Saturday, January 31, 2015

"A Little Goes A Long Way" - A Sermon on Matthew 5:13-20

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
Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk, Well, walk, walk
            With my mind on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah.

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