Isaiah 58:6-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16; Psalm 112
February 5, 2017
Marvin Friedman-Hamm
Salt and Light
It seems like the world around us is spinning out of control, and we hear the words of Jesus: “You are the salt of the earth”
It seems the world is getter darker, and we hear the words of Jesus: “You are the light of the world”
Salt and light are evocative images. Salt preserves and adds flavor. Light pushes back the darkness and lets us see where we are going. They suggest that somehow we are to be a positive force in the world. But if I tell you to “be salt”, does that tell you what you should do? Do you know what “being light” looks like?
It took me awhile to figure out that I had to read these words in their context – in Matthew’s gospel. Last Sunday our Gospel reading was the Beatitudes. Right after Jesus teaches the disciples the Beatitudes, he says – You are salt, you are light. I think the two readings belong together. Jesus teaches the Beatitudes, and then says when you live like the Beatitudes, you are salt and light. We don’t have to try to be salt and light – we just will be, by virtue of who we are and how we live.
So here’s the problem. I really want to talk about the Beatitudes, but that was our reading for last Sunday. Can I do that? Is that allowed, Andrew?
Here’s another problem. I found this excellent exposition of the Beatitudes by a writer named Mark Allan Powell. But in order to really explain what he says, I think I have to do this more like a teacher. I even brought a poster with the text. So that we can look at it more carefully. Do you think you can bear with me for a bit here?
These are very familiar verses. What I do when I get to really familiar verses, I don’t pay much attention. “Oh yah, I know this already”. But sometimes the best treasures are hidden right in plain view. Mark Powell has a really different take on these verses. See what you think.
These verses are all about people who are blessed, but it’s a little confusing about when they are blessed. Are the poor in spirit and the meek and ones who are mourning – are they blessed already? Is there something about their present circumstance that already has them in a place of being honored or “Happy” (Some translators like to use “happy” instead of blessed) What’s so happy about mourning? Or is it that they will be blessed – or that they are already blessed because something good is going to happen to them in the future? The grammar suggests that it’s in the future – something good is going to happen to them. The blessings are almost all in written the future tense. (Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted).
What is coming – in the way that Jesus and the early church saw the world – what’s coming is the Kingdom of Heaven. Here I want to do a bit of a sidetrack – or give some background – about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus mentions the Kingdom just two times in the Beatitudes – but, if you look at the gospel as a whole, everything Jesus says and does is in light of the Kingdom of Heaven – That’s Matthew’s term – other Gospels use the words Kingdom of God, but they mean the same thing.
So what is the Kingdom of Heaven? Big question. Most simply – it is the place where God’s will is obeyed. It’s the place where people live as God intended for them to live. And where is the Kingdom of Heaven? In heaven, right? Centuries of bad theology have said that the kingdom of heaven is in Heaven. But Jesus prays – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth – as it is in heaven”. We do not go to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is coming to us, in this world, right here. And when is it coming? Soon. Soon and very soon. For Jesus and the early church, the kingdom is breaking into reality already. It is very near. “The kingdom of God is at hand” Jesus says. And what will happen when the Kingdom comes – when people live as God intends them to live, on earth, very soon… Years ago at Grain of Wheat we read a book called “The Upside Down Kingdom”. The point of the book is that the values of the kingdom are upside down from the world’s values. They are countercultural. “Love your enemies” “Sell your possessions” That’s upside down values. In Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of heaven – more than values is upside down. In the Kingdom, the whole social order will be turned upside down. The poor and the lowly will be lifted up. The powerful and the rich will be brought down. This is sometimes called “The Great reversal” In the new community, where people will live as God intends them, “The last will be first and the first will be last” – the social hierarchy is turned upside down – or more likely, levelled out.
This is Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom of heaven that lies behind his teaching in the beatitudes.
Mark Powell says the Beatitudes are structured in three parts – I show his divisions on the poster. Black, blue, black. In the first section – vs 3-6 – Jesus speaks about people we might call “unfortunate” – and says their situation is about to change. The second section – vs 7-10 – Jesus speaks to the virtuous people who work on behalf of the unfortunate ones. The third section – vs 11-12- Jesus speaks directly to his disciples, about persecution.
