1705AFC020317 – Salt and Light
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Matthew 5:14-16 – 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amados! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!)
Matthew 5:13 – 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Salt is essential for life. Many of you know that our bodies are around 60% water – salt-water at that. The water in our bodies is similar to sea water. We have about 0.4% of that water as NaCl – Sodium Chloride: Salt. Salt is used for seasoning – to make many foods taste better. It is used as a preservative – it keeps food from spoiling because basically it “pulls” the water out of it. Salt has been used in many cultures as currency. The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium – “salt money.” Salt was used to purify sacrifices; God referred to this as “a Covenant of Salt.” (See Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19, and 2 Chronicles 13:5). Putting salt in their offerings also signified their reliance on God to provide all things. That is why he calls it a covenant – it is an agreement between God and his People that HE will provide their needs. If we forget that God will provide, we are like salt that is spoilt. We improve nothing, we preserve nothing, we are not worth our salt.
Isaiah 49:6 – “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
(See also Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-7, 50:4-11, and 52:13-53:12 – the Servant Songs)
The Servant in these poems of Salvation is a prefiguring of Christ, who is the Light of the world. Through Christ not only will Israel be restored, but even the gentiles will have a share in the Light of Christ (↔ Music Link). Where there is Light there can be no darkness. (See 1 John 1:5-7) How then does Jesus say to us, “You are the light of the world?” (Matthew 5:14 above) We see something that points us in the right direction in Philippians 2:14-15; we will shine like stars in this world – light from Light. Jesus spoke these words to his Apostles and Disciples, and their light was passed on to us through Christ’s People in all ministries of instruction and example. We are these lesser lights imbued with The Light of The World and – as Disciples – we are to carry that Light to illuminate the World and show the conditions wrought by sin. We are charged with the duty to be Servants and Stewards of Word and Sacrament. We are to be the Peacemakers, the Children of God (See John 1:12-13), as part of the Covenant of Salt and Communion – κοινωνία (koinónia) {koy-nohn-ee’-ah} – of the Light (1 John 1:6). We contribute to the sharing of the Light in the World.
Now that we are 40 days past Christmas, we recall the event when Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the Temple. He was revealed to Simeon, and man waiting in holiness for the coming of the Messiah. You will recall this scene in Luke 2:28-32 – 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
God has chosen us in Christ to bring light to the Nations. We are anointed Priest, Prophet, and King. Peter tell us (See 1 Peter 2:9) – 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
This echoes the prophesy in Hosea 2:23 – 23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The apostles, Christian ministers, and all Christians, are lights of the world, because they, by their instructions and example, show what God requires, what is the condition of man, what is the way of duty, peace, and happiness – the way that leads to heaven. That is a way of service, of prayer and fasting, a way of alms and love; the way of Light is the Sacrifice of Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Praise with a humble and contrite heart (See Psalm 51:17) God heals the brokenhearted because it is in those fragile hearts that we carry Salt and Light (See Clay Pots here.) We are called to fast during this coming Lenten Season. Let us choose the Fast of Brotherly Love described here by Isaiah:
Isaiah 58:6-10 – 6 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?
7 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?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[a] shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
(I strongly encourage you to read ALL of Isaiah 58.)
And for you Biblicists who love to feed on the word, I offer you this little smorgasbord of Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, 2 Peter 1:19, Acts 26:18, Exodus 13:21, Isaiah 60:1, Job 24:12 ff, John 1:5, John 8:12, Psalm 119:130, Psalm 27:1, Revelation 21:23
And I close with this from Numbers 6:24-26 –
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
May El Shaddai-Olam bless you and I bless you. Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
Share-A-Prayer – We ask for urgent prayer for husband and wife RV and BV. B’s health took a drastic turn Thursday and her doctor sent her straight to Hospice. Please pray for B and her family and in-laws.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
