Preached February 9, 2014
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
Gerald, TX
Pray
with me.
God
our Creator and Sustainer
As
we reflect on your Word this morning
May
we have ears to hear and eyes to see
May
we open ourselves to all that You are
And
may the words of my mouth
And
the meditations of my heart
Be
good and pleasing to You
Amen.
Thank
you for welcoming me back to your church family this morning.
It is wonderful to be with you again.
I give thanks to God for
your hospitality
And for this
opportunity
To
study God’s word together.
This
morning, I will be preaching from Matthew 5.
Our
text comes from near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount,
Which is the first major sermon of
Jesus
In the Gospel of Matthew
Remember
that the Gospel of Matthew is very Jewish.
It is the most Jewish of all four of
the Gospels.
The author is concerned with
understanding the law
And portraying the life
and ministry of Jesus
As a new
interpretation of the law
Rather
than a break from the law.
Many
of our connections between Jesus’ life
And the prophecies of the Old
Testament,
In that Jesus is the
fulfillment of those prophecies,
Come from
the Gospel of Matthew.
So
as we encounter this text in Matthew 5,
Let us read it through the lens of
Jesus
putting a new spin on the law.
Jesus is giving us a New Word
About The Word
So that we
might become
The
Living Word.
Jesus
has just given us the Beatitudes,
The “Blessed are they” statements
Which exalt the lowly,
the meek, and the genuine.
The
Beatitudes reverse what the world values
It’s not about who’s the greatest
But who’s the least.
Because the Kingdom of God is
different from the world
If
the world is rightside up,
The Kingdom is
upside down
There is an old rabbi saying:
A man asked “Why do so
many people
have a hard time
finding God?”
The rabbi answered
“Not many are
willing
to search that
low.”
So
as we listen to Jesus teach us
About
how we are to live in the world,
We
must remember that this passage
Is reorienting
us to what God is actually
Doing in the
world,
Rather than
all the trappings of religion
In
which we are so often tangled.
You
are the salt of the earth, Jesus says.
You are the light of the world.
Clearly
Jesus intends to do something in the world
Through us.
Clearly Jesus intends
for us to become like him
So that when
he is no longer in this world
He
remains with it
Through
us.
You
are the salt of the earth,
But if the salt loses its taste
How can its saltiness be
restored?
Now
salt does not expire
But we do know that pure salt
Can separate
from impure salt
Which leaves a tasteless residue
So it looks like salt
And mixes like salt
But it lacks
the essence of saltiness
Because
it is tasteless
It is an impostor in salt’s clothing
When
we bake with tasteless salt,
Though we think we are on track,
Our result will be
inedible
Because the
salt is invisible to our tongues
And
we taste the equivalent
Of an unresolved
musical note.
Jesus
says that when this happens,
It
is no longer good for anything.
The best thing you can do
Is throw it out
and trample it.
These words seem
harsh from Jesus,
Who we like to think of as
Full of grace and mercy.
But here, Jesus
draws a line in the sand
Or in the salt, so to
speak.
Church,
we are the salt.
We are called to be the salt of
Christ in the world
To carry the taste of
Christ to the world
To preserve
the message of Christ
And
pass it along
Through our very
existence.
And
you may have heard this preached before
That we are to bring flavor to the
world
That we are to leaven
the whole lump.
But
I want to follow in Matthew’s footsteps
And put a new spin on it.
Rather
than thinking about this as we are
Individually called to be salty
To
share our faith with the world
on an individual
basis,
Let’s
think about this as the Church:
The
collective, plural, inclusive Church.
The
Church is called to be salt of the earth.
We are, collectively, called
To carry the
taste of Christ into the world.
We are,
collectively, called
To preserve the
message of Christ
And pass it
along
Through our very
existence.
So
what happens when we don’t?
What happens when the church fails
To be the salt
of Christ?
Our text says that it is good for
nothing
And should be thrown
out.
The
church good for nothing?
Throw out the church?
But
what good are we, really, when we fail to be the very thing
We were created to be?
What
good are we
when
we tolerate oppression?
