Thoughts going in, Sunday Feb 9th

Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

            This Sunday we get back on track with looking at the readings for the weeks after Epiphany (the 5th). In that regard, we continue to concentrate on the *early ministry of Jesus, and whatever "shining forth" (aka Epiphany-ish) elements that we can detect in what's going on.

            The readings themselves are now coming from what is commonly called "The Sermon on the Mount." This is one of the most studied, and most debated passages of Scripture. What is Jesus talking about in this lecture series, and who is he addressing? Is he, for instance, telling a lost & fallen world that if they would all just get their moral act together this would be a better place to live? Certainly, to the extent that a lost and fallen world might listen to anyone for advice on moral conduct.... one could do no better than to listen to and appropriate the words of the Savior. In other words, we in the Church often get upset when Jesus is thought of as merely a "good moral teacher," but the fact of the matter is that civil society needs moral norms... and if they want to get them from The Savior, then so be it.

            Having said that, it seems clear from the context that Jesus is not addressing humanity as a whole. Verses 1 & 2 of the chapter tells us: And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain; and when he was set, his disciples came unto him; 2 and he opened his mouth and taught them..(KJV).  In other words, whatever else we may want to say about the Sermon on the Mount, it is intended for 'insiders.' It is instruction for living within the baptized community.

            For me, it seems that in order to choose a thought process and stay on track with this reading, one must either go with the 1st half about salt and light (vss 13-16) or the latter half about the Law and righteousness. Having said that, I feel drawn to the first half.

            And it's here that I see important IDENTITY STATEMENTS made by Jesus to his followers (disciples then, us today). In the old KJV these are "ye are" statements. As I frequently tell my bible classes, one of the great useful features of hanging on to the old KJV is that you can tell when Jesus is addressing a group of people (ye) vs just a single person (you). So, in a passage such as this one, Jesus looks out at his congregation and he says emphatically "YE are the salt of the earth, ...and... YE are the light of the world.

            Perhaps the 1st point to note is the "already done" nature of these statements. Whether being salt & light are good things or not, Jesus says they're already accomplished facts. He's not speaking to people who *aspire to be salt & light; he is not speaking to *applicants for the position of being salt & light; he's not saying that with hard work & study we can maybe be salt & light *someday... he's STATING A PRESENT REALITY. YE ARE.

            The other thing that seems evident is that Jesus is using incredibly practical metaphors. He, for instance, does not say 'Ye are the clouds of the sky,' or 'Ye are the foamy stuff on top of the water at the beach.' SALT & LIGHT are incredibly practical, life-sustaining things. There's another interesting aspect from the text that comes to us from the Greek. When he says "ye are the salt of the earth," the word used there is 'gēs.' It could just as easily be translated as 'land.' In other words,  ye are the salt of the land. In the Semitic context, there's an immediacy to what's being said, as in, where you are right now... this hunk of ground where you're standing, the places you can see/feel/touch now... ye are the salt of that.

            But the other statement doesn't say they/we are the 'light' of the earth, land or 'gēs.' The light statement is much more broad. In the Greek it says ye are the light of the 'kosmos.' The world; but, specifically including its unseen/unknown parts.

            In other words, besides telling his disciples that they have this designation already, Jesus is specifying how these things apply. They're to be the SALT of where they are right now; preserving the good; preserving life in the faith where they are; staying true and truly occupied in terms of their internal focus. But in addition to that, they are also light for the outsiders, the kosmos.

            Jesus is taking the Old Testament ideal of what Israel was supposed to be, a called-out people in covenant relationship with God, having the preserving element of 'salt' within themselves, staying true to the covenant internally, at home, among themselves, but also being a "light to the Gentiles," a beacon of hope calling others in.... and he is applying that now in the narrow sense to his own disciples. We who bear the baptismal mark have been given this privilege and responsibility.

Cheers,

T.M.