Agents of Light and Saltiness for God’s Realm—Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 5A (Matthew 5)

Matthew 5:13-20 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹³ “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.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it 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.

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.

**************

                The season that comes after the Day of Epiphany continues to proclaim that the Light of God’s presence continues to shine into the darkness of our world. It is a light revealed in Jesus that his followers are tasked with sharing with the world. The Sermon on the Mount, the larger passage in which our reading for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany falls, reveals how God’s people are called to be both salt and light, and in doing so we embody the word of God’s Law and Prophets. As we have already acknowledged the previous week, the Sermon on the Mount begins with a set of beatitudes—words of blessing (Matthew 5:1-12).  These beatitudes have inspired and confounded people for centuries (including many Christians). With these words, Jesus declares what it means to be blessed by God. 

                Having pondered these words of blessing, now we are invited to ponder what it means to be agents of righteousness. That is, what does it mean to be salt and light on the earth?  The Beatitudes, as Stanley Saunders suggests, are the practices that express God’s righteousness. They are expressions of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and justice. Saunders writes that “this righteousness is the sum of our relationships, restored to their God-intended blessedness completed by grace and mercy” [Feasting on the Gospels—Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary, p. 90]. This is the form of righteousness that will, according to Jesus, surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees. 

                Early on in the Sermon on the Mount, it becomes clear that God is committed to achieving mercy and justice on earth. The sermon, along with Jesus’ larger ministry reveals that God is concerned about those who are marginalized by society. We see this present in the Beatitudes, but it is a message that emanates from the message that Jesus isn’t abolishing the Law and the Prophets. In doing this, Jesus demonstrates his commitment to being an agent of God’s righteousness in the world, a righteousness that had already been revealed in the Scriptures (Law and the Prophets). It might appear at times that Jesus breaks the Law or sets it aside, but that, according to Matthew, would be a misreading of Jesus’ ministry. He might interpret the Law and the Prophets differently from the religious leadership, but he had no intention of abrogating the message of Scripture. Thus, the Law will not pass away. However, it may need to be reframed and reinterpreted so that it more clearly reflects God’s intentions. So, rather than loosen things up, he calls on his followers to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees. When we hear this word about the Scribes and Pharisees, who are often pitted against Jesus in the Gospels, it’s important to remember that this should not be understood in terms of Jewish-Christian conflict, but rather as differences of emphasis within ancient Judaism.  So, in Matthew’s telling of the story of Jesus, in this sermon, Jesus makes it clear that the Law and the Prophets are the foundation upon which Jesus will set out his vision of justice and mercy. It is in the context that we can understand what Jesus means when he calls for his disciples to be agents of salt and light in the world. 

                In our passage, Jesus turns to two images to express what it means to live the kingdom life. These images are salt and light. The latter, of course, reflects the larger message of Epiphany. So, just as Jesus brings God’s light into the world, his followers are to be bearers of that light to the world. 

                The first image is that of salt. I live in a region where salt is used to clear off snow and ice from roads and sidewalks. While it is corrosive it also melts snow and ice. But that’s not the primary use in the ancient world. In the context of our reading, Jesus envisions the use of salt as a preservative. While salt is still used as a preservative, refrigeration has made this use less necessary.  In the ancient world, salt was used to cure food, especially meat, so that it wouldn’t spoil. In fact, even today sodium is used in most processed foods to extend the life of the food. In fact, it’s so prevalent in our foods that many of us are encouraged to reduce our salt intake. Of course, salt is also used to add flavor or enhance the flavors already present in our foods. We see both preservative agency and flavor enhancement present in Jesus’ message concerning our calling to be salt.

                It’s worth noting that in the ancient world, salt was very precious. It was good as gold and often functioned as a mode of financial exchange. It was something that would be traded. It also had liturgical use. As we come to this part of Jesus’ sermon, we hear him telling us that because we are salt, then we should enhance and enliven the lives around us. If we don’t use this gift, that is, if we’re not enhancing the lives around us, then we’ve lost our purpose as followers of Jesus. Jesus goes as far as issuing a word of judgment upon those who have lost their savor.

