Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

13 "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. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Year A

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 5, 2017

Cross~Wind

Title: Following Jesus into the World

Introducing the passage

When Jesus speaks of the difference his people make in the world, he uses two rather small, often unnoticed, seemingly insignificant substances-salt and light. Today, we come by both quite easily. Some areas complain of having too much light, calling it light pollution. The problem is that there is so much light that people lose the rhythm of day and night and do not get the rest they need. Some of us must limit our intake of salt. Personally, I rarely salt anything anymore, having discovered that most meats have plenty of naturally occurring salt. I have a good friend and colleague who surprised me when I saw him put enough salt on his meat to turn it almost white.

In any case, in the days of Jesus, these metaphors took on a quite different meaning. Light can be very fragile, but even in small quantities it makes quite a difference. During my one experience exploring a cave in southern Indiana, as we descended into the darkness, I looked at the tiny lights our guides gave us to shine along our way. They were just miniature flashlights, but in the darkness of the cave, they made all the difference. When the darkness is particularly great, one does not need a huge amount of light to make a great difference.

We want to make a difference. However, how much difference we make is up to God rather than us. We need to be ready and available for God to use as God wishes. The results are in the hands of God.

Jesus reminds us as followers of Jesus not to lose the difference between the world and us. If we become like the world, we do neither the world nor ourselves any good. If we are completely at peace with the world, we have lost the tension of this difference. We are servants in the world when we faithfully follow Jesus Christ. We do so as we understand ourselves in the context of Jewish Scripture, but through the eyes of Jesus.  

Introduction

A reporter once asked a 104-year-old woman, "What do you think is the best thing about being 104?" She replied, quite simply, "No peer pressure."

Quite honestly, I am not sure if we are ever free of peer pressure, but I have been reflecting upon its influence upon our lives.

Peer pressure can both help us and hurt us. C. S. Lewis wrote an interesting article entitled, “The Inner Ring.” It suggests why the difference is there. He acknowledges that all of has an inner circle of friends. We are social creatures and we need that inner ring of friends. We care for them and they care for us. We influence each other. He warns us, though, that the desire to be in an inner ring of a group is sinful. This desire to do and say things to be part of a group is dangerous in that it may block you from becoming the person God wants you to be.

Most of us think of peer pressure as a negative.[1]

One survey made three conclusions about the effect of peer pressure on drug and alcohol use. It seems that teens with friends who do drugs and alcohol:

+ are more likely to do the same.

+ are more likely to convince their friends to do it too.

+ are more likely to seek out other teens that do the same.[2]

Interestingly peer pressure can also have a negative way if we are with our very best peers. Having people who are a little better than we are inspires us, but having people around us who are a lot better than we are discourages us.[3]

A common example many preachers use is Mother Teresa. Her life and words will preach well. Yet, the danger of such an example is that what she did can seem unattainable for us “average” Christians raising families and working in the world.  

In my sports life, tennis is an example. When I played against someone incredibly better, it was dispiriting. I wanted to give up. I had a friend in Seminary, Don Thorsen, who was a little better than I was. He would usually win, but the games were close. It taught me a lot to watch him toss the ball in the air for a serve. He inspired me to play better. I think I was that person for my first District Superintendent, Bill Clayton. In a different way, when I went to Brownstown, I had a member of the church who was much older than I was but who regularly beat me, largely because he was so consistent in getting to balls and getting them back.

Such observations make me wonder about the effect of the Pharisees upon the people of their generation. Even Paul was proud of the fact that he was “as to the law, a Pharisee.” This is exactly the effect of the Pharisees on the people around them. Those within the inner circle of Judaism knew they were superior to others regarding adherence to the Law. Those outside the inner circle knew it as well – and it may well have dispirited them! It may well have led them to give up on even to try being faithful to the covenant.

Application

Our passage raises the question of what righteous people look like. Do they look like people who follow the smallest matters of the Torah? Those who follow Jesus do not think or live that way. What kind of influence should we exert upon each other? Together, what kind of influence should we be in the world?

First, they look like salt.

