One of the things that I have always enjoyed while baking, especially since I was younger, is making cookies. There are such a variety of them- whether you like chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, amongst so many other varieties. They all vary in some degree, and yet the fundamental shape remains the same.
If we were to look for elements that also bind them together, we also can come to a common denominator- each of them being sweet. We expect each and every one of them to have some sugar and some sweetness to them. Yet, if you look closely at most every recipe, they don’t include just sugar- but another necessary ingredient- salt. Now, salt, as many of you can guess is such an interesting ingredient. It does have a certain bitter taste to itself, and yet, if you mix it into something else, it doesn’t keep that same character, but in fact attaches to other ingredients in whatever it goes into and brings them out and accentuates them. In the case of cookies- it doesn’t serve to make anything bitter at all- but in fact only serves to make the entire dough much sweeter.
Today in the Gospel, Jesus uses these similes of salt and light, and they are both very common elements to us- whether we are cooking, or simply going about our daily business. Yet, whenever it comes to considering what these messages mean- or what they encourage us to do- what are we left with? How are we meant to imitate that salt and light that we are all so familiar with?
To begin to answer this question, we should start out with a reading taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah. As we hear the prophet speaking in this context, we hear a series of commands coming from the Lord specifically- and He is relaying exactly how they are to act. Now, when it comes to dealing with one another, we tend to follow the golden rule to some degree- and it wasn’t much different for the Israelites at the time. Yet, when it came to what the Lord was speaking to them at the time- He wasn’t really speaking from the reality of the golden rule, but was instead speaking to the need for the Israelites to go even further. The Lord commands them- share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own.
These commands wouldn’t necessarily be thought to be absolutely mandatory- perhaps someone could do them if they were feeling particularly nice. Yet, there is a more powerful movement in play here- that the Lord is telling them to go above and beyond what is expected. They are to remove oppression, false accusation, malicious speech, and the like from their midst. Further, there is a need0 to bestow bread on the hungry- satisfy the afflicted. What exactly is Isaiah saying to tall of them? There is a need to be the light in the darkness- and gloom shall then be midday. Already, there is an alluding to that same image of light that Jesus uses- but it is an encouragement even in the time of the Israelites to become light themselves- especially to those in darkness. What this all points to is a very simple idea: the Just man is a light in the darkness to the upright. This means that, as the psalm states- the just man becomes some sort of positive force even in the darkness that surrounds them, even those he ministers to.
The second reading continues the very same letter to the Corinthians that we have been reading for the last number of weeks. In this one Paul is taking on a different approach- because he is speaking to them about the mystery of God- not as he is speaking to them not out of his own rhetorical skill- though he could be argued to possess that in great degree. Rather, what he comes to minister to those around him in is a spirit of weakness and fear- that there is much trembling in his own ministry. So, when he is speaking to them, he still speaks a message- but it is not a message born of his own making or his own mind, but rather it is given him from the mind of God Himself.
Finally, we arrive at the Gospel of Matthew. We are continuing the Sermon on the Mount which we began with the Eight Beatitudes last week, and we are coming to a new section- which addresses the similes of salt and light. When He speaks to the disciples He first tells them: “you are the salt of the earth!” This seems to be an odd statement, and yet, he still throws it their way- though it also comes with a warning- if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? This actually is a warning of sorts- though it seems rather odd in its usage. Further, we are told- that if salt loses that flavor- it is good for nothing but to be thrown out- and this was a common understanding at the time- whatever was left over as they used salt would in fact be thrown away when they were done! The similes continue though as they come to the city on a mountain- the reality is that a city on a mountain cannot be hidden- it will be seen by everyone around.
Finally, there is the simile of light- Jesus indicates very clearly that a lamp is not hidden under a bushel basket- but is rather set on a lampstand- and by this it gives light to all in the house. Jesus, to finally drive the point home says this- Just so, your light must shine before others- that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. What each of these three different metaphors mean then is that they are trying to emphasize an important point- that there is a need to be light- to be someone that shines before others.
What does that mean exactly though?
In our day and age we may get this idea that to shine before others is to be the center of attention. We need to be the very best. We should be the one with all of the answers, or the one with all the friends, the one that is the most popular- and the one that truly has everything all together. Then, when we get all of these things- we become light. We are able to shine, not in a way like we might expect a fire- but we are going to really gleam because we are so rich and so powerful before everyone else. Then we can truly be a light, can’t we?
Perhaps not.
The reality of this simile of light, brothers and sisters, is brought out in what salt is. Salt in itself is very powerful- but it is also very bitter. When we deal with salt- we know when there is too much- and it overpowers everything else an even can take away the pleasure of eating- even when we are dealing with something so sweet and delicate such as cookies. Even a city on a hill- it may shine out and look glorious to others- but the reality is that no city stands alone- but only becomes great by the others around it.
The things that these similes are seeking to remind us of are these things, brothers and sisters. First, to be effective as disciples, we must be different. Now, this doesn’t mean that we have to be the best or the greatest- but as we see in the book of the prophet Isaiah- we are simple called to do more. To go above and beyond. To truly seek to minister effectively to those around us- not just to the Golden Rule as our standard, but perhaps even to the reality of being the light in the darkness, or the ones that make the gloom as day.
Second, we should be aware that the only way to be effective when we are different is to seek out God’s own power and majesty. When Paul speaks to the Corinthians in his letter, he isn’t telling them to be powerful in their own rite, but to rather be powerful in speaking of God- and giving witness to his work and his power.
Finally, we arrive at the task that we should consider homework- to be salt, to be light, and to be a great city. However, that does not mean that we are called to be independent, or to forge out our own paths or ways. We are called to cast out darkness- perhaps in someone’s own grief and suffering- or perhaps their own poor self-image. We are called to be a city- a place of refuge that gives everyone comfort- and a place to call home or to come back to when they feel drained or depleted. Or perhaps we are called to be salt- to draw out sweetness in all of those that we meet- and to bring out the very best. This is not just because we are supposed to do these things on our own- but because God gives us the power to go out and to make things more light- to give refuge, or perhaps even to give the world just a little more sweetness, especially in our brothers and sisters around us.
We all know about cookies- and how sweet and delectable they really can be. Yet, without the presence of salt, so much of that would be wasted, or perhaps not even be present at all. Thus, my brothers and sisters- be salt, be a city, and be that light- one that doesn’t stand alone, but truly draws out Christ’s presence in a dark and broken world.
