You are the light of the world

Easter liturgy, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

 "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 read that, 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."  These blessings, which Jesus continues to express in today's reading, are known as the Beatitudes, and Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount, which will continue through chapter 7.

 "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."   Jesus  is speaking to His disciples.  What He's indicating is that those who suffer persecution for faith in His Kingdom are walking the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  In Greek, the word translated as be exceedingly glad means literally to "leap exceedingly with joy,"  indicating tremendous exaltation.  (See Acts 5:40-41.) 

 "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."  Jesus sets out a comparison of His followers to two elements of the world:  salt and light.  They illustrate the role of disciples in society.  Salt's preservative powers, necessity for life, and ability to give flavor meant it had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  My study bible says that as the salt of the earth, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.

"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."  God is the true and uncreated Light.  In the Old Testament, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalms 119:105), and Israel in contrast to all other nations.  In the New Testament, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9, 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  My study bible explains that light is necessary both for clear vision and for life itself.  Faith relies on this divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) who shine in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).   In many Orthodox parishes, the Easter liturgy begins with a candle presented and the invitation in a Paschal hymn to "come receive the Light which is never overtaken by night."  Through the virtues Jesus extols in this sermon, faith has both a personal and public function.  Our virtue, my study bible notes, can bring others to glorify the Father. 

Salt and light give us images of preservative power, something that fixes another substance in the world, gives flavor, and enhances everything -- and that which fills the world with its energy, giving life to all things which are dependent upon those life-giving energies.  Light is importantly, in the Scriptures, also a metaphor for truth.  It is a conveyance of reality, of what truly is -- and even more deeply of spiritual truth.  Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).  In that context, light is not only truth and the reality of what truly is; it is also the very thing that gives life.  But even life is more than existence and the fact of our conscious awareness of ourselves as living beings.  Life and light are the true energies of God, which create from nothing, and which convey to us the something so-much-more than merely surviving or existing.  Salt and light, then, become the very elements that make life worth living -- that give life flavor, warmth, glowing values that radiate goodness and joy.  These are gifts that come from God, but by becoming salt and light ourselves, we become those things for the world.  We may radiate the qualities given to us through participation in the life of Christ, and so become beings who carry those gifts to the world.  Are human beings capable of great joy?  Are they capable of transcendence?  Can they give value to the world that elevates human life to something invaluable?  All of these questions come from the record of faith that tells us that we are so much more than intelligent animals -- that we as bearers of the image of our Creator also have creative gifts with which we are endowed to illuminate and beautify the world.  To become salt and light is to bear divine realities into the world, to radiate an incomparable value around oneself.  We learn through Christ that human beings are meant to be bearers of a divine light, that each one is capable or has the potential to be a child of light, "sons of God" (see yesterday's reading, above).  We are not meant for mere existence, but for something infinitely beyond the sense of that kind of life in which we only survive.  "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).  Don't let anyone tell you different; we become full of this life through participation and discipleship.