Being Salt and Light - h2o church

What do you do?

Thanks for having me here this evening. It’s a pleasure to be here.

So a few quick things about me, I’m married with three beautiful daughters.

I’ve been pastoring a church at Tanilba Bay for nine years now, and before that, I’d spent nine years at Hunter Water as an engineer there.

Now we all know that when you’re having a conversation with someone for the first time, it’s not uncommon for the potentially awkward question… so, what do you do for a living?

It’s awkward, because, well, sometimes it’s complicated… or sometimes it then opens up some assumptions. I know psychologists can often be wary of that question. The moment you hear psychologist - oh are you psychoanalyzing me?

When I was at Hunter Water, you would say where I worked - oh, I have a problem with my water...

But of course, now I’m a Pastor, the answer to what do I do always puts the conversation in a spin, or sometimes, depending on who it is, into a dead stop.

What we actually do for a living can be a source of pride, or possibly a point of embarrassment, particularly if we think someones going to judge you because actually, you don’t have any paid employment.

We can actually get very carried away with what we do. And this includes in the church.

Rather than asking what you do for a living, I could ask what you do in the church. But perhaps this might be just as awkward. Maybe you do a lot. Maybe not so much.

Now, there can be some value in the question, what do you do? But in many ways, this question misses the mark.

I think a better focus is not on what you do, but on who you are… but I do acknowledge that’s perhaps a much trickier question to answer in a brief conversation with someone.

Now what we do should be the outflow of who we are, but when we think about who we are, we can start thinking about our character. What values do we hold dear. What sort of worldview do we have.

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, there are many factors that will start to influence how we think about such things. The ads we see on TV, the internet, and, well, nearly everywhere we look, actually have more of an impact on us then we care to acknowledge. We can start to become influenced by both the traditional media and social media.

Subtly, we find our values shifting. We act in ways that aren’t true to us.

We need a time to stop, and allow us to remember who we are.

But this begs the question: (not, what do you do, but) who are you?

Of course, while I don’t know you very well, but I dare say like most churches, you’re going to be a very diverse group of people. You’ll have different interests. You’ll have different backgrounds.

But for the most part, you will have something in common. For most, you’ll have each heard God calling and you will have responded. For some, that might not yet be the case. Maybe you’re yet to make that response. But the fact that you’re here, most likely represents that you’re at least exploring the idea.

Therefore, we have Jesus in common.

If we have accepted Him, then this means He should be shaping our lives.

So what sort of shape should that take?

Well, if you want to know what it should look like to have your life shaped by Jesus, then a good place to start is what we call the Sermon on the Mount.

It’s a powerful talk where Jesus pulls no punches. But this evening, I just want to focus on a very short section within it. Those verses where Jesus calls us to be the salt and the light of the world.

What’s going to be evident, is that if we start to shape our lives according to what Jesus said, then where actually going to start making a difference in the world in which we live.

And so I’m going to ask you to reflect on what difference you are making in the community around you?

Perhaps the first question should be: are you making a difference?

Now as I ask that question, avoid the temptation to compare what you are doing to the impact that others might have. Comparisons like these are almost always unhelpful.

So don’t ask whether the difference you’re making is as big as the next person, rather ask whether you’re living a Jesus shaped life that can make a difference. If you’re living a Jesus shaped life, you will make a difference, the size of that difference is really not important.

The sermon on the mount

Well, keep that question in mind, because we’re going to jump into the passage and do some exploring.

But first, I always like to help us see where our passage fits into the bigger picture, so let me just quickly consider what I mean when I say the sermon on the mount.

When we use this phrase, we’re talking about all of the teaching Jesus gave as recorded for us in Matthew 5-7.

It gets its name because if you look at the start of Matthew 5, it tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. It then says that as the disciples came to him he began to teach them.

Now it is possible that these teachings might actually be a mix of teaching from various talks Jesus gave, but to be honest it doesn’t really matter. What is clear, however, is that these teachings represent the way Jesus expected his disciples to follow.

At the very start of this teaching, we get what we call the Beatitudes.

The beatitudes teach us something very different to what the world teaches.

It teaches us that rather than being proud and boastful, we should be poor in spirit.

Rather than turning a blind eye to the evils of this world, we should mourn.

Instead of a posture of power, we should be meek.

We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Be filled with mercy. Have a pure heart. Seek after peace.

It’s an upside down way of thinking, but it’s this type of thinking that then sets the scene for the rest of the teaching we have recorded for us.

Salt

It is then following this opening section, that we come to the section I want to focus on this evening.

Jesus then says to the crowd - firstly, “You are the salt of the earth”. And then in the next verse “You are the light of the world”.

The assumption of course is that you are the salt and light, if you live in the way that Jesus has just described.

But before I come back and explore what this means for us, it’s worth pausing a moment to unpack the imagery of both salt and light.

So let’s start with salt.

Two functions of salt

Well, salt essentially serves two functions. It preserves and it flavours.

As a preservative, salt can prevent decay. Essentially it puts a stop to what is bad.

And so, particularly before the advent of refrigeration, salt was very useful.

Today, some backyard swimming pools can actually be salt water. The reason for the salt is because it kills the germs in the pool.

Salt is actually a powerful compound.

But as I said before, it’s not just a preservative, it’s also flavours. It can make bland food tasty.

So how does this apply to what Jesus is talking about?

Well, we live in a world that is decaying. A world that has gone against God’s good design.

It’s a world that puts profit before people. People are treated as a commodity.

It’s a world that has become so individualistic, that people will do whatever it takes to get ahead.

Sex is thought of purely in terms of pleasure, as if its just a bit of fun and not much more.

This is the world we are in, and if we are to be the salt, we have a role to play in standing up to it.