Jesus says that they are "the salt of the earth" (v. 13).

In the ancient world, salt was a valuable commodity used for sacrifice, purification, seasoning and preservation. Christians are to play all of these roles in the world, and are to remain salty by staying true to their mission and avoiding contamination. "If salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?" asks Jesus. It cannot, of course. Contaminated salt "is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot" (v. 13).

Note that Jesus does not say, "Try to be the salt of the earth."

He does not say, "It might be good for you to catch some classes at Salt and Light University to learn how to be salt."

He does not say, "Go to the rabbi and elders and have them lay hands on you to beseech God to grant you saltiness."

He does not say, "Take 30 minutes every morning to meditate and try to reach, and to be in touch with, your inner saltiness."

His comment is quite straightforward. "You are the salt of the earth. This is what and who you are. Don't forget it." His statement is not a command but a description.[4] Salt is salt. The value of salt is in its application to other things.

No wonder Jesus calls us "salt." We exist for others.

Second, they look like light -- lighthouses, spotlights, flashlights, lamps, candles in the darkness.

Jesus says, "You are the light of the world" (v. 14).

Once again, being light does not involve sitting through a college class, reading literature on the subject or meditating about it. Jesus' statement is a description, not a command.

Moreover, like salt, light does not exist for its own benefit, but for the benefit of everything it illuminates. Light provides warmth and energy to the world around it, and encourages life and growth. We do the very same thing when we act as the light of the world, and when we reflect the light of Christ to others. 

"No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house" (v. 15).  

Our righteousness as Christians depends on doing whatever we can to be lights to each other and to the world around us. By the way, you have an opportunity to be salt and light to Nick and Elaina as they come to minister among you and this community. We are --

 + To be open and honest instead of hiding in the dark,

 + To offer other people warmth and encouragement instead of being cold and discouraging,

 + To be an energy source for others, so that together we can advance the mission of Christ in the world.

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (v. 16).  

Our challenge is to shine as a Christian community so that others will see what a life of love and faithfulness looks like. One way to think about what is happening in our country today is that Americans have become a self-righteous lot. We have certain code words that suggest I am more American than you are; I am more progressive than you are, or I am more conservative than you are. If we are to be salt and light, our focus needs to remind people that their first responsibility is to be among those who give priority to righteousness as viewed by Jesus, that of love to God and neighbor. By being such persons, we will help people overcome darkness, loneliness, and isolation.[5] We will not be such persons by focusing upon rules and regulations in order to meet the standards of a new inner ring of righteousness. We will not be such persons if we forget the mission, the vision, or the value of genuine love of God and neighbor.

Conclusion

The Pharisees of the Bible cannot be our role models for righteousness,[6] because they neglected the justice, mercy and faith that are part of a right relationship with God and neighbor. Nor can the 21st-century Pharisees who are alive and well in the church today, people who make other Christians feel unworthy through an excessive focus on religious rules and regulations. Such persons want to reduce Christianity to a code given in the past and that remains binding on us today. It will never have the freedom of the Spirit to move into new areas and welcome new persons.

We have only one role model for righteousness: Jesus Christ, the one who invites us to be salt and light. He did not set himself above us in an unapproachable position. He is among us as one who serves. He offers us the very best peer pressure, that which inspires us to rise to the challenge of advancing his mission in the world. As salt, we can talk with openness and honesty about who we are as Christians. As light, we can bring warmth and energy to the world around us. 

Going deeper 

Matthew 5:13-16 are wisdom sayings of Jesus regarding discipleship. Jesus shows a concern that his disciples have an influence upon the world. He draws a distinction between the disciples and the world that suggests a change of heart and life in order to be a disciple.

13 (from Matthew)"You are the salt of the earth; [from the material Matthew shares with Luke] 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. [Such a saying may have occasioned surprise, for salt contained impurities. The saying speaks to the danger of something valuable that loses the essential quality that makes it valuable. Further, salt was not just for flavoring, but also for preserving. Small amounts of salt could also fertilize soil that lost its nutrients. One must scatter the salt around for the salt to do any good.]

