{"id":1615,"date":"2017-07-23T11:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-07-23T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/?p=1615"},"modified":"2019-09-24T13:15:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T17:15:12","slug":"salt-and-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2017\/07\/23\/salt-and-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt and Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here to listen to the full service<\/a><\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 2:1-12<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthew 5:13-16<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to listen to the meditations only<\/a><\/p>\n

The point of salt is to be salty.\u00a0 We are the salt of the earth.<\/p>\n

The point of light is to shine. We are the light of the world.<\/p>\n

The point of life is to love. We are alive.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.[1]<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jane was a traveler, and as happens to travelers from time to time, one day she found herself in a new city\u2014the City of Everywhere.\u00a0 Perhaps you\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n

Jane had not, but being a city girl at heart, having grown up in the land of the bean and the cod, she was open to the experience.<\/p>\n

After all, the City of Everywhere was beautiful; the streets were clean, the architecture was appealing, and the people were so friendly.\u00a0 There was just one thing, one tiny detail that, as Jane walked down the street, she thought was a little strange.<\/p>\n

You see, no one, not a single person that she passed was wearing shoes.<\/p>\n

Strange, Jane thought, as she ducked into a coffee shop.<\/p>\n

As she was waiting for her iced latte, looking around at all the shoeless people, her curiosity finally got the better of her and she said to the manager, \u201cExcuse me, manager.\u00a0 I\u2019m new to your city.\u00a0 What a wonderful place, the streets are so clean, the architecture so appealing, the people so friendly.\u00a0 I just have one quick question.\u00a0 Tell me, why doesn\u2019t anyone wear shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n

The manager gave her a knowing smile and offered in a thoughtful voice, \u201cAh, that\u2019s the question, why don\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d Said Jane, \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m asking, why don\u2019t you wear any shoes? Don\u2019t you all believe in shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve in shoes?!\u201d said the manager, \u201cOf course, we believe in shoes, that\u2019s the first article of our creed\u2014shoe wearing. Oh, think of the suffering shoes prevent; think of the sores, the splinters, the stubs avoided by those wonders of wonders\u2014shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jane, a little freaked out, smiled and nodded her head and quietly left the coffee shop. (With her iced latte of course.) As she walked down the street, she was in such a state of consternation that she almost missed the beautiful stone building in front of her.<\/p>\n

It had a spire that reached to the sky and colorful glass windows with pictures in them. As she was staring at it, an old man said to her, \u201cBeautiful isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d said Jane, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis?\u201d said the man pointing to the beautiful building, \u201cAh, this is our pride and joy. This is our shoe manufacturing establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprised, Jane responded, \u201cYou mean you make shoes there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, no,\u201d laughed the man, \u201cdon\u2019t be silly. No, this is where we talk about making shoes.\u00a0 We have a staff of people we pay to speak to us each week about shoe wearing.\u00a0 We broadcast the message live on the radio for thousands to hear and there are moments when the speakers are so persuasive about shoe-wearing that people weep and commit to wearing shoes in the week ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sneaking a peak at his feet, Jane asked the man, \u201cYou go here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery week!\u201d said the man, \u201cand even when I miss I tune in on the radio or listen to the podcast or read the blogpost later in the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, why don\u2019t you wear shoes, then?\u201d\u00a0 said Jane.<\/p>\n

The man, looking her in the eye, nodded with a knowing smile, \u201cAhhh, that\u2019s the question, why don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Just then, over the man\u2019s shoulder, Jane noticed a small cobbler\u2019s shop across the street.\u00a0 She excused herself to the older man and crossed the street into the shop. Though the sign said \u201copen,\u201d there was not a single customer there. Interrupting the cobbler as he was putting the finishing touches on a beautiful pair of shoes.\u00a0 Jane asked the cobbler, \u201cWhy is your shop empty?\u201d<\/p>\n

The cobbler responded, \u201cAs you can see, I have plenty of shoes, but people around here just want to talk about shoes. No one actually wears them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Jane had an idea. Surprising the cobbler, Jane bought as many pairs as she could carry and ran across the street to the man she had just left and said to him, \u201cSir, good news, I have shoes for you.\u00a0 They are different shapes and sizes, but surely there is a pair that fits you?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t there?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man, looked down at the shoes and then up at Jane, then back down at the shoes and back up at Jane and his faced turned a little crimson, \u201cThank you miss, that\u2019s very kind, but you see, it\u2019s just not done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said an exasperated Jane, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you wear shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Said the man, \u201cThat\u2019s the question, Why don\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

And as Jane traveled back from The City of Everywhere to here, that question resonated in her mind, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we, why don\u2019t we, why don\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

II.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus was standing on a hill giving the sermon of his life before he gave his life as the sermon.<\/p>\n

He began poetically, perhaps you\u2019ve heard it, \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek,\u201d and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n

And then, according to Matthew, he got to the meat of the sermon\u2026or at least the seasoning.<\/p>\n

Looking at the disciples, he said, \u201cYou are the salt of the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now if we\u2019re honest, that\u2019s sort of a weird thing to say, but setting the strangeness aside for a moment, we should recognize what he was doing.<\/p>\n

He was pausing in the middle of the sermon at the beginning of his ministry, to remind the people gathered around him of who they were, of why they were important.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the salt of the earth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

