Both And

Sermon preached February 9, 2014

Texts: Isaiah 58:3-8; Matthew 5:13-21

According to Rabbi Bunim of P’shiskha, everyone should have two pockets, each containing a slip of paper. On one should be written: I am but dust and ashes, and on the other: The world was created for me. I’ve liked that story since I first heard it many years ago. It helps keep life in perspective, reminding me of my potential, of my responsibility, and of my limitations. It is a both/and story.

I was thinking, though, that the story could be revised using the images from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5. Now I want to be careful. Somehow I don’t think having in one pocket “you are the light of the world” and in the other pocket “you are a dim bulb” works.

How about this? In one pocket: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” In the other pocket: “Salt can lose its flavor. Light can be hidden.” We need the two pockets to remind us of important both/ands in life.

You are the salt of the earth, but you can also be flavorless salt. You are the light of the world, but you can also hide your light. You are a firework, to use last week’s image, but you can also be full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

I appreciate how Eugene Peterson renders these verses in Matthew in his paraphrase/translation of the Bible, The Message. Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be the salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine!

That’s who we are in Jesus. That’s why we are here – to bring out the God-flavors in the world, to bring out the God-colors in the world. But we can lose our way. Our saltiness can go flat. Our light can burn dimly or be hidden.

So how do we stay salty? How do we keep lighted?

Often in the church here is where we talk about individual spiritual practices. A few years ago, a United Methodist bishop, Rueben Job penned a brief book entitled Three
Simple Rules: a Wesleyan way of living. The final rule was “stay in love with God.” Surely staying in love with God has a lot to do with staying salty and keeping our light burning brightly. What does Bishop Job suggest for staying in love with God? Spiritual disciplines such as corporate worship, sharing in communion, prayer – both individual and small group, Bible study. Spiritual disciplines teach us to live our lives in harmony with something larger than ourselves and larger than that which the world values as ultimate (54).

These are important practices to keep ourselves salty and well-lighted. Each of us needs to find ways to keep these practices fresh and alive and that will differ. Not everyone is an early morning prayer. That’s o.k. Pray as you can pray, don’t try and be someone else at prayer. Our schedules and the weather can make weekly worship a challenge, but never give up doing the best you can to share this time with others and opening yourself to God. Never give up trying to crack open the Bible for some new insights, as difficult a book as it is. Practice self-reflection. All these matter.

But here is another both/and. Individual spiritual practices are vitally important. So, too, is engaging the world. The passage from Isaiah 58 is powerful. It is set up as a conversation between the Israelites and God. They are complaining that they are engaging in these spiritual disciplines but that God is not paying attention. Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice? God responds. Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then comes this added word. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.

To stay salty, to stay well-lighted is both to engage in those practices that keep us in love with God, and to engage with the world toward love and justice. We want the God we love to love the world through us.

Reading Isaiah 58 is a little like reading the newspaper. In January, Oxfam released information about wealth distribution in the world. The world’s 85 richest people control the same amount of wealth as half the world’s population. What that means is that the poorest 3.55 billion people on the planet must live on what the richest 85 possess. In the United States the share of income going to the richest 1% rose from less than 10% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008-2012.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Now I don’t want to simplify a complex issue. It is easier to point to the problem than to figure out a solution. It is important to note that the problem is not that there are people who are wealthy nor that there is economic inequality itself. The issue is that the results of our economic arrangements are to bring more and more to those who have, while leaving behind so many others. Engaging with the world means taking this issue seriously.

I think it also means taking seriously caring for the earth. Again, it is easier to identify issues of concern than find solutions. How do we appropriately weigh environmental concerns against economic development? Unfortunately most of our economic models are short-term while environmental damage can be long-lasting. What about climate change? Can we move the discussion of possible human impact on the climate out of the divisive political discourse? What measures can we take to minimize the human impact on the climate? That impact may disproportionately affect the poorest on the planet.

Staying salty, keeping our light well-lighted is a both/and proposition. There is the inner work of tending to our relationship with God, staying in love with God. There is the outer work of engagement with the world, seeking to move the world toward God’s dream for it – a dream of justice, peace, reconciliation, kindness, care. The inner and outer flow from each other. What we do affects who we are, and who we are flows out into what we do. It is like the Mobius strip. You want to stay salty? Tend to your inner life. Practice spiritual disciplines. Seek justice. Do kindness. Let your faith seek to change the world. You want to stay well-lighted. Tend to your inner life. Practice spiritual disciplines. Seek justice. Do kindness. Let your faith seek to change the world.

You are the salt of the earth. Stay salty.

You are the light of the world. Stay well-lighted.

You are a firework. Stay awesome.

Amen.