult children did not even know what your homeland was like because they had never lived there. They had lost hope in life ever improving, but into such despair, comes these words of newness and hope. God has not forgotten you. You are written on the palm of God’s hand. Yes, sometimes a mother may forget her nursing child, but God will never, ever forget you. Let us now hear what the Spirit is saying to her church:
NRS Isaiah 49:8 Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; 9 saying to the prisoners, "Come out," to those who are in darkness, "Show yourselves." They shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture; 10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. 11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be raised up. 12 Lo, these shall come from far away, and lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene. 13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones. 14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me." 15 Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
Dr. Gardner Taylor, often called the dean of preaching in America, taught at both Harvard and Yale Divinity schools. When Taylor was a young preacher in Louisiana during the Depression, electricity was a relatively new thing in poorer parts of the country. He was preaching in a rural, African American church that had just one light bulb hanging from the ceiling to illumine the whole sanctuary. While preaching, that bulb went out. The building went suddenly dark. Taylor was at a loss for words, stumbling around in the front of the church until one of the elderly deacons said, “Preach on, brother. We can still see the Lord in the dark.”
Sometimes that's the only time we can truly see God — is in the dark. Because in the light, we busy ourselves and forget to look for God. And the good news of the gospel is that whether we can see him in the dark or not, God can see us in the dark. (Timothy George's sermon "Unseen Footprints,") God uses times of darkness to lead us to the light. God promises us that the suffering of this present time is not to be compared with the glory which will one day be revealed to us.
This middle section of Isaiah (2nd Isaiah) uses more feminine imagery for God than any other part of the Bible. One of the more significant references is the one in our text today, which likens God to a nursing mother. Every time I reached the last trimester of pregnancy (and that was often in a the late 80's to mid 90's) I’d start dreaming the same dream. My infant died because I forgot to feed her or him. Fortunately God put this built in timer for feeding babies. The buzzer sounds like this – whaah, whaah, whaah. So I never did forget to feed them. But I did forget them a few times after they started going to preschool and beyond. You see, I’m not very good at clock-watching, and I am easily absorbed in whatever I’m doing, so there were a few times when my poor children waited for their father or for me. Everybody else had left and there they stood. Ouch, the parental guilt of being the last parent to pick up. That’s why our children were not the last among their friends to get cell phones. It was not to call their friends, you see, it was for the purpose of calling their parents. “Mom, Dad, where are you?”
That’s how Israel felt toward God. God, where are you? Are you leaving us at the school house of Babylon’s hard knocks forever? We’ve called your name. We’ve waited. Where are you? They say to one another, “The Lord has forgotten me.” The young soldier in Afghanistan for a second term feeling like little progress has been made and the nation no longer focused on that conflict, says, “The Lord has forgotten me.” The cancer patient, who was wishing for a better prognosis says, “The Lord has forgotten me.” The chronically depressed person, slips into the pit again, saying “The Lord has forgotten me.” The financially unstable person loses another job, after just a few months, and says, “God, have you forgotten me?” The one who has prayed hard over a failing marriage or a broken relationship with a son or daughter or an addiction, to no avail, says, “Lord, when will you remember me?” The grieving spouse, like our friend Glenn, wondering how life will go on, “Lord, where are you in this darkness?”
Scripture says, even though a mother may forget her nursing child, even though she may have no compassion on the child of her womb, yet God will never forget you. You are God’s covenant people. You are the promise for the whole world, people of God, people who can witness to God’s saving work. You are not forgotten. God is more faithful than the most devoted mother you know. God will come and lift you into her arms and carry you to safety, and will nourish you with good things, and will be your salvation.
Sometimes we just don’t see what God is doing. We don’t have the big picture. The great missionary explorer, David Livingstone, served in Africa from 1840 until his death in 1873. On one occasion, he came face-to-face with a tribal chief who insisted that they make an exchange of property in order for Livingstone to pass through his land. Of all the things he had, Livingstone valued his goat the most because the untreated water in Africa upset his stomach and the goat provided milk. To his dismay the chief took his goat and in exchange gave him a walking stick. Livingstone was most disappointed. He began to gripe to God about the stupid walking cane. What could it do for him compared to the goat that kept him well? But then he learned something amazing: It was not a walking cane. It was the king's very own scepter, and with it he could gain entrance into every village in that country." Sometimes, in our disappointment over what we don't have, we fail to appreciate the significance of what God has given us. (John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; source: Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro, The Culture Shift)
Other times we don’t realize that what we most need is not removal from a situation but we need the experience of God in the situation. We are like the child who pleads with his or her parents to get up out of the bed at bedtime, saying. “I’m scared. I’m thirsty. I’m hot.” But the parents say, “You must stay there. You need to be where you are. Rest.” But after much pleading, the mother comes in to speak to the anxious child. The child may not leave the dark room, but the child may just be comforted by the presence of a loving parent. Now a rebellious child will kick and scream and be dissatisfied with staying in the room. A rebellious child will run out of the room, insisting on his or her own way.
But a secure child will be comforted by an embrace and a prayer. “Sleep will come. Morning will come. You do not need to get up and play right now. You need to be right where you are trusting that I know what is best for you, my child. You are not forgotten. I am right here, and you are written on the palm of my hand. Trust in me, and do not be afraid.” There is no better security than being in the palm of a loving, providing, comforting God.
