Salt and Light, Epiphany 5, Feb. 5, 2017

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany (Year A)

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017

Theme: Salt and Light

(Today’s Gospel reading is the second in a series from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in four or six parts, through the Seventh Sunday of Epiphany or Ash Wednesday. Doing a six-part series requires going off lectionary for Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 26. Both options will be posted that week.)

Intro:  Keep imagining yourself in this tight circle of disciples on the hillside beyond the Sea of Galilee. Jesus just started his opening thoughts to his disciples in this Sermon on the Mount. The word “sermon” makes it sound like Jesus was preaching to a crowd, but this is an intimate, introductory conversation with his disciples, who had no idea what to expect from this young teacher, or, for that matter, what he will expect from them.

Onlookers begin to come nearer, drawn by Jesus’ insightful interpretations of the scriptures. But you are oblivious in your inner circle – you are captivated by this young man – he speaks with a presence and authority far behind any teacher you’ve heard.

Epiphany—a word which itself means appearing or showing forth—is a season that beckons us to ponder what it is that God desires to manifest through us, and to wrestle with what hinders this. There is much, both within us and without, that works against savoring and shining. Recognizing and resisting the bushels that threaten the light is a practice and a journey all its own. It can be terrifying, these days, to see the ease with which so many of us accept the dimming, allow the bushels that diminish our light as we give over discernment and freedom in exchange for seeming security.

 – Jan Richardson, The Painted Prayerbook

Reflection:  Salt and light. Jesus hardly could have chosen two more common or vital substances to bring into the start of his discussion. After proclaiming his disciples’ blessedness in the first 12 verses of this teaching, now he calls them salt of the earth and light of the world.

Salt. A pinch added to water, a dash in a cake, a sprinkle on our food. We hardly think about salt, but you know the disciples did. Salt was a critical commodity: a food preservative, an antiseptic, an expected gift of hospitality, a symbol of purity in religious rituals, and even a currency for trade. Salt is a critical part of one’s diet, so it was essential for maintaining health.

People of the first century had no free-flowing iodized salt poured out of a Morton’s salt container or from a shaker. It was crushed from rock salt, flavorful and fresh, like the freshly ground salt and pepper from our table mills. Salt that was leftover in the grinding process was not as flavorful as freshly ground salt just crushed in the mortar.

Light. We are so spoiled by electricity that we hardly think about lanterns. Yet trimming wicks, having an abundant supply of lamp oil and the careful use of lamps was part of their life. Without lamps and lamp oil, these disciples and their families were limited by daylight hours, during which people plied their trade – fishermen fished, carpenters constructed, tentmakers sewed. A lamp on a lampstand would illumine the entire house, creating space for social and family time.

Salt of the earth, light of the world. Critical elements to life, and creating a life of community. Jesus was commissioning his disciples on that hillside to become a renewed hope for the world. I picture this talk with the disciples as much more like a dialogue than a sermon, Matthew just writing Jesus’ main points. Imagine Jesus looking into your eyes: “The Creator of the world wanted so much more for creation – a world of mercy, a world of justice, a world of love. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Don’t let anything drain your community, put out your lights. Yes, the law still exists. But live the law through the lens of love.”

It’s a refrain from history into eternity. Isaiah forewarned the people of what they were doing – creating rituals without meaning and letting go of community. Letting some people remain in physical, economic or spiritual bondage. Every yoke needed to be broken to usher in the kingdom.

Paul picked up the refrain, writing to the church at Corinth. He says I made this simple. Jesus, the unifier, laid down his life for all. God, not human wisdom, reveals truth. All people have access to the Spirit, we all have the mind of the Christ. Live in this unity, live in love.

Those first disciples took up the mantle to speak, to act, to love like Jesus, to become and spread this Good News far and wide, to this day. It is impossible to read words out of this Sermon on the Mount and not feel like they were meant for you, personally. YOU are the salt of the earth. YOU are the light of the world. YOU are essential. YOU are community. Pour yourself out. Shine for all to see.  

Faith App: Consider eating by lamplight or candlelight one time this week as the “light of the world” enters your daily life. What feels different about the light from a flame? Think about or discuss ways to be someone’s light. Perhaps a new routine to take Sunday’s worship and lessons into the week.

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

Christ, Be Our Light, ELW 715

This Little Light of Mine, ELW 677

(The verses I remember as a child fit the text better)

1.         This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…

2.         Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine…

3.         Won’t let this world blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine…

4.         Shine all over the neighborhood, I’m gonna let it shine

5.         The little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine

Gather Us In, ELW 532

O Word of God Incarnate, ELW 514

O God of Light, ELW 507

Go, My Children, with My Blessing, ELW 543

Sent Forth by God’s Blessing, ELW 547

Shine, Matt Redman

Do Something, Matthew West

We Are, Kari Jobe

Glow in the Dark, Jason Gray

Love Come to Life, Big Daddy Weave

Pushing Back the Dark, Josh Wilson

With Every Act of Love, Jason Gray

LESSONS

Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) The sacrifice the Lord wants is acts of justice, mercy and love.

