Today's reading comes from Matthew 5: 13-16
Salt and Light
13 'You're the salt of the earth! But if the salt becomes tasteless, how is it going to get salty again? It's no good for anything. You might as well throw it out and walk all over it.
14 'You're the light of the world! A city can't be hidden if it's on top of a hill. 15 People don't light a lamp and put it under a bucket; they put it on a lampstand. Then it gives light to everybody in the house. 16 That's how you must shine your light in front of people! Then they will see what wonderful things you do, and they'll give glory to your father in heaven.
As we hear Jesus speak to us about being the salt and the light, he speaks to us about our identity in this world.
Who are we? We are salt and light.
As salt, we are both a seasoning and a preservative for our world.
If you need a bit of flavour in your food, you add a bit of salt to add flavour.
In Jesus' times, there was no refrigeration to preserve food, so salt was also used as a preservative to keep food and help it last.
Jesus is sprinkling us into this world to add the flavour of Christ and God's love.
We are also a preservative to uphold the integrity of what it means to be Christlike and demonstrate who Jesus is and preserve his image for the world to see.

Being the salt of the earth, we are not the morality police. Salt does not preserve food by calling out the rottenness in the food that it surrounds, salt preserves the food simply by being present—so preventing decay.
Jesus also calls us to be the light of the world.
Interestingly, Jesus calls us the light of the world because in John 8, he calls himself the light of the world.

So what is it? Are we the light, or is Jesus?

it is both and.
It works like this: we are to be a mirror reflection of the light of Jesus in the world for the sake of the world. We are indeed following Jesus and so we are walking in that light but that light is not for us alone.
As light, we are reflecting the light of God's love into a world growing dark because of tribalism, rage, and despair. We are called to reflect something different in the world God loves.
The pollution of perpetual rage has left people in a place of bitterness, cynicism, and despair, which is an awful state of existence. We who follow Jesus are the hopeful hope-bringers who shine the hope of the gospel into the darkness of despair.


Music: Salt of The Sound and Simon Wester (Used with Permission) 

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