As we pray today, I invite you to close your eyes, and visualize yourself sitting in the palm of God’s very large and strong hand. Or nestled in the arms of a soft and nurturing God, who will take care of your every need. Breathe in the security of the knowledge that in God’s hands, you will have everything you truly need. Thank you, God, that we belong to you, and that we can trust you to provide what we need, that you welcome us home, whether we deserve to be there or not. That your love can sustain us through our darkest nights. Fill us with courage and will reassurance that in the palm of your hand and fed by you, we will be secure, no matter what. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wisdom is the Wellspring of Life
Matthew 5:38-48
Matthew 5:38-48
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;
40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;
41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
42 Give to everyone who begs from you,
and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Dear Wells,
There’s this Lee Ann Womack song that brings tears to your mom as it expresses the hopes of a mother that her children will not choose to sit out on the hard parts of life, but will choose to dance. She hopes you will never “fear the mountains in the distance nor settle for the path of least resistance.”
Your mom picks you up and you dance with her now every time that song plays. You have no choice. She holds you close and you are safe and you participate in the dance. You also join in the dance of life with her, trusting her to carry and protect you, which is all you can do right now. She wants you to know that in baptism it is God holding you close. God is your protector. God is the One with whom you dance. You will be safe in God’s arms – no matter the dance – and she prays that when you are older you will continue to dance with God, choosing to follow along the narrow, more challenging steps.
She wants you to choose the path of peace, to turn your back on the ways of the world, to undermine that power of an evil-doer by not dancing his violent dance or playing his game of give and take, which is mostly about taking and not giving. She wants you to go the extra mile and to love your enemy, and she charges you with this, knowing that it is a dangerous way to live. But she has the courage to tell you this, even after she and your dad waited for you for two long years, because of her faith in Jesus Christ and her belief that the life of Christ is greater than anything death can toss at us.
Your father wants you to know that Christ calls you to turn away from a worldview that says some people are more valuable than others. Turn away from a world that seeks vengeance and fights fire with fire. Turn away from a world that is cowardly in confronting injustice. Power should be exercised for people. Christ calls you, your dad says, to a third way – to fight fire with water. You are part of the sacred drama that celebrates love over hate, mercy over vengeance, and abundance over scarcity.
Your name Wellspring points to this third way of neither being in the world – neither being a doormat for abusers nor playing the game of abusing. A wellspring is a gathering place, a place where life flourishes, where thirst is quenched and the earth blooms. At the wellspring all are welcome, generosity flows, and peace reigns.
You dad says that none of us can undertake this third way of being in the world, this way Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount until we see the wideness of God’s mercy and the abundance of God’s love. He challenges you to be generous with your love, forgiveness, and prayers because in God you will see that there is enough sun and rain for everyone, enough mercy for the righteous and the unrighteous.
Finally Wells, your Godparents, Richard and I, want you to know that while it seems ridiculous that Jesus would tell us to be perfect as God our Father in heaven is perfect, we want you to know, that it is in your baptism that this is possible. In your baptism into the life and death and resurrection of Christ that you are given power to become the person God made you to be, a person like Christ. In your baptism, you are given transformative power to become compassionate toward evil people, like Christ was. In your baptism you are given diplomatic power to love enemies as he did. In your baptism you are given creative, non-violent power to undermine the ruthlessness of those who would seek to do you harm.
In your baptism, you are given new life – Christ’s life. In your baptism, you are called to die to the power-mongering ways of the world. This life is both a gift of grace and a challenging call to a new way of being. A gift and a call. It is a life that that is giving and forgiving toward all, in sync with the footsteps of Christ.
Wells, you are called now to the dance of your life with none other than the Lord of the Dance. Your parents will carry you on this dance floor for a while, but little by little, you will begin taking your own steps in the dance. And one day, when you are a teenager, you will be asked to confirm your intention to continue the dance with Christ that you started with your family. You have many people in your life – Mason and Fields, your parents, your grandparents, and many church family members from your two churches. They can show you a few steps of the dance. Learn from them. But above all, remember the One who is the Lord of the Dance, who is the Prince of Peace, who is your Lord and your Savior, Jesus Christ, into whose life and death you are baptized. Remember that God’s overflowing love is the wellspring of your life, the wisdom by which you live. And the Spirit of peace will make you a channel of her peace and you will live into your name, Wellspring.
Let us now pray as we sing. “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”
Baptism of Wells
Elizabeth M. Deibert
O Wisdom of God, Spirit of Truth, Wellspring of Life, come to us, open our hearts and minds, so we may hear your Word of life and be renewed by your power, through Christ our Teacher, Savior, and Lord.
For several weeks now, those churches like us following the common lectionary readings have been wading in the wellspring of life, the wisdom that is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. These are no easy words, nor should they be. While we are baptizing a bouncy, beautiful baby boy today, we are not just Christening him or giving thanks for gift of his life. No, we are baptizing Wells into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a mysterious Sacrament of grace which marks him forever. We are claiming the promises of Christ’s baptismal covenant of new life for Wells, believing that he belongs to God, and promising by the power of the Spirit to help him know what that means. This is serious business. As we read this text I hope you will think with me about what it means for Wells to be baptized into the boldly forgiving kind of Christian life described by Jesus.
Much of the New Testament is composed of letters to the churches, so I asked the parents of Wells, both of them pastors you know, and the godfather of Wells, pastor-theologian-physician Richard, to write letters to Wells for this day. These letters, while addressed to Wells, are written to encourage each of you in your faith – to live out your baptismal promises with the confidence, the courage, and the compassion of the children of God. Listen now for what the Spirit is saying to her church:
Elizabeth M. Deibert
O Wisdom of God, Spirit of Truth, Wellspring of Life, come to us, open our hearts and minds, so we may hear your Word of life and be renewed by your power, through Christ our Teacher, Savior, and Lord.
For several weeks now, those churches like us following the common lectionary readings have been wading in the wellspring of life, the wisdom that is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. These are no easy words, nor should they be. While we are baptizing a bouncy, beautiful baby boy today, we are not just Christening him or giving thanks for gift of his life. No, we are baptizing Wells into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a mysterious Sacrament of grace which marks him forever. We are claiming the promises of Christ’s baptismal covenant of new life for Wells, believing that he belongs to God, and promising by the power of the Spirit to help him know what that means. This is serious business. As we read this text I hope you will think with me about what it means for Wells to be baptized into the boldly forgiving kind of Christian life described by Jesus.