                Not only does Jesus call on his followers to be salt, but he also calls on us to be agents of light. If we’re agents of light, then we must let the light shine. That’s our calling as disciples of Jesus. He invites us to think of ourselves as a city on a hill. The light that emanates from a city serves as a beacon to travelers. When you see the light, you know that safety is close at hand. If, as followers of Jesus, we are agents of light (that’s the nature of our identity as Christians) then we shouldn’t hide that light under a bushel basket. To do so is rather absurd. If you put the light under a bushel basket the light is covered and could be extinguished. So, let it shine. As the children’s song declares, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” The point here is that if we hide the light, then we defeat its purpose. So, let the light shine! 

                When taken together this word about salt and light, speaks of our usefulness as part of the people of God. Christopher T. Jones points out that “Like light, the image of salt pertains not only to the particularity of the disciples but also to their usefulness. Just as salt left in a container becomes ineffective, so too a basket renders a lit lamp inept.” [Connections, WJK Press. Kindle Edition.] Thus, Jesus tells his audience that to be salt and light is to be useful participants in God’s realm. By being salt we act as a preservative and a flavor enhancement in the world around us. As agents of light, we become beacons of God’s righteousness. It’s not a call to display our righteousness so that we might be commended by the world, but rather that we might display through our lives what it means to be one of God’s children. As Matthew Myer-Boulton notes, righteousness is not a status that we gain for ourselves, but rather is “an outworking of the stature you already enjoy.  For you are the Light of the World, the Salt of the Earth, the small and unimpressive band of brothers and sisters—reviled and persecuted—that can and must, God willing make a broad and inspiring difference” [Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1, p. 84].  

                If this is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, then we gain a better understanding of the role the Law and the prophets play in living righteously. Stanley Saunders writes concerning this reality:

The whole Law—all 613 commandments, was meant to reveal to Israel—and to enable Israel to reveal to the nations – What it means to be God’s people. To us, it seems that keeping the Law is a personal individual matter, but for Israel, and especially for Jesus, it was redemptive and revelatory expression of God’s presence in the life of the whole people of God. (Feasting on the Gospels—Matthew, Volume 1, p.  88).

He continues by noting that God intends for us to “shape a just and faithful society that would be a light to the nations” (p. 88). We are called to be salt and light, not just as individuals, but as a community of faith. God is at work shaping us into that “just and faithful society” that can serve as an agent of transformation—or to put it in Pauline terms, we have been given the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).   

            Our calling as Jesus’ disciples is to be formed into a society that will be salt and light.  It is the Law and the Prophets—as Christians, we can add the Gospels and the Letters to the mix—that God uses to form us into a just society. That is so that we can be a witness to God’s purposes for the world. That purpose involves God’s grace and mercy, of which we are called to be agents and witnesses. That is, we’re not meant to simply exist on earth, waiting until we can escape to heaven. That’s because when Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven, he understands this realm to encompass the earth. Here is where it’s worth remembering the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. In that prayer, he invited us to pray that God’s realm would come “on earth as it is in heaven.”

                As we envision the coming of God’s reign, it is appropriate that we acknowledge that it will not come to earth by way of conquest or coercion. This realm doesn’t share its identity with any nation or state. However, that doesn’t mean that the gospel doesn’t have political implications. If we live according to the righteousness of God, then we will have an impact on our context. We will be salt (flavor enhancers/preservatives) and light (revealers of what is good and right). By being salt and light, we sow seeds that lead to the transformation of the world. When we do this, we sow seeds of justice and mercy. If we’re going to be salt and light we can’t do it on our own. We need to acknowledge the importance of being in partnership with the Body of Christ, through which God is present in the world. In this, the righteousness of God is revealed.  

Hurst, Danae. Luminarias along the path, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55224 [retrieved January 31, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jadexjustice/2637698911/.