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"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
- Matthew 5:11-16
Yesterday, we began reading the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7 in Matthew). The beginning of this Sermon is called the Beatitudes, a series of spiritual blessings for those in the Kingdom. Seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Here, my study bible says, "In willingness to suffer persecution, the Christian shows his loyalty and unity with Jesus Christ. He walks the road of the prophets, saints and martyrs. The Greek for be exceedingly glad [αγαλλιάω] means 'leap exceedingly with joy.' Suffering for Christ is attended with inexpressible joy.".
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." A note here tells us that "salt and light illustrate the role of disciples in society. They are to manifest the light of patient goodness, bringing glory to their Father in heaven." Regarding salt, it notes: Because of its preservative powers, necessity for life and its ability to give flavor (Job 6:6; Sirach 39:26), salt had religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; Ezra 6:9; Ezekiel 43:24). It symbolized the making of a covenant (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5). To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty. Thus as the salt of the earth, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give proper flavor to society." Of light, we are told that "light is a symbol of God who is the true, uncreated Light. In the Old Testament light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), or Israel in contrast to the Gentiles. In the New Testament the Son is called 'light' (John 1:4-5, 9; 1 John 1:5) and the 'light of the world' (John 8:12). Light is necessary not only for clear vision but for life. Consequently, the life of faith relies on the divine light (Romans 13:12; Ephesians 1:18) and on the revelation which makes the believers 'sons of light (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). With this knowledge of God in their hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6), Christians shine as lights in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15), stimulating others to look to God and His righteousness. Thus in the Easter Liturgy (Gr. Pascha), a candle is brought forth with these words: 'Come take the Light which is never overtaken by night.'"
So, what does it mean to become salt and light, to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world? These are powerfully strong declarations about Jesus' family, His real followers. They follow another strong declaration: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." Strong and powerful words, indicating that suffering for Jesus' sake is a blessing. This kind of declaration would normally sound like one of a Roman emperor, or some all-powerful king with an extraordinarily grandly inflated idea of himself, because of his absolute power in a worldly sense. However, Jesus has just finished preaching His blessings (the Beatitudes) which exalt meekness, peacemaking, mourning, and all forms of attributes with humility at their heart, of which He is will be the great example ("Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" - Matthew 11:29-30). When this particular Teacher tells us about being salt and light, persons reflecting the image of Christ in both loyalty and His great Light, it's not from an inflated and arrogant idea about a kind of loyalty that amounts to slavery. This is an entirely different kind of covenant, and we would do well to try hard to understand the difference between a worldly slavishness and this call of love from Shepherd to sheep. To be loyal to Christ is to be bound in love to the One who loves us best, and who always wants what is actually best for us. To reflect His light is to reflect a light of true love, one that doesn't merely indulge (as in the indulgence of a spoiled child, which is not truly what is best for the child at all), but rather teaches, leads, and builds maturity and growth, bringing out the best of our potentials as human beings created in the image of God. And this is what we must see about this covenant of salt, the light of life that illuminates us so that we may be reflections of that light into the world. When Jesus preaches His Beatitudes (in yesterday's reading), He's preaching the virtues of those who may be illuminated, who have spiritual insight into their lives, attaining a kind of self-mastery that transcends merely impulse and self-centeredness and one-upmanship, rising above the slavery to the world around us and into true spiritual freedom to choose for ourselves what is actually best. This is where the Shepherd takes us, and He wants only true volunteers in the sense that our loyalty and light must be a reflection of love for Him, and for others. That's where our true Father takes us. That is the Light of life that shines in whatever darkness may be around us. And that love between us is the real salt that gives us savour, and takes us beyond banality and insipidness of a life without such meaning. This is where we look for richness in our lives, blessings that are not just what we have, but who we are, who we become in His light and the salt that is within us. What we do with salt and light savours and illumines a whole world. Can we be this image He calls us toward, in what is truly best for us?