Psalm 112: 1-9 Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God in lofty words.

Matthew 5:13-20 Let your light shine before others.

Summary of the Lessons: Jesus’ beginner’s instructions, lesson 2 – Salt and Light. The love of God must shine through and flavor everything we disciples do. Keep the law and the commandments, not to impress God or others, but as the shared ground for life together and to glorify God.

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 112:1-9

L:  Praise the Lord for those on right path!

C:  Everybody who walks with the Lord is blessed;

L:  Rich are their households with God’s abundant love,

C:  Models of faith for generations to come!

L:  Praise the Lord – their lights shine forth!

C:  Mercy and kindness brightens their way,

L:  Their generosity a beacon for all to follow,

C:  God’s justice prevails in all that they do.

L:  Praise the Lord for the courageous ones!

C:  Caring for the poor, the hungry, the refugee;

L:  Fearless in heart, standing firm in truth,

C:  God’s people will honor them forever and ever.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, we confess our lights are dimmed these days;

C:  Flickering in the ill winds of confrontational politics,

L:  Burning low from the disrepair of our hearts’ wicks,

C:  Dwindling as we run low on the oil of study and prayer.

L:  Lord, we confess our salt has lost its flavor today;

C:  Left out as we fill our schedules with other tasks,

L:  Left at home as we doubt we could share your name,

C:  Left behind when our lives and worship don’t connect.

L:  Lord, we confess we aren’t hungry for good works this day;

C:  When the world’s needs are bigger than our resources,

L:  When our work for justice collide with government policies,

C:  When our families and friends belittle the efforts we make.

L: For our resistance to let our lights fully shine, Lord have mercy,

C: For watering down the salt you’ve provided us, Christ have mercy.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … you call us to be salt for the earth and light for the world. But our energy and our good intentions alone quickly are subdued by the powers and problems of this world. We wander so far from the source of our light and strength that we are ineffective. Recharge us today, Lord, with your Spirit and your Word, that we would be of good use in your kingdom.

Hear this Good News:  The power of God is with you. You will be renewed and rise in the darkness as a light for the upright: gracious, merciful and righteous. Let your lights so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. You are restored and set right with God. Be light and salt for all.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  Renewing God … fill us with your salt and your light, essential elements of life and community. Keep challenging us to pour out and radiate all that you give us for the life of this world. Gather us as a people who seek to know your ways, so your Spirit can replenish us through heartfelt praise and worship. Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give thanks, most gracious God, for the salt of determination in this bread, the light of hope in this cup.  Send us out, radiant and strong, filled with this meal and your Spirit. Keep us working in your ways, always showing others the way of your love. Alone, we have just a single beam of light, a pinch of flavor, but joined together for your kingdom work, we are powerful beyond our greatest expectations.  Amen. 

SENDING

L:  We are salt, so that the world can taste God’s goodness;

C:  We are light, so that the world can see God’s lovingkindness;

L:  We are the city on the hill, so our light won’t be hidden,

C:  Rising in the darkness, to reflect God’s glorious Light.

L:  Go now, Spirit-filled and shining brightly, to love and to serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

First Reading Isaiah 58:1-9a [9b-12] (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: This passage comes from the third section of Isaiah – most biblical scholars see Isaiah as three parts with three authors. This part came after the people returned from exile in Babylon. They are frustrated with God’s presence, and the author is frustrated with them.

Shout out, do not hold back!

    Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Announce to my people their rebellion,

    to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet day after day they seek me

    and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness

    and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments,

    they delight to draw near to God.

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?

    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,

    and oppress all your workers.

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

    and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today

    will not make your voice heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,

    a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

    a day acceptable to the LORD?

Is not this the fast that I choose:

    to loose the bonds of injustice,

    to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

    and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

    and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindicator shall go before you,

    the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

    you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

[If you remove the yoke from among you,

    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

if you offer your food to the hungry

    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness

    and your gloom be like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you continually,

    and satisfy your needs in parched places,

    and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

    like a spring of water,

    whose waters never fail.

Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

    the restorer of streets to live in.]

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian church he founded. He reminds them how his attempts at an eloquent presentation of the Good News in Athens failed miserably. To them, he kept it simple, just words about Jesus and his death on the cross.

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

    nor the human heart conceived,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. [And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.

Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.

“For who has known the mind of the Lord

    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.]

Gospel Matthew 5:13-20 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount to his disciples as his earliest teaching in Matthew. Notably, these same teachings are presented as a summary in the Sermon on the Plain in the sixth chapter of Luke.

“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.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 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. 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.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 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. 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. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.