Salt and Light A sermon preached at Skipwith UMC On February 9, 2014 William A James Matthew 5:13-20

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1 Salt and Light A sermon preached at Skipwith UMC On February 9, 2014 William A James Matthew 5:13-20 LIGHT is one of my favorite subjects! Since my heart surgery, SALT is one of my least favorite subjects. Jesus talked of both more than once in order to make his point or as a clear illustration to his listeners. To be useful, salt must retain its saltiness. The salt that would have been available in Jesus time was not our refined table salt, but a coarse (surface mined) salt that would, over time become useless. The people had (of course) discovered the usefulness of salt in preservation of food and had also come to appreciate that salt added flavor to their food. But their salt was not refined nor purified and was naturally mixed with other compounds. Some salt was saltier than others. The more salty the salt was and remained, the more valuable it was. When Jesus said, You are salt of the earth, he was saying that his followers must remain salty or they would lose their usefulness. They must remain genuine and not be filled with fillers and other invaluable information. More is not better; to be authentic is better. Likewise, light is of no use unless it can be seen! We are to let our light shine so that others can see and be blessed by that light. It was a dark place in Jerusalem at night. There was only natural light and, if the moon was covered, you could see nothing. And to walk about at night was dangerous. Cities were often built on hilltops so as to be seen from a distance. A traveler was happy when he could look up and see the lights of a city on a hill. In a typical home, there was one window and no other source of light except for a lamp. You know what I m talking about not unlike a lantern or oil lamp we might use when the power goes out. You have to light the wick, which is suspended into a bowl of oil. In Jesus time, to light a lamp was a lot of trouble. They didn t have matches or Zippos like we do. So, when a person left their house, they might leave the lamp lighted and place it under an earthen vessel (that wouldn t burn) until they came home. It had to be covered or risk everything catching fire.

2 When Jesus said, Don t hide your light under a bushel, they knew what he was talking about. Light is a good thing! The first thing God created (according to Genesis) was light. That light can never be extinguished and darkness can never overcome it. We rely on light every minute of every day. A man once decided to measure which of his two children was worthy to inherit his property. He gave each a coin and told them to buy something to fill the house. The older, a son, bought straw but, when he came home, he didn t have enough to cover the floor. The younger child, a daughter, bought candles with her coin. When she came home she lighted the candles and the house was filled with light. The father gave his property to his daughter who had shown true wisdom. Albert Einstein showed up at the institute where he worked one morning hobbling around with a cane. It seems that during the night he had stubbed his big toe. This has happened five or six times before from walking around in the darkness, he explained to his colleague. The only really annoying part of it is that every time it happens I have to have an x-ray taken to be sure no bones are broken. His colleague asked if it wouldn t save trouble to simply turn on a light. Oh, said Einstein, I never thought of that. The smartest man ever?? I think not We have been taught that the sun is the center of the solar system and thus is the light of the world. The sun is 93,000,000 miles from earth. If a baby (could fly) and started flying to the sun at birth and travel 150 miles per hour, this baby would be nearly 71 years old upon arrival. We re told that the diameter of the sun is 109 times that of earth. Its output of energy is 70,000 horsepower per sq. yd. per minute. The temperature at the sun s surface is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. But the sun, despite its greatness, is NOT the Light of the world. Jesus Christ is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Our church does not exist to worship a great teacher or an awesome healer we exist to glorify the Son of the most high God, who has come into the world and has overcome the

3 darkness of sin and death. It is only when the light of Christ shines into our lives that our lives have meaning and purpose. The subject of light (as mentioned) is not new. Isaiah s vision inspired John as John began his Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. Later in John s Gospel Jesus speaks to the people of his time and affirms John s description. I am the light of the world, he said. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12). We are here this church exists; and each of us are called to be light in the world. Because of the light we shine, others can be exposed to the light of Christ. If our light is hidden under a bushel, no one will see it or be influenced by it. In our world, we hear much about communication. Without communication, trouble comes. It is the single most important piece of doing business whether it s a small company offering services or a nation in talks with an enemy nation; without good communication bad things happen. In a marriage where there is open and real communication, there is hope for the longevity of that union. Albert Mehrabian gained fame for his study on the credibility of communication. He dealt with the question: What makes a person credible when they seek to communicate with others? he concluded that when we are speaking to someone else our body language accounts for 55% of the message that the other person actually receives. Our tone of voice accounts for

4 38% of the message, and the actual words we use only account for 7% of the message the other person actually receives. In other words, Mehrabian s study finds that our actions speak louder than our words. It s important that we talk about our faith, but it s much more important that we live our faith. That s how our light shines in the world. If you ever feel the need to defend your being a United Methodist, you can say that while others are talking, we are walking. The U.M. Church is actively living our faith all over the world. When there is a disaster, the people of the United Methodist Church are first on the scene with food, water, and whatever else is needed. We are quick to put our faith to work for without works faith is dead. What happens is this when we seek to provide light to others, the light within us grows in direct proportion. When you go on a mission trip, take meals to the hungry, provide clothing for the homeless and you feel good about yourself, that is the process at work. When we see people around us, even in churches, experiencing such darkness in their lives, it s because they keep the light of Christ hidden they tend to focus on their own needs rather than sharing the light of Christ with others. I can recall so many times when it was so clear that the best treatment for a person who was hurting and calling out for help was for them to reach out to another and share the light. Don t misunderstand just because something is right doesn t mean that someone else will listen and heed. One night a man had car trouble and made it to a small garage. A mechanic there said there was something going on with the engine and he would take a look. While he was looking under the hood, his helper shined a powerful flashlight to help his boss find the trouble. The helper was distracted by something and, as he turned away, so did the beam of light. Instead of losing his patience, the mechanic looked up and said to the helper: Shine your light! What are you here for anyway? So what are we here for? Just to come to worship one day a week to satisfy the demands of God? That s not what following Jesus is about. We are the ones He has called to shine the light of his love in a world filled with darkness.

5 In the early days of the railroad, a dangerous intersection had a crossing guard who was to signal with a lantern when a train was coming. One night the guard fell asleep and woke up when he heard the train coming. He ran out with his lantern only seconds before the train came. There was a terrible crash. During an investigation the guard was asked: Were you present on your job? Did you have a lantern? He answered yes to both and was not blamed for the accident. Later, he confessed: No one asked me if my lantern was lit. Is your lantern lit? Do you have the light of Christ shining within your heart and soul? You can t give away what you don t have. The light of Christ is in you! Are you shining your light through acts of love? Jesus said, YOU are the light of the world. It s an awesome responsibility AND an awesome privilege. Amen.