Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! ...Is
not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the
thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free...to share your bread with the
hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house...Then you shall call, and
the Lord will answer... [Isaiah 58:1a, 6-7, 9a]
Light shines in the darkness for the upright; the
righteous are merciful and full of compassion... They have freely given to the
poor...they will hold up their heads with honor. The wicked will see it and be
angry, they will gnash their teeth and pine away; the desires of the wicked
will perish. [Psalm
112:4, 9-10]
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ
and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much
trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of
wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith
might not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God. [1 Corinthians 2:2-5]
Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has
lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored. It is no longer good for
anything...You are the light of the world...No one lighting a lamp puts it
under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand and it gives light to all in the
house. [Matthew
5:13a, 14-15]
This week we pick up on the second installment
of The Sermon on the Mount. Last week, the first part of
the Sermon in Matthew 5:1-12, was a recitation of the
Beatitudes. It is always worth re-reading, reminding, and re-examining what
they mean to us individually. One way to approach them is as “Be Attitudes” as
there are blessings for each stage along our faith journey. With an attitude
of being Christ’s disciples, we aren’t seeking fame and fortune or
success by some earthly measure, but rather we are to change our thinking,
adjust our expectations of “life” for our brief sojourn on this earthly plain. All
of the readings appointed for this Sunday are a good primer on ways to start
to think again about how to live in this human time in the ways Jesus
wants of his disciples.
Isaiah tells us that just
showing up to do a few good acts and a bit of fasting without the right
intention isn’t enough, especially if we’re still pointing fingers and judging
others. He calls out the hypocrisy of those who go through the motions of the
rituals of worship but tells us that God sees through the waving of hands and
cries of “Look at Me” with a scathing critique of self-importance and self-interest
as the prime motivator.
The
Psalmist echoes Isaiah with a clear vision of the inherent mission of the
upright, who we think we are or aim to be, but, we are often distracted by
the overwhelming amount of options/obstacles in these times. Rather than the Light
of Christ radiating his presence from within us, the culture in
our “First World” lives exposes us to a different kind of light, one that is blasted
at us that is blinding and almost obsessively addicting. We keep
clicking the buttons on our phones or TVs for the reels and streaming services,
gaming and gossip and real-time gambling, excessive fat-filled calorie laden night-time
food ads, and “celebrity-making (non-)Reality” programming. Then there are the many
ads for OTC herbs and vitamin supplements and other alleged remedies not verified
by any reliable medical source, only those who are making millions to billions
on the newest version of snake oil. DO check with your real Doctor, the only
credible statement that some of the more credible ads advise.
Paul
follows on in his first letter to the Church in Corinth calling them, and now
us, to seek to recognize the Spirit and power of God so as to be spiritual
and have more ability to discern the gifts God has bestowed upon us. He says
that the unspiritual do not see
God’s gifts as they regard such things as foolishness. No one can discern the
wisdom of the Spirit without being spiritual, without being heart and soul-fully
invested in the ATTITUDES of BEing, at the very least, being spiritually hungry
for justice, mercy, peace-making, etc.
In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells us that we are the “salt of the earth.” Salt in his time was a
commodity of great importance far beyond a condiment, it was currency.
Soldiers’ wages were paid in salt ~ salarium in Latin,
from where we get the word salary. Everyone used salt as we use money in
our own time. If salt loses its taste, its value as currency drops; it becomes
worthless, good only to throw on the street. A serious financial problem arises
with tasteless salt ~ imagine your pay/pension check bouncing.
Today good salt enhances the flavors
of our food, and the yeast in bread will not rise without it. An appropriate
amount of salt is vital to our physical health in digestive and other body
processes. In being so identified as the salt of the earth, we are
called to realize our own worth and potential in God's sight and to let our
good works reflect the Glory of God as a pathway to eternal life.
Jesus also tells us we
are the light of the world, a light on the lampstand of life,
filling God’s House with spirit-filled light for everyone, unhidden as a
city built on a hill, reflecting and refracting God's glory through us
as a prism.
