Today we hear about salt and light.
Immediately after instructing us in the beatitudes – those dispositions of our hearts and minds that allow us to fulfill God’s will and live lives filled with goodness – Jesus tells us that as Christian disciples we are the “salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus does not say that we can be salt and light. Jesus does not tell us that we should be salt and light. Jesus tells us that we are salt and light, implying that being salt and light is not something we can shy away from, not something to be taken lightly. Rather, being salt and light is our supreme calling, our holy vocation.
And what does this mean to be salt and light?
Well, just as salt preserves, enhances, and transforms that upon which it is sprinkled, so are we called to help preserve, enhance, and transform. And just as light illuminates that which it is cast upon, so are we called to illuminate.
As salt, we are called to help God enhance and transform the lives of others and to preserve our world. And we do this by acts of kindness, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness. We do this by attending to the needs of others most especially those who are less fortunate than us and those who might be struggling to get by. We do this by fighting for peace and justice. We do this by raising our children in ways that allow them to be salt for future generations
And as we live our lives this way we become beacons of light for a struggling world. We help God illuminate lives, to help others see God’s truths, to help others trust in God, to feel encouraged and hopeful, to see that with God in their lives all is well. Through our words and actions we help others come to see that all the good in our world is a blessing from God, and that so much of the bad in our world comes when we distance ourselves from God. We help people live in the light of God’s love so that they might be transformed and then they too become salt and light for our world.
And what happens when we really take Jesus’ words seriously and become salt and light in the extreme.
Well, in the extreme, light can wash out all else, wash out all those things in our lives that distract us and cause us to neglect what is really important – our need for God. And in the extreme, salt causes thirst. And this might be our most important calling, our most extreme calling – to help people thirst for exactly what they need – Jesus and the saving grace he bestows.