Much of the New Testament is composed of letters to the churches, so I asked the parents of Wells, both of them pastors you know, and the godfather of Wells, pastor-theologian-physician Richard, to write letters to Wells for this day. These letters, while addressed to Wells, are written to encourage each of you in your faith – to live out your baptismal promises with the confidence, the courage, and the compassion of the children of God. Listen now for what the Spirit is saying to her church:
Matthew 5:38-48
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;
40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;
41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
42 Give to everyone who begs from you,
and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Dear Wells,
There’s this Lee Ann Womack song that brings tears to your mom as it expresses the hopes of a mother that her children will not choose to sit out on the hard parts of life, but will choose to dance. She hopes you will never “fear the mountains in the distance nor settle for the path of least resistance.”
Your mom picks you up and you dance with her now every time that song plays. You have no choice. She holds you close and you are safe and you participate in the dance. You also join in the dance of life with her, trusting her to carry and protect you, which is all you can do right now. She wants you to know that in baptism it is God holding you close. God is your protector. God is the One with whom you dance. You will be safe in God’s arms – no matter the dance – and she prays that when you are older you will continue to dance with God, choosing to follow along the narrow, more challenging steps.
She wants you to choose the path of peace, to turn your back on the ways of the world, to undermine that power of an evil-doer by not dancing his violent dance or playing his game of give and take, which is mostly about taking and not giving. She wants you to go the extra mile and to love your enemy, and she charges you with this, knowing that it is a dangerous way to live. But she has the courage to tell you this, even after she and your dad waited for you for two long years, because of her faith in Jesus Christ and her belief that the life of Christ is greater than anything death can toss at us.
Your father wants you to know that Christ calls you to turn away from a worldview that says some people are more valuable than others. Turn away from a world that seeks vengeance and fights fire with fire. Turn away from a world that is cowardly in confronting injustice. Power should be exercised for people. Christ calls you, your dad says, to a third way – to fight fire with water. You are part of the sacred drama that celebrates love over hate, mercy over vengeance, and abundance over scarcity.
Your name Wellspring points to this third way of neither being in the world – neither being a doormat for abusers nor playing the game of abusing. A wellspring is a gathering place, a place where life flourishes, where thirst is quenched and the earth blooms. At the wellspring all are welcome, generosity flows, and peace reigns.
You dad says that none of us can undertake this third way of being in the world, this way Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount until we see the wideness of God’s mercy and the abundance of God’s love. He challenges you to be generous with your love, forgiveness, and prayers because in God you will see that there is enough sun and rain for everyone, enough mercy for the righteous and the unrighteous.
Finally Wells, your Godparents, Richard and I, want you to know that while it seems ridiculous that Jesus would tell us to be perfect as God our Father in heaven is perfect, we want you to know, that it is in your baptism that this is possible. In your baptism into the life and death and resurrection of Christ that you are given power to become the person God made you to be, a person like Christ. In your baptism, you are given transformative power to become compassionate toward evil people, like Christ was. In your baptism you are given diplomatic power to love enemies as he did. In your baptism you are given creative, non-violent power to undermine the ruthlessness of those who would seek to do you harm.
In your baptism, you are given new life – Christ’s life. In your baptism, you are called to die to the power-mongering ways of the world. This life is both a gift of grace and a challenging call to a new way of being. A gift and a call. It is a life that that is giving and forgiving toward all, in sync with the footsteps of Christ.
Wells, you are called now to the dance of your life with none other than the Lord of the Dance. Your parents will carry you on this dance floor for a while, but little by little, you will begin taking your own steps in the dance. And one day, when you are a teenager, you will be asked to confirm your intention to continue the dance with Christ that you started with your family. You have many people in your life – Mason and Fields, your parents, your grandparents, and many church family members from your two churches. They can show you a few steps of the dance. Learn from them. But above all, remember the One who is the Lord of the Dance, who is the Prince of Peace, who is your Lord and your Savior, Jesus Christ, into whose life and death you are baptized. Remember that God’s overflowing love is the wellspring of your life, the wisdom by which you live. And the Spirit of peace will make you a channel of her peace and you will live into your name, Wellspring.
Let us now pray as we sing. “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Relational Integrity
Matthew 5:21-30
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
In a gated country club neighborhood in Tampa a couple of weeks ago, a soccer mom named Julie Schenecker did the unthinkable to her talented, well-respected children 13 and 16. They were “mouthy” she said in her confession. We shudder with horror at a mother who could be so sick and so violent and then cover them with blankets. And Jesus tells us if we are angry with a brother or sister, we are liable to the same judgment as a murderer? Whoa!
Then he goes on to say that the flicker of lust running through your mind when a good-looking body walks through the room is the same as adultery. What does Jesus mean with these analogies? When he says, “You have heard it said, but I say to you…” he is connecting with the Ten Commandments and other law which his Jewish followers would have understood. He then turns the law, such that no one can boast of perfection. No one can judge another. He calls the disciples to look beyond the letter of the law to the meaning behind the law.
He teaches about relational integrity, about the fulfillment of the law, not cheap obedience. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is making it even more difficult to follow the rules. However, the teachings of Jesus in the gospel passage for this Sunday are not intended to create more external laws. They are not intended to create self-loathing and despondency. He is showing us the way to transcend legalism with love, with integrity. The gospel is not as much about rules, as about relationship. Relational integrity – the law of love.
Hear this week’s portion of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:21-37 (NRSV)
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.'
22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
Now hear The Message translation by Eugene Peterson:
21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.'
