February 9, 2020

 February 9, 2020               Matthew 5:13-20             1 Corinthians 2:1-12        Isaiah 58:1-12

                Spirit of Life, you are salty and bright.  I am enjoying this about you, because I am a bit salty and bright myself.  Some people even think I’m too salty.  You have been shining your light for me, revealing who you are to me, a little bit at a time, both who you are as individuals and who you are as a congregation.  I have been learning about how this congregation started, meeting in schools, carting equipment around, determined to make a difference in this part of Kitsap County.  I have been learning about leaders who took ideas and prayed about them and worked on them with passion and reworked them when they needed it.  I have been learning about times of stress and difficulty, when you didn’t buckle, but you made hard decisions and sacrifices and hung on in faith.  I have been learning about when your experiences at other churches were standing against your values and principles, you didn’t give up on God or church, but you went looking for another place to serve.  I’m thankful you did because this church wouldn’t exist without you.  I have been learning about salty exchanges you’ve had with the county and the synod and the Mission Investment Fund.  All these years, you didn’t pretend you were powerless or hide who you are, but you stood up and were blunt and bold and salty and you continue to shine.

                You are the salt of the earth, Jesus says as he continues his Sermon on the Mount.  He isn’t saying what we should be.  He’s saying what we are.  He’s saying that we don’t have to hide our saltiness, but sometimes the world thinks we shouldn’t be so salty.  Sometimes the world thinks Christians should be bland and tasteless, boring and predictable, safe and nice.  But salt stands out.  Salt makes everything taste better.  If you’ve ever had potato chips on ice cream, you know what I mean.  Salt makes flavors pop.  A little bit of salt goes a long way.  Salt is only salty if it is distributed around and affects others.

                Salty Christians, spread yourselves around.  Share your saltiness in your everyday interactions.  Don’t be afraid to stand out and to use your saltiness to lift others up, to elevate the flavors and gifts of others. 

                Jesus says, you are the light of the world.  The light stands out.  A person in complete darkness can see the light of a birthday candle 3 miles away. The light reveals.  It shows what has been hidden, what others wanted to keep hidden.  God makes us the light.  Maybe we don’t like to call attention to ourselves, or the world thinks we should be quieter and more compliant and not point out what others want to hide, but God made us this way.  We don’t need to cover our light to protect other people.  To cover a lamp is silly, ridiculous!  We have something to be shared!  Maybe it feels bad to those with something to hide, or to those who want to pull the wool over other people’s eyes.  But the light is helpful, a gift to all who have been kept in the gloom, whose eyes are longing for some light, some insight, some direction.  Then Jesus says the part we say in baptism, “Let your light so shine before others that they see your good works and give glory to God in heaven.”  Shining our light isn’t about glorifying ourselves or being the center of attention, but pointing to God and reflecting God’s light.

                Salt and light are powerful.  They affect others.  They make a difference.  Spirit of Life, you are powerful.  You use your power to bring hope to people who have little power, children and people who are hungry, among others.  We find that when we share light, it isn’t diminished by the sharing. When we share, and others are empowered, that doesn’t take away from our power.  When we use our power to lift others up, that doesn’t reduce our power, but we are powerful together, all reflecting God’s light and bringing light to a gloomy world.

                The 2^nd half of Jesus’ sermon is more difficult.  Jesus says that he comes to fulfill the law and the prophets.  I know I can’t keep God’s law.  If I could, why would I need Jesus?  Even when I think I can keep from breaking the commandments like not murdering and not stealing, Jesus teaches me that I break them even when I have a murderous thought or the thought of taking something that doesn’t belong to me or when I have a bank account or 401K that gives me interest.  That’s theft according to the Bible.  We’re all complicit.  We’re in a state of sin. 

                The good news is that even though we sin, we still find ourselves in the Kingdom of Heaven, only the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  I think that might be good enough for me, to be least in the Kingdom of Heaven, plus I know all you other sinners are least in the Kingdom of Heaven with me.  It won’t be such a bad place. 