At times we’ve seen Christians be the salt in powerful ways. Like William Wilberforce, which went completely against the crowd and eventually brought down the slave trade, and later even slavery itself.

Or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was the salt against Adolf Hitler. It eventually cost him his life, but it was the salt that was needed.

You see, as we stand up against the wrongs of this world, we also become the flavour of this world.

As the slave trade is brought down, we see lives restored. We see something beautiful.

So often the world doesn’t realise how much it needs the salt that Christ followers can provide.

Light

But let me shift to the other image Jesus uses - the light.

What does light do? Well it’s simple. Light illuminates the darkness.

Light takes that which is hidden, and it makes it see.

I still remember doing high school physics, and we actually did a unit on light. We looked at light waves, and we tried to figure out whether it was possible to make a dark touch (that is, make something dark that has light on it). We thought, maybe, if an opposite light wave came from the opposite direction, then maybe the light waves would cancel each other out.

Well in the end, even in theory we figured it just can’t work. A light source can be hidden, but when that light source is shining, whatever is in it’s path will be illuminated. A fact that you don’t need to do physics to know.

In the analogy that Jesus uses, what is the light we shine - well, it’s the good news we have. The good news that God cares. That he hasn’t forgotten you. That he has provided a way for you. That he has given us Jesus, who died for our sins so that we can be right before God.

This is a world that is hurting. There is little hope. And yet we are full of hope.

The devil is trying to keep the world in the dark. But when we shine the light that God has given us, the truth is illuminated.

Salt and light

Now in some ways, there is a similarity with the salt and light imagery that Jesus is using here. Both are what we need to be in a hurting world.

But in some ways, they represent a different side of the coin (so to speak).

As salt, we are stopping the spread of evil. As the light, we are promoting the truth. The two are complementary, but we really need both.

When we fail

Now, in both the case of salt and the light, Jesus talks about the possibility of losing the effectiveness. That is, while Jesus is calling us to make a difference, he’s recognising at times we can lose the power of what we’ve been given.

When he talks about salt, he refers to the possibility that we could lose our saltiness.

Now, this is actually an interesting concept. You see, salt is actually a very stable compound.

If you know your chemistry, then perhaps you’ll know that salt is actually Sodium Chloride. As a stable compound, it remains sodium chloride, and doesn’t really break down. So in one sense, you can’t not become salty.

However, it is true that around the Dead Sea, for example, you might see a white substance around the edge. For the most part, it’s salt, however, there are a lot of other impurities with it. If you were to take the white substance, it’s quite possible that if you wash it, the salt will dissolve and wash away, and you’re left with just a white substance which is really no use to anyone.

You see, the salt itself doesn’t break down. Which actually suits the analogy well. Because the salt we have is actually not our own. It is the Jesus in us. But when we become so immersed in the culture around us, that salt becomes so dilute, it makes such a little difference.

We have to be careful not to lose our saltiness. Jesus has made you salty. Keep that salt.

But here is where we need to be careful. Don’t think you can bring back the salt just by railing against all the things you don’t like.

The reality is, the salt we have, is when we live like the beatitudes that come before this section. We skipped over that important opening to this speech of Jesus, but these beatitudes are the key to having the salt.

It’s not in being proud - it’s in being poor in spirit. Our power is not in the typical understanding of power - rather it is in meekness. In fact, it’s actually not even in fighting against persecution - just look, there’s actually blessing in being persecuted.

But when we thirst and hunger for righteousness. When we see evil being committed. We stand up. And if we get knocked down again, we stand back up again.

Many will reject the salt. But for those who take it, they will experience a flavour like no other.

Losing light

But Jesus also talks about not hiding your light. It’s interesting to note that he doesn’t say don’t turn the light off. I suspect that’s quite deliberate.

The light that Jesus gives can’t be turned off. This is a light that God himself produces, and it will keep on shining.

If you have accepted Jesus, then that light is in you too.

The question is not whether it will go out or not. The question is whether you are going to hide it or not.

The crazy thing is, sometimes we do hide it. And it’s stupid.

Jesus knows it’s stupid.

Just look at verse 15. No one is stupid enough to go to all the effort to light a lamp just to then put it under a bowl. It would completely defeat the purpose of the light in the first place.

In our case, shining the light is about sharing the good news about Jesus. Sometimes Christians will ask - do I need to share my faith with others?

I think the question needs to be changed from, do I need to share my faith?… to why would I not want to share my faith?

Just think about? You’ve got this amazing light in you. You have a hope that goes beyond any troubles this world might throw at us. You know that whatever happens, you are still loved… that you still have a secure future.

You then see people struggling with everything. Why wouldn’t you want to shine the light on them. To show them that there actually is a path.

Maybe we might counter, but what if they reject the light? And maybe they will. But to hide the light from them just because you think they might reject it?? Well, it doesn’t really make sense when you think about it.

So how do we let that light shine brightest? Well, can I suggest again, just like I did with being salt, our light will shine brightest when we live in accordance with the beatitudes that came before this.

It is in being peacemakers. It is in being meek. It’s in being poor in spirit.

If you want to know what that means in practice - then just read the gospels and model yourself on Jesus. He’s the one that perfectly reflects what this looks like.

As we live like this, we will then, as Jesus says in verse 16: “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”.

Conclusion

So, who are you?

Does what Jesus say ring true in your life?

Are you the salt of the earth?

Are you the light of the world?

If you have Jesus in your life, then the answer should be yes.

But are you letting the impurities make your salt useless?

Are you afraid to let your light shine?

You have Jesus. Don’t let anything get in the way. Be the salt. Let your light shine.

And as you lead a Jesus shaped life, make a difference in the community in which God has placed you.

Let me pray...