22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
23 "This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you,
24 abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
25 "Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail.
26 If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine.
27 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' 28 But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29 "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile.
30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
How many times have we judged a murderer and not considered our own mis-management of anger? Anger is a legitimate emotion. Anger needs expression, but dispassionate, careful expression. Anger is like a deadly chemical. If you have a dangerous substance in a container and the container is open, you know better than to sling it around carelessly. No, instead, if you need to dispose of a deadly substance, you would carry it carefully to the trash or sink or some other safe place and dispose of it. This careful management of anger must be practiced repetitively. From the time we are young, through the teen years and early adulthood, and even to old age, we are called to practice self-control and care-filled expression of anger. And when we blow it, we need to beg forgiveness for our weakness.
Speak your truth assertively, not aggressively, with intent to improve the relationship. Anger mis-handled is a deadly fire, whether someone is killed literally or whether a relationship is dis-figured or destroyed. “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” So says a Chinese proverb. And it is true that being patient for a moment, breathing and allowing God’s Spirit to enter your spirit more fully, will allow you to deal more creatively with your anger. There is not a person here who has managed anger well in every circumstance. You’ve lost your temper and said things that were damaging. Or you’ve held your tongue but let bitterness creep in and destroy your spiritual life. “Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words” Dr. Joyce Brothers
Anger management begins with your healthy relationship with God, where you know you are accepted and loved and forgiven. In that secure place, you can breathe deeply of God’s Spirit and discover the self-control to love and forgive others, while expressing your anger in ways that are fruitful, not fateful. “When you are offended at any one's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.” (Epicletus, Greek philosopher)
Jesus speaks of being angry with a sister and brother, meaning the family of faith. “Who is my brother or my mother but those who do the will of my Father in heaven” Jesus says in the Gospels (Matthew 12 and Luke 8). So for Jesus this new life in the Spirit of God requires treating people with utmost respect and dignity – not just obeying law, but fulfilling the intent of the law. The letter of the law says do not murder but the intent of the law is that every person be given the love, dignity, and respect of a child of God.
The essential teachings of Jesus challenged the way the Pharisees had replaced the essential interiority of a relationship with God and a covenant written on the heart and not in stone (Jer 31:31) with external legalism. The church took the Gospel of those challenges by Jesus and sometimes turns them into external legalism once again! Jesus came to restore our inner being, so that our outer behavior would be a true sign of an inward relational integrity. But we are still tempted to just look at the external rules, the law. Oh, how we love the law, especially when we can point a finger at others.
We fluctuate between wanting to live according to the love of law or the law of love. Sadly we impose the love of law on others as we see them breaking rules that we consider ourselves capable of keeping, and then we want others to use of the law of love with us. Because after all, we have our excuses for why we behaved irresponsibly, so they should understand our circumstances.
The Peace Prayer, attributed to St Francis’ of the 12th Century says it, O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
In our Couples Enrichment Class we were reminded of this week of the value of listening with true effort to understand – by clarifying, by paying close attention with eyes and ears, body language – by caring enough to attend to the one who is talking. And the talker being respectful enough not to talk constantly but checking with the listener to see if it is a good time to talk. How many relationships could be improved simply by the desire and the sincere effort to understand first, rather than to be understood!
Now moving on to the adultery challenge of Jesus in this passage, let me tell you the story of Saint Martinian of the 5th Century, who had lived alone for 25 years but one night in a storm, allowed a frightened prostitute in for safety. Then she began to seduce him. He did not pluck out his right eye, but he made a fire and then stood in it to avoid being tempted. This radical act of courage apparently not only guarded him from temptation but transformed her life as well.
I must admit that for years, I as a woman, not nearly so tempted by sight as most of you men, have always felt a certain self-righteousness regarding this verse about lust. But as I worked on the sermon this week, I wondered if Jesus’ word to people like me would be some sort of challenge about the infidelity of criticism. After all, a critical spouse can little by little do as much damage to marital health as a wandering eye. How many people – male or female – can sustain love when their spouse is never pleased, never affirming of anything? Seek to love, more than to be loved. Tomorrow’s the big love day – the feast of St Valentine, but for so many people, it will be about receiving love more than giving love. Seek to understand, not to find fault. Give affirmation tomorrow to someone – to a spouse or to another family member or to someone in this church family. Give the gift of affirmation or the supreme gift of forgiveness.
Jesus must surely be sad with how quickly we want to take people to court to resolve conflict. “Come to terms quickly” Jesus says before you get to court. Understand your accuser’s accusations. Be humble enough to receive them and learn from them. Understand your brother or sister’s ridiculousness and refrain from calling him or her stupid. Understand the bad driver on the road and be merciful. Have you not made a careless move before and cut someone off accidently? Be merciful toward a woman like Julie Scheneker because you understand that mental illness is complicated and that raising teens is often like mixing dangerous chemicals. Extreme care needed. Judge not, but seek to understand. Yes, use the court system when it is truly needed but try to resolve conflicts in better ways.
After all, God, our loving Creator, made us all to be loving, kind, and forgiving, just like Jesus. We are all created with the capacity to pray as Christ did from the cross he did not deserve “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Lord, forgive Julie Scheneker, for she knew not what she was doing.” Forgive my wife or husband, my brother, my daughter, my neighbor, my fellow church member, for they know not what they are doing. Help me to understand, more than be understood.
