Jesus teaches us to be Salt and Light Read Matthew 5:13-20
Today let us focus on the first three verses first and we will summarize with the entire passage
Followers of Jesus are called to be distinct, impactful agents for good in the world (salt and light) and to live out a deeper, heart-transforming righteousness that fulfills, rather than disregards, God’s law, all for God’s glory.
You are the salt of the earth.” That’s where Jesus starts this part of Matthew 5. Salt, of course, is one of the most ancient of all cooking spices and additives. Sodium chloride is the only mineral that we human beings take directly from the earth and eat. Too often salt gets a bad rap but we would die without salt. We would find a good bit of otherwise tasty food to be dull and lifeless were it not for salt. In history some cultures exchanged salt as money. The earliest roads were built to transport salt and the earliest taxes were levied on it. Wars were launched to secure salt. Salt gave Venice its start as a commercial trading empire in Europe. Salt helped Gandhi bring India to independence in the mid-twentieth century.
Like salt preserving food from decay, Christians should slow down moral and spiritual corruption in the world. When Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth, he is telling us far more than might at first think. The people who first heard Jesus say this would have thought about it quite differently.
First, it is hard for us to realize just how valuable salt was back in the time when Jesus walked the earth. Salt is so common these days. When you go to a grocery store, chances are that salt will be one of the cheaper things that you buy. But that was not the case in Jesus’ time. Salt was much harder to obtain back then. And much more valuable because of its value as a preservative. Before there was electricity and refrigerators, salt was one of the main ways to preserve food. In fact, salt was so valuable in Jesus’s time that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with special salt rations. That is where our word, “salary,” actually comes from. It’s also why, when someone is not doing their job, we sometimes say “they are not worth their salt.” There was even a common saying in Rome around Jesus’ time, that “there is nothing more useful than sun and salt.”
So, to be told that we are the salt of the earth is to be told that we are very valuable, and very useful. The world needs us. As the salt of the earth, we are both valuable and useful, to God, and to God’s world.
Christians add a distinct, positive flavor to the world through their lives and actions, making life better.
Christians should shine brightly, not hiding their faith, so others see their good works and praise God, not themselves. I remember when we went to Israel, seeing a town on top of a hill on the east bank of the Sea of Galilee. At night it was almost shining like a star as the land below it was not visible. This is the way we are when we radiate God’s love. The love hides the blemishes below.
If Christians lose their “saltiness” (become compromised or ineffective), they become useless and must be discarded. But unlike the mineral, there is always hope. God’s love, His prevenient grace “goes before” and enables a person to respond to God. It is a universal grace that offsets the effects of sin, restores free will, and makes a free response to God’s call possible for everyone.
We just need to open our hearts and accept it. When we do our “saltiness” is restored.
Not to overlook the last verses of our reading.
Jesus emphasizes He came to fulfill, not destroy, the Law and Prophets. At that time, (and even today) people interpret the Bible (at that time it was just what we now call the Old Testament) through their personal filters. There is a lot of divine instructions in the original bible (Some count 613). How they were and are interpreted led to even more “laws”. In these verses, Jesus resets back to the divine instructions. He fulfills it by perfectly living it and by teaching its true, internal meaning, going beyond mere external obedience. Disciples must have a righteousness that surpasses the superficial righteousness of the Pharisees or other interpreters (e.g., dealing with anger, lust, oaths) to enter the Kingdom.
Let us pray.
“Dear God, You call us the salt and the light of the world. Lord, help us not lose our flavor; becoming tasteless and ineffective. Fill us with Your Spirit to flavor the world with Your goodness, grace, and truth. Give us courage to shine Your light, Lord, so our good works are visible, drawing others to You, not to ourselves. Help us be the city on the hill, not hidden under baskets. Strengthen us to live out Your law, not just follow rules, but fulfill it in love and mercy, showing a deeper righteousness than the world. Help us to be peacemakers and to bless those who suffer, as Jesus taught. May our lives be a testament to Your presence, bringing glory to Your name, Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen