Matthew 5:12-16 | Philippians 4:8-9
Salt and light bring awareness. Salt, when added to any food, emboldens the flavors already there. Nothing is seen without light. Both bring about awareness in taste and sight.
Jesus calls those listening both salt and light. When we remember that this is directly after the Kingdom-characterizing statements of blessedness in the beatitudes, we might begin to think Jesus’ statements weren’t simply descriptions of woe, but of human feeling and experience that bring out the parameters or boundaries of the God’s love and care.
Do you ever feel that with all we can do today, with all that we have, with all we think we can accomplish…that it’s just not it? Worthless? Fake? …That there’s something more to life that is fuller, real, and more truth-full?
Matthew 5:12-16
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
Philippians 4:8-9
From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.
Prayer:
God -
So much of the experience I have is fake, surface-deep, plastic-like. As I’m driving, as I consume, as I view, as I scroll. Help me today to experience the things that are real through taste and sight and the other senses you gave me. Find me an apple, a trusted conversation, a deeply-written book or thoughtfully-directed film.
May my compassion not be performative. May my words be genuine, if I even feel the need to open my mouth at all. May my actions be trustworthy, caring, and crafted from a curious mind and heart that values the other.
I give you this for this day, by your Spirit and in Christ, Amen.