Let us pray: God, you tell us not to come to You with our offerings until we have made peace with those who might have something against us. So we pause now, as we should every Sunday when we hear the assurance of forgiveness and share the peace with one another. We pause now to ask you, “With whom, Lord, do we need to make amends? To whom have we been unkind? Unforgiving? Unfaithful? Critical? Hurtful? We give your Spirit time now to bring healing, as we breathe in the power and love your forgiveness. We thank you for receiving us as we are and desiring more faithfulness from us, while you pour out your faithful love on us. Speak to us now and show us the people with whom we need repair relationships…. We begin today by praying for them, you would heal them and that You would pave the way for our reconciliation. We will not rush into reconciliation casually, but prayerfully, asking for your guidance, making covenant to pray to you daily for the healing of this relationship. Give us the courage to seek the help of pastors, spiritual directors or mental health counselors who can guide us toward resolution in our troubled conflicts. Give us the courage to work actively and prayerfully with sincere humility and integrity to build the reconciliation you desire. Through Christ, our Savior, who forgave us our sin as he entered it with us and for us. Amen.
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
In a gated country club neighborhood in Tampa a couple of weeks ago, a soccer mom named Julie Schenecker did the unthinkable to her talented, well-respected children 13 and 16. They were “mouthy” she said in her confession. We shudder with horror at a mother who could be so sick and so violent and then cover them with blankets. And Jesus tells us if we are angry with a brother or sister, we are liable to the same judgment as a murderer? Whoa!
Then he goes on to say that the flicker of lust running through your mind when a good-looking body walks through the room is the same as adultery. What does Jesus mean with these analogies? When he says, “You have heard it said, but I say to you…” he is connecting with the Ten Commandments and other law which his Jewish followers would have understood. He then turns the law, such that no one can boast of perfection. No one can judge another. He calls the disciples to look beyond the letter of the law to the meaning behind the law.
He teaches about relational integrity, about the fulfillment of the law, not cheap obedience. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is making it even more difficult to follow the rules. However, the teachings of Jesus in the gospel passage for this Sunday are not intended to create more external laws. They are not intended to create self-loathing and despondency. He is showing us the way to transcend legalism with love, with integrity. The gospel is not as much about rules, as about relationship. Relational integrity – the law of love.
Hear this week’s portion of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:21-37 (NRSV)
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.'
22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
Now hear The Message translation by Eugene Peterson:
21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.'
22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
23 "This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you,
24 abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
25 "Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail.
26 If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine.
27 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' 28 But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29 "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile.
30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
How many times have we judged a murderer and not considered our own mis-management of anger? Anger is a legitimate emotion. Anger needs expression, but dispassionate, careful expression. Anger is like a deadly chemical. If you have a dangerous substance in a container and the container is open, you know better than to sling it around carelessly. No, instead, if you need to dispose of a deadly substance, you would carry it carefully to the trash or sink or some other safe place and dispose of it. This careful management of anger must be practiced repetitively. From the time we are young, through the teen years and early adulthood, and even to old age, we are called to practice self-control and care-filled expression of anger. And when we blow it, we need to beg forgiveness for our weakness.
Speak your truth assertively, not aggressively, with intent to improve the relationship. Anger mis-handled is a deadly fire, whether someone is killed literally or whether a relationship is dis-figured or destroyed. “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” So says a Chinese proverb. And it is true that being patient for a moment, breathing and allowing God’s Spirit to enter your spirit more fully, will allow you to deal more creatively with your anger. There is not a person here who has managed anger well in every circumstance. You’ve lost your temper and said things that were damaging. Or you’ve held your tongue but let bitterness creep in and destroy your spiritual life. “Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words” Dr. Joyce Brothers
Anger management begins with your healthy relationship with God, where you know you are accepted and loved and forgiven. In that secure place, you can breathe deeply of God’s Spirit and discover the self-control to love and forgive others, while expressing your anger in ways that are fruitful, not fateful. “When you are offended at any one's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.” (Epicletus, Greek philosopher)
Jesus speaks of being angry with a sister and brother, meaning the family of faith. “Who is my brother or my mother but those who do the will of my Father in heaven” Jesus says in the Gospels (Matthew 12 and Luke 8). So for Jesus this new life in the Spirit of God requires treating people with utmost respect and dignity – not just obeying law, but fulfilling the intent of the law. The letter of the law says do not murder but the intent of the law is that every person be given the love, dignity, and respect of a child of God.
The essential teachings of Jesus challenged the way the Pharisees had replaced the essential interiority of a relationship with God and a covenant written on the heart and not in stone (Jer 31:31) with external legalism. The church took the Gospel of those challenges by Jesus and sometimes turns them into external legalism once again! Jesus came to restore our inner being, so that our outer behavior would be a true sign of an inward relational integrity. But we are still tempted to just look at the external rules, the law. Oh, how we love the law, especially when we can point a finger at others.
We fluctuate between wanting to live according to the love of law or the law of love. Sadly we impose the love of law on others as we see them breaking rules that we consider ourselves capable of keeping, and then we want others to use of the law of love with us. Because after all, we have our excuses for why we behaved irresponsibly, so they should understand our circumstances.
The Peace Prayer, attributed to St Francis’ of the 12th Century says it, O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
In our Couples Enrichment Class we were reminded of this week of the value of listening with true effort to understand – by clarifying, by paying close attention with eyes and ears, body language – by caring enough to attend to the one who is talking. And the talker being respectful enough not to talk constantly but checking with the listener to see if it is a good time to talk. How many relationships could be improved simply by the desire and the sincere effort to understand first, rather than to be understood!
Now moving on to the adultery challenge of Jesus in this passage, let me tell you the story of Saint Martinian of the 5th Century, who had lived alone for 25 years but one night in a storm, allowed a frightened prostitute in for safety. Then she began to seduce him. He did not pluck out his right eye, but he made a fire and then stood in it to avoid being tempted. This radical act of courage apparently not only guarded him from temptation but transformed her life as well.