These rich images, along with the
blessings from the Beatitudes, are a guide for how we choose to live in
discipleship. Jesus is clear that he has come to fulfill, not abolish, the
Law of God ~ the Commandments ~ and that we are to follow even the
least of these to the letter and to teach others to do the
same. He doesn't think well of the scribes and Pharisees and while we are
challenged to go much farther, the bar is set rather low with them as
examples.
It is important to remember that Jesus gave
us this summary of the Law: You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your
neighbor as yourself [Matthew 22:37-39b]. If you live into this you
will have well fulfilled all the Commandments as God gave them to Moses.
Love God; Love your neighbor as yourself. After all, if you truly love God and
love your neighbor-as-yourself you won’t steal, kill, covet, commit, etc.
The as yourself part is a very specific clarification that
often goes unheard or dismissed. It is to love your neighbor as if
your neighbor is yourself; you are your neighbor/your neighbor is
you. Not so easy or comfortable to dismiss a neighbor if it is dismissing yourself!
Similarly with the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our
sins/trespasses AS [in the same exact way that] we forgive those
who sin/trespass against us. There’s something extra to ponder in lieu of
merely rattling off familiar syllables unconsciously without the conscious understanding
of what it is we are saying/praying.
When we follow these instructions, we will
receive the blessings outlined in the Beatitudes and our light shall
rise in the darkness to shine God’s glory to others.
Let us go forth Light-ly Salted
by, in, and with God's everlasting remembrance.
In the meantime, let
us look at another Summary of God’s wishes, this piece has
been attributed to but not verified as actually by John Wesley. Regardless of authorship, whoever said this gives us a great checklist of a Jesus-centered
Life:
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAYLeader: ~ O God of Power and Wisdom, infuse our souls with the deep
desire to move from the self-indulgence of limitless earthly distractions, to
being the upright salt of the earth, preserving and enhancing the freshness of
Christ’s call. May we radiate his light from within us and put our trust in
You.
O Christ, our
Light and our Guide
RESPONSE: Keep
us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
~ O
God of Power and Wisdom, free us from fear and trembling to be Your
beacon, shining Christ’s Light in the darkness. Let us lift our voices to
implore all who lead governments on this Planet, in this Country, and in our
Community, to be compassionate and honorable in their lives, and to seek true
Justice in their work. We pray especially for: our President, our Vice
President, our Members of Congress, our Governor, our County Executive, our
City Council, and our Mayor.
O Christ, our Light and our Guide
Keep
us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
~ O God of Power and Wisdom, comfort the spirits of all who
are stricken with chronic illness, addiction, or desperation, and grant
strength to those who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those
in need…
O Christ, our Light and our Guide
Keep us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
~ O God of Power and Wisdom, console those who grieve with new
or freshly remembered loss. May their hearts know that those we love now live
again, where joy and peace abound forever with You. We pray especially
for…
O Christ, our Light and our Guide
Keep us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
~ O God of Power and Wisdom, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O Christ, our Light and our Guide
Keep us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
~ O God of Power and Wisdom, grant delight in Your ways to those
who lead Your Church and minister in the name of Christ. Gift them with the
ability to teach us by word and example, and, shepherd our path to spiritual
discernment. We pray especially for: Sean, our Presiding Bishop;
Kevin, our Bishop; Patrick, our Rector; Lloyd, our Rector Emeritus, and Cecily,
our Deacon.
O Christ, our Light and our Guide
Keep us seeking Justice, Kindness, and Mercy for All
The Celebrant adds: Most Faithful God, satisfy our needs and
strengthen us in parched places, that each day we may be as a light rising in
the darkness. Help us to radiate Your glory as we work to satisfy the needs of
the afflicted. We ask through Jesus our Christ, the Lord of Light within us;
and the Holy Spirit, the Fount of Divine Wisdom; who together with You are One
God, forever and ever. Amen.
