The Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden                        First Presbyterian Church

Matthew 5: 13-16                                                Feb. 6, 2011

 

             I have a confession to make.  I love salt.  I’m one of those people who will salt things even before I taste them because I just know they aren’t going to be salty enough.  As far as I’m concerned salt adds the “pop” to food and my greatest fear is that someday, some doctor will say I have to go on a low salt diet and use one of the salt substitutes out on the market.  Now, I have nothing against Mrs. Dash but a salt substitute?  Never. 

            So I totally understand what Jesus is saying when He tells us to be the salt of the world.  Christianity is supposed to add the zest to life.  It gives it its flavor and “pop”.  That’s what people should see when they see us --- people who are getting the very most out of being alive, people that make them say, “I want what they have.”               But far too often we have become a “salt substitute” a little bitter with a strange aftertaste --- nothing like the real thing at all. 

            Maybe we need to get back to what salt actually is, what it actually does.  Maybe we need to go to a Christian version of the Salt Institute.   Yes, there really is something called the Salt Institute.  It’s an association of salt companies dedicated to helping consumers unlock the secrets of salt.  I can’t make these things up.  Who knew that salt has secrets?

            But maybe it does, maybe we have lost the secret of what Christ is calling us to be.  So how do we go about being “the salt of the earth?”  Easy.  We flavor life with love and joy.  We bring out the best in ourselves and other people.  And the amazing thing to me is that it doesn’t take a lot of salt to make a big difference. 

            Have you ever noticed what a difference it makes when you take the time to smile and say something nice to the check out clerk who has just dealt with the customer from hell?  Their whole demeanor changes and it’s as if they can start their entire day all over again without a bitter taste in their mouth. 

            Or maybe you’ve seen the smile you make when you take fresh made brownies to someone in the nursing home who hasn’t had a homemade treat in weeks?  Their face lights up with every yumm and you’ve put spice in their life again. 

            Or maybe you’ve seen the reception you get when you take a shopping bag of soup to RAM?  It’s as if you were carrying gifts of gold to the hungry. 

            It takes such a little bit of love to make all the difference in the world. 

            And let’s not forget that salt is a great preservative.  It has been used from the earliest of times to keep things from spoiling.  We should be doing the same thing in our world.  We should make certain that evil does not reign supreme, destroying and putrefying life. 

            We should stop petty gossip and backbiting and bullying that can destroy self worth.  We should fight against prejudice and hatred toward those who are different before it destroys them – and us.  We should stop our war of words before it erupts into violence one more time because once is more than enough. 

            If we do not work like salt in our world, then Christ says we have lost all our reason for being and our faith has become worthless. 

            Salt and light are essential to life.  Like salt acts as a preservative light seeks out all those acts that we would rather never see the light of day.  And so Christ calls us the light of the world.

            We are to search out lies and bring them into the light of truth.  We are to search out corruption and bring it into the light of justice.  We are to search out oppression and bring it into the light of freedom. 

We are to be the harsh light of justice shining in the darkness that hides the corruption of the world. 

            But we are also to be like the stars that shine their brightest on the darkest of nights.  We are to love the loveless and bring hope to the hopeless.  We are to be the ones who write the kind note, who bring the hot soup, who offer to buy the medication that the person in need must have.  We are to be the bright and shining light on the hill.   And that light should shine so bright that we will no longer have to say that we’re located between the art center and the police station, but a light so bright that others will say the art center is located right next to the Presbyterian Church where love grows and God reigns supreme.