The Sermon on the Mount continues, with Jesus speaking to the disciples sitting at his feet, but also to us – their successors in the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus has defined in the beatitudes seven characters that are blessed in the kingdom of heaven. And he makes it clear that the kingdom is already ours, even if our reward for being ridiculed and persecuted will come in heaven, not during this life on earth.
But now he wants to move toward the practical application of the beatitudes in the world. First:
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Mt 5:13).
What is it that needs salt? Food that is bland and tasteless – this is a metaphor for the hopelessly evil nature of the human race since Adam and Eve. The salt is needed to preserve the food from rotting as it would naturally. So the salt must be accessible to save the food – just as Christians cannot do the work of God from a distance, but rather up close and personal. The paradox is, then, that this proximity to unbelievers leads to the persecution that anchors the beatitudes when the seven characters are present – we annoy the culture around us.
But this is the wrong end of the telescope – despite the predominance of evil all around, some do hear the message and repent and become new salt themselves:
“…how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another” (Mk 9:50).
That’s right – practice the characters of the beatitudes with others of like hearts, and be at peace with each other. Dare I say, “Be in perfect unity with each other”?
But if salt is a bit difficult to grasp, light is not:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all 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 who is in heaven” (Mt 5:14-16).
Note that Jesus is not saying that one person can stand on a hill with a penlight having one AAA battery and draw needy people to safety in the dead of night. He is saying that it takes a city full of many people, lighting their lights in perfect unity to do this.
And what is the light that each of us shines with? Is it something we create ourselves?
No, the light that shines is us is the light of Christ himself and that of his Spirit dwelling in us. And what does that look like? It looks like the lives we lead in meekness and thirsting for righteousness, living among all people, yet not corrupted by them. Some will be drawn by this to the city of God on top of the hill and choose to partake of his nourishing salted food rather than the putrid glop served up by the world.
Do you feel like the light of the world today? If not, pray right now that the Lord will show you what needs to change, starting with being at peace with one another in perfect unity, and thirsting for righteousness.