Matthew 5:13-16 – “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
One of the wonderful and powerful things about scripture is that the same passage can speak to you in a dozen different ways on a dozen different occasions. It’s one of the reasons we say scripture is the “living” Word of God. Scripture seems to converse with us as a teacher of wisdom might do, crafting the teaching to speak to the particularities of our current situation. I’ve been reading scripture since I was a kid and it still seems to bring new insights on a regular basis. This is especially true of Jesus’s teachings, probably in part because Jesus used a lot of everyday imagery and experiences.
Take the passage above for example. Salt, light, and cities were of everyday experience two thousand years ago when Jesus spoke these words and they are also common to our everyday lives today. Salt was salty then and it continues to be so now. Light behaves in the same way now as it did then. And although the details of the landscape might be different, cities perched up upon a hill still can’t be hidden. This led to a new insight for me as I encountered this teaching this time. I’m sure it’s not new, but’s it’s new to me.
You see, the majority of times I’ve read this passage, I’ve received it as a “be this way” passage. You and I are to be create flavor for the earth. We are to be light for those in darkness. We are to stand out for others like a beacon city on a hill. This is a great message and we could even add a lot of nuance to it as well. For instance, salt isn’t doing anything useful when it is all collected in a salt shaker. We could note that one small candle dispels the darkness of a huge room. We could talk about how it takes all of us to make a “city.” There’s more where those came from, but most of my insights before now were of the “be this way” variety.
This time, I heard something different. I heard a “you are already this way” message. Salt doesn’t, at some point, decide to be salty. Salt is, by definition, salty. Likewise, light is illuminating without trying. It can’t help but do anything else. The sun doesn’t decide some days to refuse to shine. And how could a city on a hill not be on a hill save some cataclysmic earthquake? They are all, by their very nature, what they are. Likewise, I believe that one thing we can hear from Jesus in the words above is who we already are. The flavor he alludes to in the salt metaphor is flavor we were made with. And that flavor is made to be added to the world. Jesus is also suggesting that we are made in a way that already shines like light in the darkness. And finally, there is something about us that stands out to others like a city on a hill does. We don’t have to be salty, illuminating, or perch ourselves upon a high and visible place in order to follow Jesus’s instruction here. God already made us in those ways!
Too often, we don’t believe that. Sadly, what we often believe is that in order to be something significant, we have to be something other than what we already are. So, we withhold our particular flavor and hide our light under a bushel. And that, Jesus says, is about as worthless as trying to pretend that that city on a hill isn’t there. Life in the kingdom Jesus brings calls us to stop hiding who God made us. You are already like a city on a hill; people already see you and the life you’re living. Unleash your flavor upon the world and let your light shine!
Questions: What is something good about you that hardly anyone knows? Why doesn’t anyone know that?
Prayer: I praise you God, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14, NIV) Lord, help me not only to actually believe what I just prayed, but to live like I believed it deep in my heart. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for people you know who feel that they don’t have anything useful/valuable to offer to others.
This Little Light of Mine – Children’s Choir
This is the second and third verses of the popular children’s song. I love watching the kids’ expressions and motions!
Weekday Word w/ Eric 
Leave a comment