Message from Jesus…salt and light

When in doubt about the path to the truly good life, turn to chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Matthew Gospel. The passage is better known as The Sermon on the Mount. These three chapters of the Matthew Gospel are a summary of the moral teachings of Jesus from Nazareth. No one argues against their authenticity. These are the sayings and teachings that Jesus repeated over and over again as he wandered around Galilee in Northern Palestine. Jesus repeated these things often enough that they were remembered, became a part of the oral traditions of his listeners and were eventually preserved for the ages.

Going back to this collection of teachings is a cool glass of water to a thirsty person. When I read them I know that I am being instructed about the life that ought to be.

The United States is in the midst of a campaign to elect a new president. It is a bruising battle apparently to prove who is the greatest among us. As responsible American citizens, we have an obligation to be involved. I have never experienced the call of Christ as being a call to withdrawal and noninvolvement. The key question is the role of a Christ follower in the political struggles of our nation.

From the Jesus teachings, we are given clues. “You are the salt of the earth.” In a modern world, salt is taken for granted. It is cheap and accessible to all. It is on almost every dining table and is a must on every restaurant table. We see it as a fine, white crystal that is easily dissolved in water. It heightens the flavor of a lot of our food. Most recipes call for at least a dash of salt. Salt is an important element in our body chemistry, but too much salt can be a significant health problem. The practice of harvesting and processing salt by human beings is at least 8,000 years old. By weight at times, salt has had the equivalent value of gold. Wars have been fought over access to salt.

Jesus spoke these words to people who were very poor. Poverty inevitably translates into a low value being placed on human life. For Jesus to tell gatherings of Galileans that they were “the salt of the earth” was like telling them their lives were like gold in the kingdom of God. His message was “do not allow anyone to devalue your life. Do not allow your life to be a throwaway.”

Life was cheap in Galilee. Galilee was the seedbed for the growing Zealot movement. Zealots were a rebellion movement that advocated violence against their Roman oppressors. Poor people were attracted to the movement. Typical Zealots carried large knives. Many of Jesus’ companions were ready to take life in defense of their own. It is argued that a significant part of Jesus’ followers were knife-carrying Zealots. Just as the call of Jesus was not to withdrawal, neither was his call to violence. Jesus, by calling his listeners to be “salt of the earth,” was reimaging what it meant to live an engaged life in the kingdom of God on earth.

As modern scholarship has sifted through what Jesus said and what later writers said that he said, not a word can be found that endorses violence. Jesus never called people to rule. He called them to serve. With the salt image Jesus gave people a new way to image themselves. They were to flavor life for the good of all. They were to do their job peacefully, quietly and fully engaged.

A companion to the salt image in the teachings of Jesus was light. “You are the light of the world.” It is difficult for modern people to imagine life without electricity. When I walk into a dark room, I simply flip a switch and the room is fully lighted. I then go about my tasks as though I am in full daylight. This was not the world of Jesus. Jesus lived in a world of candles and lanterns. The people of Galilee could not afford either candles or lanterns. When the sun set in the west, light was gone. Recently we had a significant earthquake in our area. The quake struck in the darkness of night. We lost electrical power to our home. We have candles placed in strategic locations throughout the house. I knew the location of a box of matches. We did not live in darkness very long.

Language is full of references to light. Light has a good reputation. This is especially true of the Bible literature. Light has good meanings. We all want to live in the light, especially during the earthquakes of life. So what is the role of Godly people? We light candles and lanterns. We speak and act with compassion and love. “You are the light of the world” is instruction of unbounded wisdom. No one should live in darkness. We as practitioners of light are called to be actively engaged. No room should be dark if Godly people are present. We speak and act.

To remain silent is to put our lights under the cover of a basket. Jesus’ instructions are as good as ever.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.