I must admit that for years, I as a woman, not nearly so tempted by sight as most of you men, have always felt a certain self-righteousness regarding this verse about lust. But as I worked on the sermon this week, I wondered if Jesus’ word to people like me would be some sort of challenge about the infidelity of criticism. After all, a critical spouse can little by little do as much damage to marital health as a wandering eye. How many people – male or female – can sustain love when their spouse is never pleased, never affirming of anything? Seek to love, more than to be loved. Tomorrow’s the big love day – the feast of St Valentine, but for so many people, it will be about receiving love more than giving love. Seek to understand, not to find fault. Give affirmation tomorrow to someone – to a spouse or to another family member or to someone in this church family. Give the gift of affirmation or the supreme gift of forgiveness.
Jesus must surely be sad with how quickly we want to take people to court to resolve conflict. “Come to terms quickly” Jesus says before you get to court. Understand your accuser’s accusations. Be humble enough to receive them and learn from them. Understand your brother or sister’s ridiculousness and refrain from calling him or her stupid. Understand the bad driver on the road and be merciful. Have you not made a careless move before and cut someone off accidently? Be merciful toward a woman like Julie Scheneker because you understand that mental illness is complicated and that raising teens is often like mixing dangerous chemicals. Extreme care needed. Judge not, but seek to understand. Yes, use the court system when it is truly needed but try to resolve conflicts in better ways.
After all, God, our loving Creator, made us all to be loving, kind, and forgiving, just like Jesus. We are all created with the capacity to pray as Christ did from the cross he did not deserve “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Lord, forgive Julie Scheneker, for she knew not what she was doing.” Forgive my wife or husband, my brother, my daughter, my neighbor, my fellow church member, for they know not what they are doing. Help me to understand, more than be understood.
Let us pray: God, you tell us not to come to You with our offerings until we have made peace with those who might have something against us. So we pause now, as we should every Sunday when we hear the assurance of forgiveness and share the peace with one another. We pause now to ask you, “With whom, Lord, do we need to make amends? To whom have we been unkind? Unforgiving? Unfaithful? Critical? Hurtful? We give your Spirit time now to bring healing, as we breathe in the power and love your forgiveness. We thank you for receiving us as we are and desiring more faithfulness from us, while you pour out your faithful love on us. Speak to us now and show us the people with whom we need repair relationships…. We begin today by praying for them, you would heal them and that You would pave the way for our reconciliation. We will not rush into reconciliation casually, but prayerfully, asking for your guidance, making covenant to pray to you daily for the healing of this relationship. Give us the courage to seek the help of pastors, spiritual directors or mental health counselors who can guide us toward resolution in our troubled conflicts. Give us the courage to work actively and prayerfully with sincere humility and integrity to build the reconciliation you desire. Through Christ, our Savior, who forgave us our sin as he entered it with us and for us. Amen.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Flavorful and Bright
Matthew 5:13-20
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Prayer: Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light,in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For two weeks, the Packers and the Steelers have been running plays, analyzing the other team via video, sorting through strengths and weaknesses and preparing a strategy to win the biggest game of the year. They tried to eat well and rest well, and today, the two coaches will do all in their power to inspire the team with words about who they are. We will make them play our game. We can do this! Locker room pep talks – who are we, what will we do, and how will we do it.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ pep talk with the disciples. We read the opening words last week, the Beatitudes, which encourage the disciples not to get discouraged. They might be suffering. They might be persecuted, but they are going to win the game of life, according to Jesus. They will be blessed. They will rejoice. They will have the trophy of eternal life.
And in our reading today, Jesus declares them to be salt of the earth and light of the world. Now remember that in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the light of the world. But here in Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples that they are the light of the world.
The task of bringing flavor to the world was not a new one for Israel. Often they were reminded to preserve their offerings with salt and that their children were the salt of the covenant, as is preserving the covenant. As for light, they had long regarded God as the source of light – Psalm 27 – You are my light and my salvation. And Psalm 119: Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Isaiah spoke of the Servant of Yahweh, who was to be a light to the nations through redemptive servanthood (Is. 42:6: 49:6). Paul mentions in Romans 2, the notion that God’s people are a light to those in darkness. In Philippians 2he challenges them to shine like starts.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to her church:
Matthew 5:13-20
"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 under foot.
Salt -- In rabbinic language, salt connoted wisdom and value. Today, salt adds flavor to food, cures food, creates traction on icy roads, and can serve as an antiseptic in wounds. While salt is an inexpensive commodity now, it was considered very valuable until the mid 19th century. Without it, meats and fish would spoil, and infections would worsen. Salt is part of our blood chemistry to regulate our retention of fluid.
14 "You are the light of the world.
A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,
but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Light -- Jesus' listeners, living in the context of Roman domination, would probably have known that Rome saw itself as a "light to the world." Jesus' message to the disciples is that living by the Beatitudes is a light to the world, not living by an imperial domination system of Rome. The disciples are to take on the mission of the Servant of Yahweh from Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, to be a light to the nations. The statement that they are to give light to all in the house is probably, for Matthew, a reference to the reformation of Judaism from within.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets;
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not one letter, not one stroke of a letter,
will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore, whoever 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 does them and teaches them
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." This word you is emphatic in both verses. The intent may be to contrast these Christians with their counterparts in the synagogue down the street. There is an implied imperative in both indicative statements. "Be salt. Be light. Be who you already have been called to be and are capable, by the power of God, of being in and for the world."
To be light is to participate in the identity of Christ, to reflect back his glory. While the rabbis saw Torah as mediator of God's light, Christians ascribed this role to Jesus. "I am the light of the world" (Jn. 8:12). Paul affirmed that he glimpsed the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6) as we will affirm in our call to discipleship later in the service. It is a waste of precious oil to light a lamp and then immediately to douse it, quickly putting it under a basket.