                Then Jesus talks about the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders.  We get a kind of a warning, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Yikes!  The scribes and Pharisees are the best at righteousness.  All day long they are figuring out how they are righteous and how they can be even more righteous.  They are looking at each little act they do and whether it fits with God’s laws.  How can any of us be more righteous than they are?

                The problem is that the scribes and Pharisees is that they have a wrong definition of righteousness.  They think it is about individual acts.  They think it is about keeping themselves pure and perfect.  So if it is about not murdering or stealing, it becomes about pretending that a murderous thought never entered my mind, or about hiding behind my robes and my holy role to pretend that I know better than others who God loves.  When I am self-righteous, I point to other’s sins to hide my own.  That’s not being salt or light. 

But righteousness is not about individuals and being self-righteous.  Righteousness is about right relationship.  It is about how we relate to others and affect others.  When we are like the Pharisees, we are so busy focused on ourselves, that we don’t see how we affect other people.  So Jesus is right.  We can be more righteous than that.  Instead of being self-obsessed, we can spend time thinking of others, putting others first, especially those who get discounted. 

                Salt can come in a great variety of salt shakers, right?  Does anyone here have a salt and pepper shaker collection?  Have you seen some pretty great salt and pepper shakers in your life?  I like to shop at thrift stores and I have seen so many different kinds.  I’ve seen salt shakers that look like artichokes, like cows, like buildings, like people.  I saw a set this week that looked like two giraffes with their necks twisted around one another.  The Pharisees get so caught up in the salt shaker, the outside appearance, they forget to be the salt.  And the warning for us is to be different than the Pharisees, right?  We need to worry less about the outside, what people will think of us, how we appear to others, and concern ourselves more with shaking our salt around and being salty for God.

                There are any variety of light fixtures, from flashlights, to table lamps, to chandeliers.  We can get so caught up in the light fixture, the appearances, the holder, what people will say and think about us, displaying our wealth or importance, that we forget to simply be ourselves, and shine our light.  Jesus says, let the fixture go.  Let appearances go.  Your salt shaker and your floor lamp will not impress God.  And isn’t it when we are most insecure and afraid that we aren’t good enough, that we get concerned about making the best showing, focusing on the outside, while the gift, the light, the salt is hidden.  Jesus says, you are the salt and light.  Simply be yourself.  It’s who God made you.  Let your light shine, let your salt flavor the world.

                And when you do this description in Isaiah of righteousness is what it looks like:  It looks like humility, fasting, loosing the bonds of injustice, undoing the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free from all their burdens, breaking heavy yokes, sharing your bread, bringing the homeless poor into your home, covering the naked, and not hiding yourself away.  When we let our light shine and when we practice righteousness or right relationship, it looks like healing, it looks like the sun coming up, it looks like communicating with God, it looks like basic needs being satisfied, rebuilding what was ruined, repairing breaches, and restoring streets to live in.

                So, be your salty selves.  Be who God made you to be.  Spread that saltiness around.  Take it to neighborhood meetings and family gatherings, sporting events and the symphony, the hospital and the office.  Let the flavors pop as you relate to others righteously and let go of what people think of you.  Let your light shine.  Use your gifts.  Illuminate what was hidden and reveal it for what it is.  Ask questions.  Help those in need.  Share power.  Point to the light shining in the darkness, Jesus the Christ.  Be the body of Christ, along with your brothers and sisters in Christ, shining hope and love and forgiveness for all who walk in the shadows. 

                Jesus is reminding us of who we are and reminding us not to lose track of that in our quest to be good.  Jesus is good enough for all of us.  Jesus is righteous enough for all of us.  Jesus is the one who fulfills the law for us all.  That is very freeing.  If we don’t have to strive for perfection, then we really can be who God made us, trusting that God will work through our flaws to bring flavor and light to a world that really needs it.