Salt and Light

Jesus said to his disciples, and he says to us, "You are the salt of the earth.”  He further said, "You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Salt and Light are two elements that are used repeatedly in the Bible as metaphors.  They are also common elements that are necessary for life.  When you think about salt as a metaphor, can you recall a time when someone referred to you as “salt of the earth?”  In this sense, “salt of the earth” means a good and worthy person.  When you think about light as a metaphor, can you recall an experience when someone reflected God's light for you in a time of need?  Or what about a time when you felt you were "light" for someone else?  Experiences of salt and light are personal and intimate when we connect with another person at a deep and significant level.  Being the light for someone, or someone else being the light for us, is a revelatory experience, an encounter that leads to transformation or change in a person's perception or behavior.  It has to do with discovering something about our relationships that had been, prior to the light, hidden from our self-understanding.

Today's gospel usage of salt and light is about God's revelation to us.  Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light to alert his disciples to the importance of their role in the world.  The metaphor of salt suggests that the disciples were to be "the salt of the earth.”  Salt was important in Jesus' world as a spice and a preservative.  The disciples must convey and challenge the world with Jesus' teachings and preserve the deepest meaning of God's Holy Word.  The saying, “salt of the earth,” however, ends with a threat of divine judgment:  "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, but is thrown out and trampled under foot."

In reality, salt cannot lose its taste, but it can become unclean when tainted with impurities, and then it is thrown out or used to melt the ice on sidewalks and roads.  The disciples were warned that despite their call to carry on the teaching and ministry of Jesus, they could lose everything if they were unfaithful during times of persecution.

The metaphor is light is about relationships.  “You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before others.”  A traditional Jewish hope in Jesus’ day was that Israel and the city of Jerusalem would become "a light to the nations" by showing clearly what is God's justice.  The disciples' charge to be the "light of the world" was to be like "a city built on a hill" and a lamp "on the lamp-stand [to] give light to all in the house."  Their purpose however was not to draw attention to themselves but to bring the nations to God.  "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your God in heaven."

In these words Jesus taught his disciples and he is teaching all of us that the commandments of God and their truth about love of neighbor require more than verbal assent or belief.  They require total commitment, right actions and compassionate behavior.  Our light should break forth like the dawn and shine before others.  The commitment to God is an active commitment; it is simple and radical in its simplicity, and it is the good work of God's love for all people.

How are you and I salt and light for others?  Jesus challenges us to be the good salt of the earth and to be a beacon of light for others, radiant, buoyant, and optimistic.  It is the work of the Spirit of God.   St. Paul states it well as we heard in his Letter to the Corinthians: "We have received the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God."  We are pulled along by the Spirit, stretched with the challenge to put our faith into living acts of love and justice for others.

In a moment we shall baptize and welcome a new member into the household of God.  Vivian Lima Vigneault who is just 8 months old and her parents have come to be with us and share in Christ’s ministry.  The sacrament of Baptism is our response to the invitation of the Gospel.  It is the initiation rite into full membership in the Church, and, in the case of infants, it is also a time for giving a child his or her name.

The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.  The outward sign is the water that we bless and use, and the spiritual grace is the gift of God's Spirit by which we place ourselves as Christians, and those we baptize, within a particular history.  We take on the historical identity of the Christian tradition and work for justice, peace, love and reconciliation of all people with one another and with God.

It is our prayer that Vivian will grow into the full stature of Christ and herself become salt of the earth and a light to all the people she will meet.  Amen.