When Jesus tells his disciples to "be salt," he is drawing on a number of Old Testament uses for salt -- seasoning, preservation, and purifying (2 Kg. 2:19-22). It was used to ratify covenants (Num. 18:29; 2 Chr. 13:5) and in liturgical functions (Ex. 30:35; Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24; Ezra 6:9). To eat salt with someone signified a bond of friendship and loyalty (Ezra 4:14; Acts 1:4). Salt scattered on a conquered city reinforced its devastation (Jg. 9:45). Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt because she disobeyed and looked back as God’s holy fire was purifying Sodom and Gomorrah. Definitely saw too much of God and became too much salt.
Scholars have puzzled over whether salt can lose it flavor. Since salt is a very stable, non-reactive compound, the only way it can lose its flavor is by being diluted with water. Maybe coming coming on the heels of Jesus' exhortation to rejoice when persecuted in the Beattitudes, this is a warning to the disciples not to let their ardor (their spiciness) dissipate under the pressures of persecution. The word for "Lose its flavor" can also be rendered "become foolish." There may be a sense that if the disciples allow their wisdom (salt) to be diluted by the values of the surrounding culture, it will be indistinguishable from them and therefore worthless. Its ability to season, preserve, and purify will be lost.
Is it not interesting that the phrase "salt of the earth" has become a way of saying "really good person." When we say, they are the "salt of the earth," we mean they have good values and are people of integrity. But when Jesus hands us our receipt and says, "Go be salt," he means something much more specific and sacrificial.
Salt and Light for the Whole World. Jesus' teachings in the Sermon are directed far beyond the narrow circle of the disciples themselves. We are to be salt and light for the whole world, not just a shaker of salt in the center of the kitchen table. Not just keeping the lease paid and the church popcorn at Movie Night flavorful, but going out from here to sprinkle salt here and there. Now if you dump too much salt in one spot, you get a bad taste. Think of the evangelist who knocks on your door and wants you to get saved right then and there, in just the way he thinks you should be saved. Dumping salt. But a kind conversation here and there with the neighbor with an occasional invitation to participate in a church activity – that’s spreading salt in the world. These verses are intimately connected to the end of Matthew, the Great Commission. They are calling us, Peace, to be flavorful and spicy enough to create some interest, and to be light for people overwhelmed by darkness.
Salt and Light Give Glory to God, Not Ourselves. The goal of being salt and light is to give glory to "your Father in heaven" (see 5:17, 6:9, 11:25). These two metaphors are perfect for depicting a ministry that points beyond itself to God. Salt shouldn't call attention to itself in a well-seasoned dish. It enhances the combination of other ingredients. Light illumines other objects in the room beyond itself.
So we really return to the idea that we are reflecting the image of Christ, who is the true salt (substitute preserver) and the true light. Jesus lived so completely for us that his righteousness became ours. We take it on as gift and grace, particularly when the law, as Jesus interprets for us in the Sermon on the Mount, is clearly not something we can fulfill perfectly. How could our righteousness ever exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees? Only by the brightness of Christ’s face shining through us, such that all that is seen is Christ, not us. And then we are truly blessed and are able to be evermore perfectly, the salt and the light that God made us to be, adding flavor and illumination to all of life.
And so Team Peace, get out of this locker room called church and go play the game of life in the world with confidence. You are salt. You are light. Remember what we practiced last week -- Doing justice. Loving kindness. Walking humbly with God. Doing. Being. Bowing. Remember that it is your job to show all the world, just how tasty our Lord is. Be flavorful Christians, not bland like milk toast. Give the world something to sink their teeth into, something that will get their mouths watering. Don’t try to cover your light, thinking that by shining brightly you will offend someone. Be the light shining in darkness and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, just like a solar light must receive power from light to give forth light, you too must receive your brightness by your closeness to Christ.
All right, Team Peace. You are salt and light. You’re going into the world with it. Not too much salt in one spot – shake some here and some there. And whatever you do, don’t cover your Christ light. Got the game plan? All hands in. “Let’s go – on three. 1, 2, 3 – “Let’s go!” Where are you going? “To the world.” What are you taking there? “Salt and Light.”
Parts of the middle of this sermon are adapted from came from this writer on Textweek.com:
Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She blogs at Knack for Noticing. McKenzie's column, "Edgy Exegesis," is published every Monday on the Preachers Portal.
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Prayer: Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light,in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For two weeks, the Packers and the Steelers have been running plays, analyzing the other team via video, sorting through strengths and weaknesses and preparing a strategy to win the biggest game of the year. They tried to eat well and rest well, and today, the two coaches will do all in their power to inspire the team with words about who they are. We will make them play our game. We can do this! Locker room pep talks – who are we, what will we do, and how will we do it.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ pep talk with the disciples. We read the opening words last week, the Beatitudes, which encourage the disciples not to get discouraged. They might be suffering. They might be persecuted, but they are going to win the game of life, according to Jesus. They will be blessed. They will rejoice. They will have the trophy of eternal life.
And in our reading today, Jesus declares them to be salt of the earth and light of the world. Now remember that in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the light of the world. But here in Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples that they are the light of the world.
The task of bringing flavor to the world was not a new one for Israel. Often they were reminded to preserve their offerings with salt and that their children were the salt of the covenant, as is preserving the covenant. As for light, they had long regarded God as the source of light – Psalm 27 – You are my light and my salvation. And Psalm 119: Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Isaiah spoke of the Servant of Yahweh, who was to be a light to the nations through redemptive servanthood (Is. 42:6: 49:6). Paul mentions in Romans 2, the notion that God’s people are a light to those in darkness. In Philippians 2he challenges them to shine like starts.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to her church:
Matthew 5:13-20
"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 under foot.