Back to vs 3-6. I was always taught that these Beatitudes are describing virtues. The “poor in Spirit” are people who are humble. Those who mourn are mourning for their sins. The meek are the non-violent ones. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to really long to be more righteous.
Powell sees these verses in a whole different light. He says Jesus is not describing virtues, but instead is describing people who are suffering. The poor in spirit are poor – economically poor – and because poverty has ground them down, they are also spiritually poor – they are without hope. Jesus says they are blessed – because their circumstance is about to change – the kingdom is coming.
The mourners are the ones who are grieving, who are miserable. They are without joy. They are blessed because comfort is on the way – the kingdom is coming.
The meek are the ones who are oppressed and powerless. They are the lowly. They are blessed because they will inherit the earth. They have been denied access to the earth’s resources – but soon they will receive what God has intended for them. The kingdom is coming.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they are the ones who have been denied righteousness and justice. They are starved for justice – and they will be filled – the kingdom is coming.
These people are not blessed because there is some virtue in being poor, or in mourning, or meek, or hungry – they are blessed because their suffering will disappear when God’s will is done. They will be lifted up out of their suffering when God rules and things are set right.
The second section – vs 7-10 – Powell says, is addressed to people who we might call the virtuous ones. These are the people who work on behalf of the unfortunate people described in the first four Beatitudes. They are the ones who help bring to reality the blessings promised in vs 3-6.
The merciful are those who forgive others, who do deeds of kindness and acts of compassion.
The pure in heart are those who are virtuous on the outside and on the inside. They have integrity. Their good deeds come out of good intentions.
The peacemakers are those who work for reconciliation. Who work to create lasting peace – peace with justice and fairness for all.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake – they are so committed to God’s work, they are willing to suffer for it. They pursue righteousness and justice – even when they encounter opposition.
These people who do good deeds and work on behalf of the unfortunate ones, they are blessed – because they will see their efforts rewarded when God’s will is done and righteousness and justice are established.
In the third section, Jesus stops speaking about “they” and speaks directly to the disciples. “Blessed are you when people revile you…” Here is a reality check. The Kingdom is near, and things are going to change – but in the meantime, when you commit yourself to the work of God – when you ally yourself with the poor and the meek and the mourners and those who are starved for justice, you are going to get some pushback. At least that’s what happened to Jesus’ disciples.
When you look at the Beatitudes in this way, where do you identify yourself? Is there one Beatitude - or maybe a few – that fit for you, that you are most drawn to? Are you the mourner? Are you starved for justice? Are you a peacemaker?
For me, what is most striking here is Jesus’ trust that God is working in the world to bring in the Kingdom, that God is making things right – already, soon, very soon. Without that hope, it makes no sense to say the poor in spirit, or the mourners – are blessed. They are blessed because help is on the way. Their suffering is coming to an end.
God’s help is on the way, and God’s people are part of making that happen. The disciples – we – are salt and light – as we do God’s work of feeding the hungry and comforting the mourners, and bringing justice to the poor and oppressed. The Kingdom of heaven is coming – and we are God’s partners in making it happen.
What do we do with this? Do we still believe that God is working in the world to establish the Kingdom? - to create the new community? Do we see our own little efforts in the light of – or in the context of - what God is doing in the world? Do we carry the hope that Jesus carried? Lately is seems that hope is harder to come by. That the spirit of fear and division and oppression is rising. That the meek and the ones who are suffering – and those who work on their behalf – they are being pushed down.
Is God in retreat? Has the Spirit been silenced? When I see people of goodwill demonstrating in airports, praying together in mosques, marching in the streets, I say “No the Spirit is not silenced. The Spirit is moving. God is doing new things”
But it’s a different time. New challenges, new struggles. It is a time for discernment. It’s not business as usual, but time to be attentive to where the Spirit is moving – in the larger society, in our community, in ourselves. What is God up to – and what might be our little part in it?