Matthew 5:13-16 Salt of the Earth, Light of the World

Matthew 5:13-16 Salt of the Earth, Light of the World
Jesus said, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

Comment
Don’t kid yourself.
There are no exceptions to this.
The Lord Jesus gave us a command.
Not an option. A command.

He said you are to be two things – Salt and Light.

SALT
Jesus also said “You are the salt of the earth”

Here is the question : Why Salt?

What is it about salt that would make it such a beautiful powerful example of the way that Christ expects us to live in the world?

To change and influence the people we live with and the society we live in.

This is such a magnificent common sense example because almost everybody who cooks, cooks with salt and those that do know the effect it has on food when it is mixed in and sprinkled on top.

What are the characteristics of salt?
Think about it.

1. Salt is tiny.
We use it in granular form. The grains are sometimes so tiny and small you hardly know it is there.

2. The colour.
Salt is clear white when it is pure.
And if it is not pure, if it is contaminated, it is no good. You can’t use it. You can’t eat it.
That is the way it is with us. We are to strive to remain pure and chaste.

3. Salt is meant to be mixed with something different than what it is.

4. Salt changes the taste and flavour of the substance it is mixed in with because it sinks in.
It spreads.

5. You will notice it doesn’t take much salt to do the job.
A lot of recipes call for just a little pinch of salt because a little salt goes a long way.

Before the days of refrigerators and freezers, salt was used to cure meat and preserve meat from spoiling.

The purpose of salt is to change, season, flavour, cure and preserve.

And that is exactly what our Lord wants us to do in the world we live in.

That is the way He wants us to live in society.
God is calling us to work and pray to change the world we live in.
To change the course of events.
To cure the wounds of sin, division and injustice. To preserve it from moral corruption.
Salt is a tiny little ordinary substance but the body can’t live without it.
It is vitally important. So do you see what an ingenious example this is?

Think.

Our Lord is telling us that even though we may seem to be little, ordinary, insignificant souls, even though we might feel so little so weak so powerless even though we might be tempted to feel our prayers, our good works and our good examples can’t make any kind of difference and won’t amount to anything in the overall scheme of things but the fact is one good man one good woman can touch the lives of many people around them and bring that part of the world to Christ.

Salt it the example that Christ used to strengthen us, to encourage us, to build us up so we can build up the body of Christ.

Jesus said “you are the salt of the earth. If the salt goes flat it is good for nothing but to be thrown down and trampled underfoot.

So friends, lets take the graces that God has given to us, let’s take the gifts of the Holy Spirit and stand up for Christ.

The one who won’t stand up for Christ will fall for anything.

LIGHT
Jesus said “you are the light of the world”
Where that word ‘light’ is used in scripture, often it is used symbolically.
Light symbolises all of the good things that come from God.
Faith, Hope, Love, Goodness, Justice and Truth.
Then on the other hand, there is darkness.
Darkness, where that word is used in scripture, it symbolises all of the powers of evil in the world.

Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life”
What does light do?
Light reveals what is hidden in the darkness.
It banished the darkness and makes clear the way.

Our Lord said “You are the light of the world. Nobody lights a lamp and hides it under a bushel basket”
He said “Let your light shine before others so that they can see your good works and give praise to your Father in heaven.


Source: Mission for Truth
Father William Casey, C.P.M