Salt -- In rabbinic language, salt connoted wisdom and value. Today, salt adds flavor to food, cures food, creates traction on icy roads, and can serve as an antiseptic in wounds. While salt is an inexpensive commodity now, it was considered very valuable until the mid 19th century. Without it, meats and fish would spoil, and infections would worsen. Salt is part of our blood chemistry to regulate our retention of fluid.
14 "You are the light of the world.
A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,
but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Light -- Jesus' listeners, living in the context of Roman domination, would probably have known that Rome saw itself as a "light to the world." Jesus' message to the disciples is that living by the Beatitudes is a light to the world, not living by an imperial domination system of Rome. The disciples are to take on the mission of the Servant of Yahweh from Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, to be a light to the nations. The statement that they are to give light to all in the house is probably, for Matthew, a reference to the reformation of Judaism from within.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets;
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not one letter, not one stroke of a letter,
will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore, whoever 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 does them and teaches them
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." This word you is emphatic in both verses. The intent may be to contrast these Christians with their counterparts in the synagogue down the street. There is an implied imperative in both indicative statements. "Be salt. Be light. Be who you already have been called to be and are capable, by the power of God, of being in and for the world."
To be light is to participate in the identity of Christ, to reflect back his glory. While the rabbis saw Torah as mediator of God's light, Christians ascribed this role to Jesus. "I am the light of the world" (Jn. 8:12). Paul affirmed that he glimpsed the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6) as we will affirm in our call to discipleship later in the service. It is a waste of precious oil to light a lamp and then immediately to douse it, quickly putting it under a basket.
When Jesus tells his disciples to "be salt," he is drawing on a number of Old Testament uses for salt -- seasoning, preservation, and purifying (2 Kg. 2:19-22). It was used to ratify covenants (Num. 18:29; 2 Chr. 13:5) and in liturgical functions (Ex. 30:35; Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24; Ezra 6:9). To eat salt with someone signified a bond of friendship and loyalty (Ezra 4:14; Acts 1:4). Salt scattered on a conquered city reinforced its devastation (Jg. 9:45). Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt because she disobeyed and looked back as God’s holy fire was purifying Sodom and Gomorrah. Definitely saw too much of God and became too much salt.
Scholars have puzzled over whether salt can lose it flavor. Since salt is a very stable, non-reactive compound, the only way it can lose its flavor is by being diluted with water. Maybe coming coming on the heels of Jesus' exhortation to rejoice when persecuted in the Beattitudes, this is a warning to the disciples not to let their ardor (their spiciness) dissipate under the pressures of persecution. The word for "Lose its flavor" can also be rendered "become foolish." There may be a sense that if the disciples allow their wisdom (salt) to be diluted by the values of the surrounding culture, it will be indistinguishable from them and therefore worthless. Its ability to season, preserve, and purify will be lost.
Is it not interesting that the phrase "salt of the earth" has become a way of saying "really good person." When we say, they are the "salt of the earth," we mean they have good values and are people of integrity. But when Jesus hands us our receipt and says, "Go be salt," he means something much more specific and sacrificial.
Salt and Light for the Whole World. Jesus' teachings in the Sermon are directed far beyond the narrow circle of the disciples themselves. We are to be salt and light for the whole world, not just a shaker of salt in the center of the kitchen table. Not just keeping the lease paid and the church popcorn at Movie Night flavorful, but going out from here to sprinkle salt here and there. Now if you dump too much salt in one spot, you get a bad taste. Think of the evangelist who knocks on your door and wants you to get saved right then and there, in just the way he thinks you should be saved. Dumping salt. But a kind conversation here and there with the neighbor with an occasional invitation to participate in a church activity – that’s spreading salt in the world. These verses are intimately connected to the end of Matthew, the Great Commission. They are calling us, Peace, to be flavorful and spicy enough to create some interest, and to be light for people overwhelmed by darkness.
Salt and Light Give Glory to God, Not Ourselves. The goal of being salt and light is to give glory to "your Father in heaven" (see 5:17, 6:9, 11:25). These two metaphors are perfect for depicting a ministry that points beyond itself to God. Salt shouldn't call attention to itself in a well-seasoned dish. It enhances the combination of other ingredients. Light illumines other objects in the room beyond itself.
So we really return to the idea that we are reflecting the image of Christ, who is the true salt (substitute preserver) and the true light. Jesus lived so completely for us that his righteousness became ours. We take it on as gift and grace, particularly when the law, as Jesus interprets for us in the Sermon on the Mount, is clearly not something we can fulfill perfectly. How could our righteousness ever exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees? Only by the brightness of Christ’s face shining through us, such that all that is seen is Christ, not us. And then we are truly blessed and are able to be evermore perfectly, the salt and the light that God made us to be, adding flavor and illumination to all of life.
And so Team Peace, get out of this locker room called church and go play the game of life in the world with confidence. You are salt. You are light. Remember what we practiced last week -- Doing justice. Loving kindness. Walking humbly with God. Doing. Being. Bowing. Remember that it is your job to show all the world, just how tasty our Lord is. Be flavorful Christians, not bland like milk toast. Give the world something to sink their teeth into, something that will get their mouths watering. Don’t try to cover your light, thinking that by shining brightly you will offend someone. Be the light shining in darkness and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, just like a solar light must receive power from light to give forth light, you too must receive your brightness by your closeness to Christ.
All right, Team Peace. You are salt and light. You’re going into the world with it. Not too much salt in one spot – shake some here and some there. And whatever you do, don’t cover your Christ light. Got the game plan? All hands in. “Let’s go – on three. 1, 2, 3 – “Let’s go!” Where are you going? “To the world.” What are you taking there? “Salt and Light.”
Parts of the middle of this sermon are adapted from came from this writer on Textweek.com:
Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She blogs at Knack for Noticing. McKenzie's column, "Edgy Exegesis," is published every Monday on the Preachers Portal.
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