Flavored Life

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
February 6th 2011
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Matthew 5:13-20
“Flavored Life”

This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine (This was sung)

The words of this spiritual were inspired by our passage this morning. This song is well known as a civil right anthem. It inspired the life and work of Fannie Lou Hammer and many others, as well as those connected with the Highlander Folk School. The power of that anthem and the power of this passage is its ability to inspire people. It helps to remind people of the need for people of faith to live with authenticity particularly in the public eye. But, it has also lead to other interpretations as well.

In 1630 John Winthrop preached a sermon called, “Model of Christian Charity.” In that sermon he called for the new settlers in North America to be an example of God’s justice and righteousness. This sermon and its’ ideas inspired political speeches. The imagery found its way into presidential rhetoric ranging from John F. Kennedy in 1961 to Ronald Regan. The call to be exemplary and to live as an example to others is a powerful and honorable calling. However, too often the calling becomes distorted and even delusional when it becomes certain that God is only on our side alone. In order to avoid these mistakes and others, we must look closer at the whole sermon of Jesus. During this month, that is exactly what we are going to do.

So let us go back to the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon begins with these words:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
As Jesus speaks these words of it is hard to imagine he intended a triumphant theology or one that would lead to exclusion or exceptionalism. It is important to keep this in mind as we move into our scripture for the day.
Looking at the history of how this passage has been interpreted, much energy has been spent on light but little on salt. I wonder if that has something to do with the ways in which we understand being salt and light. After all, when one is called to be light, it gives us the idea that we get to be center stage. But with salt, we might be essential to the final product but people only really notice when you are not around. As a result, fewer people want the salty parts of our faith.
Despite being overlooked, salt is powerful. In small amounts it helps sustain life, but in large amounts it is deadly. It has the power to preserve food and to melting of ice and snow which covers our streets right now. I think the way to best understand the role of salt is an anecdotal story I heard while travelling in Israel. Our guide asked us: “Why is the Dead Sea Dead?” The answer is this: “Because it only takes in and it never gives out.” The Dead Sea is fed by rivers but it no longer feeds any other body of water. The salt content is now so high that nothing can live in it at all.
I have begun to see this as a challenge to the followers of Jesus. As those who are called to be salt, we cannot remain behind closed doors with those of like mind. We must move beyond the comfort of likeminded friends and believers. The followers of Jesus should not gather together too frequently without being out in the world. If we do not ever give out or move out of our places of comfort then we become like the Dead Sea. Otherwise, the future of the church will look much like that of the Dead Sea. We will become a thing people will study as we slowly die.
If we are called to be salt and light, what does that look like? I think on an individual level we should begin with our natural impulse. Some of us are happy to stand by the side and let others take credit. Others of us like to be in charge and stand in the limelight. If your natural impulse is to stand back… listen to the words of Jesus to let your light shine. Peter was always willing to take center stage and he had to learn what it meant to be salt. On the other hand, his brother Andrew was more like the salt. He brought Peter to Jesus. Andrew needed to learn to let his light shine. So if we are going to let our light shine, we can do so through standing in the limelight or buy working behind the scenes.
Even though Jesus talks about being salt and light, I believe we should focus on salt these days. Too many people seeking the limelight cause trouble. So too does too many people waiting for the next living light to come along and save us. We cannot wait for the next Dr. King, or President Obama to fix what ails us. The struggles in our world will not be someone else’s light who will solve our troubles. To be light and salt means we move beyond complaining to using all our gifts to make sure the hungry are fed and our work in doing so gives glory to God.
Jesus calling to be salt and light is not really a choice. He does not say, if you like, or if you feel good, or if you want to be my disciples. He says… You are. It is a done deal. It means we are either salt or light or we have ceased to be Jesus followers. It means our work and worth is not wrapped up on our own glory but in making sure it points to the God we know in Jesus Christ. It means that even this little light, isn’t mine at all, but God’s light meant for the whole world. That is our faith that is our calling.
As we stand with Jesus on the Mountaintop and see God’s vision for our world and for our church, we are invited to say thank you for what is taking place even in our lives right now. Let us live as people of the Sermon on the Mount who know the rest of the story.

This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine (This was sung)

Amen? Amen!