What
good are we
When we sit silently while children
suffer?
What
good are we
When we remain in our comfortable
chairs
In our beautiful
sanctuaries
While the
rich feast on the poor?
What
good are we
When we watch the innocent be
persecuted
And do nothing to stop
their perpetrators?
What
good are we
When we fail to do what Christ
called us to do?
Remember
these words, Church?
“For I have
anointed you to bring good news to the poor
To proclaim freedom for the
prisoners
And recovery of sight
for the blind
And set the
oppressed free
To
proclaim the year
Of the Lord’s favor.”
What
good are we
When we are not salty at all?
When,
in fact, we are guilty of
Bringing bad news to the poor
Proclaiming captivity to
the prisoners
And darkness
for the blind,
Keeping the oppressed in
their chains
And
reminding them that God doesn’t care?
What
good are we
When we see injustice
And do NOTHING?
Jesus
continues…
You
are the light of the world
A city built on a hill cannot be
hidden.
Whatever is up high will
be visible to all around it
When we light a lamp, we put it on a
table
Or on a mantle
So that it
will give light to the whole room
I often light a candle when I’m
home,
Which I set on my mantle
So that its
light and fragrance
Can fill my home.
Jesus
says that we are the light of the world.
The church is the light of the
world.
The church is the city
on a hill,
Supposed to
give light to all that is around it.
The church doesn’t keep its light to
itself,
But rather shines
brightly for all to see.
The
fragrance and brilliance of the church,
Is
for the world,
And not for
itself.
What
good are we,
If we have light
And avoid darkness,
Or worse,
When
we know full well where it is
And
ignore it?
What
good are we, Church,
When we have the light of the gospel
And we hide it?
What
good are we
When we are not light at all?
When,
in fact, we are guilty of
Bringing bad news to the poor
Proclaiming captivity to
the prisoners
And darkness
for the blind
Keeping the oppressed in their
chains
And reminding them that
God doesn’t care?
Because
when we see injustice
We do NOTHING?
We
assume someone else, somewhere,
Is probably doing something,
Or we just don’t want to
get involved,
So we sit
idly by
And
do nothing?
Jesus
has called us
The Church
To be salt and light in
the world
To carry his
message with us
In
our very being
So
that wherever we go
Is
salty and lit up when we leave
Because
Christ in us
Has
changed the world
Through us.
When
we are the salt and light,
We participate in God’s redemption
In ourselves
And in
others.
When
we are the salt and light,
Our very essence becomes
That which brings good
news.
When
we are the salt and light,
Our very essence becomes
Proclamation of freedom.
But
what must God look like
To those who are being oppressed
To those who cannot see
anything but darkness
To those who
live in tragedy
When the Church,
Called to be the salt
and light of Christ in the world,
Sees
injustice
And
does nothing?
When
all you have left to hope in
Is God
And God’s people ignore
you,
What you
perceive
Is
that God is ignoring you.
When
your only hope for freedom
Is a miracle from God
And the people of God
Sit
comfortably
While
you suffer,
Does
that mean that God does not care about you?
What
a dark world that would be.
But,
Church, we are not like those who are condemned to darkness.
We are not forgotten by God.
God’s
love is big and deep and wide
God sees all things
Knows all things
Forgives all
things.
Jesus
teaches us that
God blesses the humble
That God loves the lowly
That the
Kingdom of God
Is radical
reversal of the world.
And
that means that as the people of God
As the salt and light of Christ,
We must carry that
radical message with us
In our very
being,
Which means that when we happen upon
The woman being
stoned,
Like Jesus, we must speak up to protect her.
When we see racism
Or sexism
Or classism
Or
any other form of oppression
By our very nature,
We must not remain
silent.
We must be
the salt and light of Christ,
Proclaiming
the good news
Of liberation.
When the Church silently does
nothing,
We are tasteless salt,
A used,
burnt-up matchstick,
Good
for nothing
Except to be
thrown out
And trampled
underfoot.
Why
do we so often sit silently,
Opting to stay neutral
Instead of getting
involved?