To be clear, he was not speaking literally, he was speaking theologically.<\/p>\n

He was saying to the disciples and in turn to us that we are people of worth.\u00a0 By virtue of our very being we have worth.<\/p>\n

Not because of the things we do, but because of who we are.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, as we know, we could use the reminder.<\/p>\n

After all, we live in a world that from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed tries to convince us that we are not enough. That who we are is not enough. That our worth comes from how we look or who we know or who knows us.<\/p>\n

But friends, it\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n

We are more than our tweets, more than our Facebook or Instagram likes. We are more than the way the world perceives us, more than our jobs, our grades, our bodies.<\/p>\n

We are the salt of the earth.\u00a0 In other words, we matter not because of the things we do, but because of who we are.<\/p>\n

And for those who may have forgotten between last week and this one, let me say it again, you are as I am a child of God.<\/p>\n

But accepting that, friends, is only the first step.\u00a0 We also have to live like it matters.<\/p>\n

Jesus continues, \u201cYou are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its saltiness) how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, friends, the point, the entire point of salt is to be salty.<\/p>\n

We know from our own experience that when we lose our proverbial saltiness, when we forget who we are in the eyes of God, when we try and find our worth in those fleeting things of life, money, sex, accomplishment, it can feel like the world is walking all over us.<\/p>\n

The good news is that even then, we have worth.<\/p>\n

You see, not only was salt an important preservative of the ancient world and a form of currency, (hence something not being worth its salt), it was also frequently used as a leveling agent for the most common fuel for outdoor fires of the time: manure.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: manure. \u00a0Salt helped manure patties to burn longer, hotter, and more evenly, and then, when they were done, the solid charred remains were used on roads to help absorb mud.<\/p>\n

In other words, they were literally trampled upon\u2026and still had worth.<\/p>\n

And while that doesn\u2019t sound particularly pleasant, think for a moment about what it would mean for us to be leveling agents for the world.\u00a0 What would it mean if we took seriously the call not only to preserve the message that Jesus was sharing\u2014to not only talk about loving\u2014but to be the agents who helped spread that message evenly. To all. To spread it in such a way that long after we are gone, the love we shared made the path a little easier for those who come after us.<\/p>\n

Or said another way, friends, what would it mean if we wore the shoes we talked so much about?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, Christians haven\u2019t always done this well\u2026if at all.<\/p>\n

When was the last time Christians made the news for their love? Think of the last year alone and all of the fear of refugees, of immigrants, of our Muslim brothers and sisters.\u00a0 What has been the Christian voice?<\/p>\n

The entirety of the Christian faith is predicated on the notion that we are to welcome the stranger in our midst\u2014to love our neighbor as ourselves. It\u2019s not a part of our faith, it is our faith.\u00a0 \u00a0And yet, when our voice is needed, we\u2019ve been silent at best, and complicit at worst.<\/p>\n

Friends, salt is meant to be salty.\u00a0 We are the salt of the earth.<\/p>\n

But just in case the salt metaphor is not working, Matthew has Jesus switch to a new one\u2026light, though the point is the same.\u00a0 He says, \u201cA city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand so that it may give light to all in the house.\u201d In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.
\nDo you hear?\u00a0 Let your light shine before others.<\/p>\n

The point of light is to shine.<\/p>\n

So, in case we\u2019ve missed it, here\u2019s the point\u2014we are not people who get together to just talk about light, we are people who shine it. We are not people who talk about shoes, we wear them.\u00a0 Or, to drop the metaphors for a moment, we don\u2019t just talk about life, we live it\u2026and the only way to do that is through love.<\/p>\n

I give you a new command, love one another.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we can get really cynical about this whole faith thing. We look at it and shake our heads and think, this is all a bunch of manure.\u00a0 And most of the time, we\u2019re right.<\/p>\n

The truth is, our faith is only as good as the people willing to live like it matters.<\/p>\n

We have spent too long convincing ourselves that our faith is about what happens when we die.\u00a0 But the opposite is true\u2026it\u2019s about what happens when we live, not at death, but right now.<\/p>\n

And the only way to life is through love.<\/p>\n

Friends, what is it in your life that is worth dying for?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it worth living for as well?
\nAs Howard Thurman said, \u201cDon\u2019t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive then go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if changing the world seems too hard, let\u2019s start with the part we have some control over\u2014ourselves\u2026our interactions with each another.\u00a0 If we can make those relationships a little more loving, if we can practice forgiveness and grace and compassion in those, if we can make a little kingdom of heaven here<\/em>, then there just might be hope for The Cities of Everywhere.<\/p>\n

And if there comes a time in our travels through life when we look in the mirror and discover that we don\u2019t love as we should, then we owe it to ourselves to ask the hard question: Why don\u2019t we?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

-The Reverend Doctor Stephen M Cady II,\u00a0Senior Minister from Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/span><\/a> This allegory is based on \u201cThe City of Everywhere\u201d by Hugh Price Hughes which I first discovered in the writings of Howard Thurman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to listen to the full service 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 Matthew 5:13-16 Click here to listen to the meditations only The point of salt is to be salty.\u00a0 We are the salt of the earth. The point of light is to shine. We are the light of the world. The point of life is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1615"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1862,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions\/1862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}