Let It Shine

Matthew 5: 13-20

            In the gospel of Matthew, the author wastes no time getting into Jesus’ ministry. Chapters 1 and 2 contain the genealogy, the birth narrative, the flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth. Chapters 3 and 4 cover Jesus’ baptism, his temptation, his calling of the first disciples and the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Chapter 5 opens with the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus appears to be teaching his disciples. Immediately after the Beatitudes, Jesus continues with his famous salt and light statements. Apparently still talking to the disciples, he says to them, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” He then goes on to explain a little about what he means when he uses these terms to describe his followers.

          What does salt mean to you? You use it on food. Why? To give it more taste, of course. Salt is essential to our taste buds, so much so that the human tongue is actually designed to feel four different taste sensations: salt, sour, bitter and sweet. Salt is that important to our taste. Salt enhances and enriches the flavor of food.  For most of us, and many four legged friends as well, salt is like a magnet. Hunters of generations past used to scout for salt deposits along river banks, called salt licks because deer would come to them to do just that…to lick the salt. So hunting deer became a salty proposition.

Salt has another use. It is a natural preservative. We are not so far removed that we don’t have some knowledge of our grandparents curing ham and other meat by salting it down and letting it hang in a dry space until it cures. Salt is still used in some form or another as a preservative in many of the foods we buy.

Salt is also a healing agent. We gargle with salt water to soothe our sore throats and soak our cuts in salt water to speed the healing process. Whether enriching our taste or preserving our food or speeding our healing, salt has always been a valuable commodity in our lives.

But what if salt loses its flavor? What if it somehow sours? What is its use then? Can it be restored? My scientist friends tell me that salt is a very stable chemical compound. As long as it remains dry, it can retain its saltiness virtually forever. As we all know from common sense, salt dissolves in water. The more it is diluted, the less it remains salty until finally, it completely disappears. Even though it is still there, it has changed its properties and is no longer recognizable or useful.

About now, you might be thinking how amazing our Lord was in being able to define us in the most simple ways. If we are his disciples, then we are the salt of the earth. If we are his disciples, we enhance and enrich the lives of all those with whom we come in contact. If we are his disciples, we help preserve his kingdom and we even help heal those within it who need help…just like salt. But…if we allow ourselves to become diluted by introducing other things into the mix, then sooner or later, we lose all our taste, all our healing power, all our usefulness, to the point where we are not even recognizable or useful as disciples anymore.

“You are the light of the world,” says Jesus to his disciples.  Light is a big theme in the Bible. The King James Version uses it about 272 times. Light is associated with Jesus, with understanding, with discernment, to name a few concepts. John called Jesus the light of the world and here in Matthew, Jesus uses the same term to refer to his disciples. Notice what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t say you will be the light or you could be the light or even you should be the light. Jesus says you are the light!

A little light goes a long way. There’s an old story about three youngsters who were each given money by an old fella with instructions to go into town and buy as much as they could to fill up a room. The first youngster bought hay with his money and it filled up a whole side of the room. The second child bought straw and it filled up almost half the room. The third child came back with only a small candle and a flint. But then as he struck the flint upon a rock and caused a spark to light that little candle, the whole room was flooded with light. All that light from one candle… A little light goes a long way.

A few years ago, Cindy and I were blessed to tour some old churches and cathedrals in Scotland and England as part of a religious history course that I was taking in seminary. For almost two weeks we wandered through some of the great churches in those countries, some over a thousand years old. We marveled at the architecture, the arches and the stained glass windows. We marveled at the stories of many who gave their lives during various points in history for the advancement of the Gospel. Inside those cathedrals, the awesomeness of God was somehow more real to me. I was reminded of a story I once read about a young man who took a similar tour and upon his return was asked by his Sunday school teacher how he would define a saint. His answer was classic. He said “A saint is a person the light shines through.”

“You are the light of the world,” said Jesus, not to everyone, but to his disciples. You build a city on a hill, he said, and you can’t hide it. It can be seen from miles around. It you light a light, you don’t hide it. That defeats the purpose of the light. Light is to give off illumination for all around it to see. If you let the light shine, then it gives light to all around it. If you hide the light, none will benefit. It will be as useless as salt diluted in water.

In the same way that we light each candle from the candle of another in an evening church service, Jesus stood in front of his disciples as both human and divine light. His disciples became the human counterpart of the candles we light, and they became the reflection of that divine light. They became saints, just like the boy in our story told his Sunday school teacher. They let the light of Jesus shine through them.

Jesus said it. “In the same way [that a lamp gives light to all the house], let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Let me take a minute here to show you a little film clip from another disciple, a twentieth century disciple named Billy Graham. It’s a humorous anecdote, but it illustrates a point that needs to be made.

 Youtube clip of Graham, Shea and Barrows singing Let It Shine

Billy Graham always left the singing to Bev Shea and Cliff Barrows, but in this one moment, he surprised everyone by poking a little fun at himself while making a huge point. Reverend Graham laughingly said that This Little Light of Mine was the only song they could do. I doubt that, but if it were true, wouldn’t that be just fine. If you have only one thing to do, only one song to sing, what better choice!

                             This little light of mine.

                             I’m gonna let it shine.

                             Hide it under a bushel,

                             No!

                             I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine.

          Be salt. Stay salt. Stay tasty and help preserve the good. Don’t let your character get diluted by the showers of life. Be light, and reflect your Savior. Let his light shine through you. And to God be the glory!

Let us pray

2/9/14