Sermon from Matthew 5:13-16 for February 3

So…

As we continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount, I have been tempted to come up with a catchy title for it that kind of illuminates the essence of what Jesus is saying about what the Kingdom of God.

Last week, we began with Jesus seeming to suggest that Kingdom of God is made up of people very different then what the world often thinks of as winners!

He said, blessed are those (and I suggested perhaps a better translation is “made holy are those”) who depend only on God, who grieve, who are humble, who want to obey him, who are merciful, whose hearts are pure, who make peace, who are treated badly for doing right, who are insulted, mistreated, and have lies told about them because of Jesus.

Jesus seems to be saying that the Kingdom is not made up of the world’s elite, nor of Israel’s elite in his day, but rather Jesus seems to be suggesting that God’s kingdom is actually made up of those followers of his who are, in fact, humble, grace-filled, and merciful.

It just strikes me that this seems to be a rather strange way to start a kingdom! No fire breathing dragons, no grand armies of ice people. No huge machine of war. Just humble, struggling people, a lot like you and I.

But it does reflect what the prophet Micah said in Micah 6:8, “You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good. This is what the Lord requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God.”

So, this Kingdom Jesus is introducing is different. It is not made up of the powerful, but rather the humble. Not made up of the successful, but rather those who mourn.  And then Jesus offers up two new images of God’s Kingdom that might suggest today’s sermon title: “Sermon on the Mount: Lightly Salted”. You get it? Light. Salt.

Sigh!

I have in the past described the OMHPC as a bowl of granola: fruits, flakes, and nuts. Look around, you know who is who!

And that may adequately explain who we are. A bunch of Jesus’ loving folks hanging out together trying to be the kind of disciples Jesus would love, just like that original bunch of crazies.

But, here’s the thing: while seeing ourselves as granola is great, it isn’t the whole story! It just means that any fruit, flake, or nut can join us and feel right at home. It means that they, just like you and I, are welcome and even loved.

But it doesn’t describe who we should be, or who we are be becoming.

And that’s where Jesus decides to go in his teaching on the mountain side.

Struggling folks are welcome! Downtrodden folks are welcome! Broken hearted people are welcome! Even folks with really big hearts are welcome! Jesus wants you to come. And then - God intends to build his Kingdom through you.

So, you are welcome to come, but not just to hang out!

You may need to do that for a time to get some serious healing happening. Jesus is certainly in the business of healing and so should be the church.

But then, God intends you to help him build a Kingdom of grace and love and mercy and acceptance. God can use you, yes you, to build a Kingdom of humble, transformed people.

You see, when Jesus says that we who are part of his Kingdom are salt, he is not suggesting that we are common table salt in any modern sense. We miss the point of the parable if we see saltiness as something less than what Jesus is suggesting.

Salt in Jesus day was incredibly valuable because of its incredible powers. You can look it up, sodium chloride is way cool. It is needed by the body to regulate all kinds of things. It can and is used as a preservative. It can melt ice! And it makes food taste good! It was even used as a form of payment by the Roman Armies to its troops because of its value.

So, think about that! We are salt, that is of the highest value, because of our incredible powers.

Fruits, flakes and nuts we may be, but lest you get too comfortable in your laid back 1960’s in your OMHPC tie dyed t-shirts acting all groovy, remember, God made you and I powerful! Because God plans to use us granola types, because God is in the business of using our weakness as well as our giftedness to his glory.

We are salt. But since our minds immediately go to that salt shaker on the table that we see as common and fairly uninspiring, lets change the image to something that I think communicates all this power to change the world better.

What if Jesus had said, you are the habaneros, scotch bonnets, and ghost peppers, meant to spice up not just the church, but the whole world!

So now hear what Jesus is saying, “You are like the best salsa ever made for everyone on earth. But if the salsa no longer tastes like salsa, how can it make food amazing? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.

So, all you folks who have been thinking that what you bring to the table doesn’t count for much, sit back and take notice! You are in fact the hot pepper that this particular bowl of salsa needs. You are exactly what the Kingdom is made of: spicy, gifted, humble, amazing disciples!

And in case you missed where Jesus is going with this, he adds another image to make sure that the concrete thinkers in the bunch have sufficient anchors to hold the abstractions in place.

He says, you are also light. Some of us may not be too bright, but that’s another sermon for another day. I once went in an empty lava tube called the Ape Caves outside of Mount Saint Helens. Sue and Allison and I went down into this thing walked a few hundred feet and then shut off our head lamps. Light is really, really good in darkness!

We individually and collectively are the ones tasked to take the light (Jesus) to the world, to shine that light in the darkest of places, to bring hope, and joy, and transformation to the world.

We are bearers of the light, and the salsa that always spices things up.

So, where are the places of darkness you know need some light?

What are the ways that a community of faith like this could make a difference?

And what other peppers do you need to go with you?

Who’s the jalapeños, or serranoes, or poblanos, or kung pao peppers that could make this salsa rock?

Our church motto is: “Making a difference: in Jesus name! And we can make a difference, because we are the Kingdom!

Now who’s in charge of the guac and the tortilla chips? Just asking. Amen.