Maybe
we want to avoid conflict
Or we are afraid we might offend
others
Or we are just plain
afraid.
But
what do our actions communicate about God
When we claim to have the message of
salvation
Yet do nothing to rescue
those who are
Hurting and
dying?
What
are we saying about God
When we claim to have the message of
liberation
Yet do nothing to free
those who are enslaved?
What
do we communicate about God
When we claim to have the message of
mercy
Yet we do nothing to
proclaim good news
To those who
mourn?
Jesus
has called us to be salt and light,
To carry his message with us
In our very essence,
So that
where we are,
He
is there,
Through
us.
Jesus
continues his sermon by clarifying
That he has not come to abolish the
law
But to fulfill it.
He is not
bringing disorder
But
peace and resolution.
He
reminds us that
Unless our righteousness
Exceeds that of the
religious leaders’
We will fall
short
Of
his righteousness.
But
let us recall that Matthew is about
Reinterpreting the law.
Not changing the law,
But
preserving the law,
Impressing
the importance
Of the law.
This
is important because what Jesus has just said -
That blessed are those who are low
And that the Church must
be salt and light
Or it should
be thrown out –
These
are hard words.
But
for Matthew,
This is what it means to be God’s
people.
To be the people of
Yahweh,
The Church
must be about holy work,
Which
likely won’t look like
What
we expect.
Even
in the Old Testament,
God worked through barren women and
Shepherd boys with slingshots.
As
lowly prophets proclaimed a coming savior,
They likely did not expect
A virgin birth in a barn
In the
middle of nowhere.
God’s
holy work goes beyond our culture,
Beyond our expectations,
Beyond where we are
comfortable.
Jesus
was patronized for associating with lepers and misfits,
For defending the woman being stoned
for adultery,
For speaking a New Word
about The Word.
But
what can Jesus be except the Son of God,
Pure
salt and pure light?
And as followers of
Jesus,
Should not
the Church also be salt and light?
So
let us go out from this place,
As those who have seen the love and
mercy
And brilliance
of Christ
Who cannot help but take this with
us wherever we go.
And
let us not just go to the places where we are comfortable,
But let us go to the dark places,
Let us go to the bland
places.
And
when our young people are inspired
To be salt and light in the dark and
bland places,
Let us support them,
affirm them, nourish them.
Let
us remember that almost every social change we have known
Came about because of brave,
inspired young people,
And let us give thanks
to God for them.
And not
fight them about it.
Let
us be about the work of Christ,
Unafraid,
Uninhibited,
Undeterred.
Wherever
you go,
May you be salt and light,
Pointing to the One,
Who makes
the crooked places straight
And
the broken places whole
And
the lost places found.
May
you be salt and light,
Pointing to the One,
Who makes a
way out of no way.
May you be salt and light,
Pointing to the One,
Who
transformed
A little bit of
fish and bread
Into a meal for thousands,
Who used a
little bit of mud,
To
restore a blind man’s sight
Who raised a
little girl from the dead.
May you be salt and light,
Pointing to the One,
Who could
not even be defeated by death
But who conquered death
Through the
cross
So
that we might be saved.
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me
And has anointed me
To proclaim freedom for
the prisoners
And recovery
of the sight for the blind
And
set the oppressed free
To
proclaim the year
Of the Lord’s
favor.”
So
let your little bit of salt
And your little bit of light
Go a long way.
Because
when that little bit of salt and light
Comes from Christ,
There is no place too
dark or too bland
To conquer
it.
Just
as a tiny little seed
Is buried in the dark earth
And blossoms into a tree
that bears much fruit,
So
will our little salt and light
Go into the dark and bland places
And blossom into the proclamation
of the gospel
Which is
liberation
Salvation
Freedom.
Let
us join with our brothers and sisters in the freedom movement
Who stood up against oppression
And proclaimed the
message of liberation
For everyone:
I
woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
I woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
I woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah
Walking
and talking with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Walking and talking with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Walking and talking with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah.
Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk
With my mind on freedom
With my mind on freedom
Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk
With my mind on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah.
No comments:
Post a Comment