Matthew 5:13-20
I know lots of pastors today will talk about light, shining
light into dark places. In fact, we have two songs about light today. And in
the past, I have talked about light. But today I’d rather talk about salt.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t eat potatoes without
salt. We don’t eat a lot of salty food, but my potatoes – baked, fried, roasted,
boiled, stuffed, whipped, smashed – they all need salt for me to find them
tasty. Or maybe I should say, appealing.
Life without salt would be a challenge. Ancient people used
salt as a preservative. We still use salt today to prepare ham and similar
foods. Doctors give patients saline – a mixture of water and salt – to be sure
we are hydrated. We can use salt water to soothe a sore throat.
“Up North” a mixture of salt and sand is used on roads to
melt snow and ice on roads. And I just found out that if you drop an egg, you
can sprinkle it with salt and leave it for 20 minutes. When you come back, it
will clean up easily.
Of course, we don’t want too much salt. It makes food tastes bad, and it is harmful
to the environment. But just enough salt makes food tasty and safe, and life
interesting. Another thing to note: we don’t pour salt, we sprinkle it.
We were told in last week’s reading that the hearers – and we
– are already blessed, favored by God. Today, we hear that we are also light …
and salt. It’s up to us to pass the salt so others can savor the flavor Jesus
brings. What is that flavor? Jesus tells us to pass the salt and light the lamp
for all to taste and see the Reign of God, the Dominion of Heaven, the Kin-dom
of God.
So, some stories about some people who sprinkled the salt as
they spread the good news of God’s justice in the world.
… As we observe African American History month, we remember Rosa
Parks. Most of us know she triggered the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and
60s by refusing to give up her seat on the bus. She was arrested and charged a
fine, which she refused to pay. Instead she filed an appeal, challenging the
validity of segregation laws in Alabama.
A year-long bus boycott began as a way to call attention to
her court case. The case went to the US Supreme Court in November, 1956, and a
court order to integrate the buses soon followed.
I had heard she had been preparing to do something like this
for some time. But I was surprised to learn that as she was involved as early
as 1943, when she joined the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People). She served as its secretary until 1956. Rosa sprinkled a lot
of salt as she sought freedom and justice for Black people in the US.
… You can read the fuller biography of Pastor Jehu Jones in the
bulletin. The pastors who noticed him shook out some salt on him, encouraging
him to study and be ordained and serve as a Lutheran pastor. It makes me smile
to think that his first congregation was made up of twenty poor Black people,
and it started with the assistance of two White pastors in the area. In his life,
his travels, and his persistence, Pastor Jehu sprinkled a lot of salt.
… The third story about spreading salt is not about a famous
person, but a dear friend. I met Sister Dede at the first meeting I attended of
the Order of Lutheran Franciscans. Over time, I learned that Dede was divorced
and raised her two children on her own. They were vegetarians often, because
meat was too expensive.
Sister Dede was quiet, the type to sit in a corner and watch
others, rather than insert herself into a group. She had a ready laugh and
enjoyed a glass of wine or beer with the rest of us. She battled cancer for
several years, also so quietly most of us didn’t know about it. I wept when she
died a couple years ago.
I admired her because she expressed her faith in ways that I
never dreamed of doing. She took part in protests – standing on street corners
or elsewhere with signs protesting one injustice or another. When we talked
about it, she said she had been arrested several times. Since I would never
dare to do something that would get me arrested, I was amazed. But Sister Dede
just said, “Sometimes, it happens.”
Surely, Sister Dede sprinkled salt on her companions while
she stood with them in protest, and on those for whom she was protesting. But
she also sprinkled salt on those who knew her quiet and persistent faith. We
never doubted she knew Jesus and was part of God’s family.
… ULC sprinkles salt in a few organized ways.
In a couple weeks, ULC will host Family Promise families.
Sharing our space, our food, our friendship with them is a way of sprinkling
salt on them. We pray with them that permanent housing will soon be available.
The donations we gather and send to Village of Hope School in
Haiti spread salt liberally on children in need of education and health care. Because
of the political unrest in Haiti, it is currently impossible to know how this
organization is doing. But salt has already been sprinkled on previous students
and their families and on the teachers and staff. Because of us and other
supporters, many in Haiti are aware of Jesus and his love for all people.
Joan has informed us that visitation is now possible again
at Baker Detention Center. Imagine the salt that is spread when the immigrants
and refugees housed there receive visits from people like us. And let’s
remember that salt is sprinkled on staff as well as on those who are detained.
… Sprinkling salt can be done every day, in lots of ways.
Smiling, opening doors, saying thank you and you’re welcome are not just common
courtesies. In today’s world, they seem to be rare. Say, “Jesus loves you” to
someone. Give someone a hug or a pat on the shoulder in sympathy. Let someone
with 5 items go ahead of you at the grocery store.
When Jesus tells the disciples that they are salt, he means
that they should be sprinkling the good news on those who need to hear it, just
like we sprinkle salt on food to make it tastier. How do you spread salt? I’d
love to hear your stories… Amen