[Karl Barth suggests that the way salt loses its savor is the process of secularization. He does not find it surprising that the world is secular, for that is what it is, and always will be. However, “when the church becomes secular, it is the greatest conceivable misfortune both for the church and the world.” For him, this is what happens when the church wants to be only “for” the world, nation, and culture. It loses its importance, meaning and reason for existence. The secularization of the church, in all its attempts to connect to the world, is actually its alienation. Now, Barth himself, and many of his followers take these reflections in a quite liberal political direction, along with a critique of democracy, freedom, and capitalism. However, one can also see that as “progressive Christianity” continues to expand, it keeps favoring current political movements of the political Left, trying to erase the distinction between itself and a part of the culture, and yet, runs the risk of this alienation. The reason, of course, is that if the church is only “for” the world, it is no longer “for” Christ and “for” God.[7] Later, Barth offers the opinion that sometimes, the church may be at peace with the world precisely because it has lost its saltiness.[8] Later still, he says the church may behave in such a way as to provide no objection to the world, making itself invisible, and therefore forfeiting its right to exist.[9] Barth also says that the Christian community has no other task. The task is simple and unassuming. If God wills to accomplish much through its labor, that is the affair of God. The Christian community can neither bring this about nor enforce it. It has no right to ask for successes. It must simply hold itself in readiness for God.[10] For Barth, the church can grow secular, which means it sets it light under a bushel and loses its saltiness. Yet, Jesus Christ never becomes identical with secular history. It remains light and salt, shaming and awakening the church, judging and saving the church. It maintains the particularity of the church in relation to all other occurrences in history.[11] Barth also says that one who believes in Jesus Christ is the lighted candle. To believe is also to give yourself as light. For him, one cannot acknowledge Christ privately without also confessing oneself as a Christian.[12]]

(from Matthew)14 "You (that is disciples) are the light of the world.

[from the source common to Matthew and Luke] A city built on a hill cannot be hid. [The light of the city gathers in one place. Many small lights gathered in a community will make light that one cannot hide. The church is to be that hilltop night light for the world. Pannenberg will say that Jesus seems to have lived still with the prophetic expectation of the end-time pilgrimage of the peoples to Zion as the place of the proclaiming of the righteous will of God. Until that time comes, the community of believers is to bear witness in the nations around it to the rule of God that has dawned as the visible city on a hill that one cannot hide.[13]]

15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. [One must expose the flame to the surrounding air in order to have sufficient oxygen to burn brightly. The disciples are the light that shine in the world and bring glory to God. Matthew had in mind the one room Palestinian home of the common person. The saying becomes a warning to the church. The world is adverse to the light. Nevertheless, in its life, the church is to attract people to the light.] 16 (from Matthew) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. [The disciples will be a light by letting others see their good works and glorify God. Light is useless when one covers it up. Further, the light will not continue to burn if one covers it up and deprives it of its oxygen.]

[Matthew 5:17-20 is a saying that has the theme of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law. Most scholars today think of these verses as reflecting a controversy in the early Christian community over whether the Law was still binding on Christians. The relationship of Jesus to the Mosaic Law is in debate here.]

(from Matthew) 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. [Barth takes the occasion of this verse to reflect upon the notion that the early church accepted the canon of the Synagogue. Early Christians added the New Testament, enlarging a canon already given, extending it as a new action of God. He notes that the early church did not try to adopt the sacred writings of other religions as such a “preface,” an approach that would have made the missionary task much easier. Yet, it is not just a preface or introduction to the New. It is Scripture.[14] He notes that what Jesus has in mind was not the piety of other religions, but that of the Israelite religion of revelation. He does not intend to dissolve that religion. He accepts it. He does not require his disciples to abandon or replace it.[15]]18 [from the source common to Matthew and Luke] For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. [Barth points out that given the regard this passage shows for the smallest letter of the Hebrew Bible, “we must be on our guard against trying to say anything different.” These words belong to revelation and their writing by the Spirit.[16]]  19 [from Matthew] Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [The point seems to be that Jesus exercises his lordship in such a way that the Torah remains valid.] 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [This notion of “entering,” as Pannenberg says, contains a future element to the teaching regarding the kingdom. The decisive element for Matthew is that the love commandment becomes the center of these intensified individual commandments. Based on the antitheses, the higher righteousness of the disciples is not only a quantitative increase of the fulfilling of the law - measured on the Torah - but also primarily a qualitative intensification of the life before God - measured on love. The concept that Jesus fulfills law and prophets completely and perfectly means at the same time that for Matthew there is no longer any other way of access to the Bible of Israel than by way of Jesus.  Therefore, the preamble to the antitheses has at the same time the effect of a reprimand of Israel.  Matthew, who fixes the authority of the Bible through Jesus, can do no other than measure the scribes and Pharisees by the standard of the higher righteousness that Jesus sets.  Measured by this standard, which is not theirs, their righteousness is not enough. In the history of interpretation, the verses rarely became significant outside of threats to the continuing validity of the Old Testament.[17] Barth says that although Jesus accepts the Law, he does demand that the followers of Jesus should go a new way in its exercise, a “better righteousness,” than did its greatest champions.[18]] 

---

[1] David Greene, the host of NPR's "Morning Edition," explains that peer pressure can help us by inspiring us to do the right thing. Sit next to a good student in class, and her study habits can rub off on you. Watch your neighbors install solar panels on their roof, and it might motivate you to do the same thing.

[2] --Stacy Zeiger, "Statistics on peer pressure," Love to Know Website. teens.lovetoknow.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016. The Monitoring the Future Survey ... found that approximately 30 percent of eighth graders have used illicit drugs.

[3] Todd Rogers is a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has studied the peer pressure that comes from people who are a little better than we are, as well as the pressure that comes from people who are much better than we are. I am sure Pharisees thought of themselves in that category when it came to spirituality. He says that when you or someone else compares you to people who are doing a little better than you are it can motivate. Someone conserving energy might inspire you to use less energy. Someone voting might motivate you to vote. However, if you compare yourself or others compare you to someone who is unattainably better than you are, we have another form of negative peer pressure.

Rogers studied more than 5,000 students in a massive open online course. As part of the course, the students graded each other's work and learned from each other. What Rogers discovered was that ordinary students became far more likely to quit the course when he paired them with the best students. The ordinary students grading top-quality papers assumed that everyone in the group was brilliant and this made them feel inferior. 

[4] Too often, we are afraid that we are not "salty" enough, and when we get agitated like that, we are essentially making this all about ourselves instead of about Jesus. Whatever Jesus actually had in mind when he said, "You are the salt of the earth," we know that salt as an element has no value to itself. It is not about making salt better salt.

[5] Darkness, loneliness, and isolation are all around us. Righteous Christians can truly be a light to the world -- beacons of peace and reconciliation in a world that is so often full of conflict. If we perform such good works, people will see them, says Jesus. Then they will "give glory to your Father in heaven" (v. 16).

[6] The Pharisees may have been the spiritual superstars of their day, but their righteousness was rooted in rules and regulations. Jesus respected their passion for the law, but criticized their failure to put it into action. He encouraged his followers to do what the Pharisees "teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach" (23:3).

That said, the Pharisees were, no doubt, good people. They were not necessarily cruel, heartless or unpleasant. Nevertheless, they tried to be good for the wrong reasons, and Jesus could not lift up the Pharisees as the norm for righteousness. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith" (23:23).

[7] (Church Dogmatics, IV.2 [67.3] 688)

[8] (IV.3 [71.5] 619)

[9] (IV.3 [72.3]

[10] (III.4 [55.3] 487)

[11] (IV.3 [69.3] 225)

[12] (IV.1 [63.2] 776)

[13] Systematic Theology Volume 3, 494.

[14] (Church Dogmatics I.2 [19.2] 489)

[15] (IV.2 [66.3] 551)

[16] (Church Dogmatics I.2 [19.2] 517)

[17] (Systematic Theology, Vol 2, p. 328)

[18] (Church Dogmatics IV.2 [66.3] 551)