Taste and See
a
sermon based on Matthew 5:13-20
by Rev. Randy Quinn
I didn't see it
on the TV news or hear it on a radio, but I read about the Groundhog
Day celebration in Pennsylvania. Did any of you hear about it?
We all know the
tradition associated with Groundhog Day: on February 2, the groundhog
comes out of hibernation to check the weather. Then returns to
hibernate.
February 2 just
happens to be midway between the first day of winter and the last day
of winter. Six weeks either direction. But tradition and folklore
says that if the groundhog sees its shadow there will be six more
weeks of winter.
According to the
article I read, some 10,000 people gathered to watch as Bill Deeley,
the groundhog's handler, "yanked [him] from the fake tree stump that
serves as his burrow as fireworks went off to simulate a sunrise."
Apparently members of the Inner Circle, the local group that claims to
communicate with the groundhog really makes the shadow-no shadow
decision in advance and then makes it happen that way.
As far as I'm
concerned, their actions take away any sense of mystery from the
folklore and tradition by trying to manipulate it to fit their idea of
the end product.
To some extent,
I think people have tried to do the same with this text. We try to
manipulate it to say what we want it to say, hearing what we want to
hear, and doing what we want to do in response.
On Wednesday,
Melissa and I went to Olympia to meet with our representatives there.
We had done some homework on a few bills that were in committee at the
time and wanted to provide our input, present our concerns, and to
tell our story so that our representatives would know how these bills
affect real people.
While I was
there, I saw a man wearing a button on his lapel that said simply:
Matthew 25:40. I smiled, knowing that here was a man of conviction
who was clearly proclaiming the gospel message to care for people who
have little or no voice in our society.
Later I heard
someone ask this same man what his button meant. His answer saddened
me.
He said simply,
"I forget." He then added, "I probably should stop wearing it because
people keep asking me." Someone else had to explain that the verse
was referring to Jesus' comment that doing things to and for "the
least of these" is doing them for Christ.
He was
pretending to be a Christian. He was pretending to carry the message
of Christ. And while he may actually have the real needs of people in
his heart, the button was simply a political tool.
Jesus says to
us, we are the light of the world.
He doesn't
invite us to become light. He doesn't tell us we must be light. He
doesn't even tell us how to be light.
He simply,
matter-of-factly states that we are light.
But light isn't
needed in the day time. It's needed at night. It's needed in the
shadows. It's needed in the darkness.
Jesus knows the
world in which we live. It's filled with darkness. It's filled with
shadows. It's a dreary place that needs light.
And we are the
light.
But we don't do
any good when we gather together. Putting a thousand candles in this
room would not make a difference in the amount of light. But putting
one candle in here in the middle of the night makes an enormous
difference.
The point is,
you make a difference where you are at work, at school, wherever you
find yourself. You make a difference just by being there. You are
the light of the world, not the light of the church.
I must confess
to you that I was first surprised and then saddened by the Christmas
Eve candlelight services at this church. Even this year, when I tried
to be more clear with my directions I saw us follow old habits and
traditions.
In my mind, a
Candlelight service ends with each of us carrying our lighted candles
into the darkness of the night.
What happens
here is people blow their candles out before they leave the sanctuary
and leave the burnt candles for someone else to use later.
We are the light
of the world!
We are not here
to show each other the light, but to share it with the world. We must
carry our candles away from church on Sunday so that others will know
what God has done.
But too often,
we are like the man with the button on his lapel. We forget that we
are light. Or we hide our light so that others cannot see it. And we
only share it with others who already have light.
Take out two salt shakers
Jesus also says
we are the salt of the earth.
But you can't
tell what salt is until you use it.
Salt is a
necessary ingredient for life. It helps your body regulate itself.
Without it, we would all die. It seasons our food. But it is also
used as a preservative. In the ancient world, it had the added use of
being a cleansing agent.
When we have
tasteless food, we can season it with salt, but if salt becomes
tasteless, no amount of salt will make it have flavor.
In our house, we
don't use much salt anymore. We don't for health reasons.
Consequently, it only takes a little salt to make a large difference
in taste. But we also know that salt is vital to life. Too much or
too little is harmful.
But it's always
true that salt in the shaker is useless. It needs to be poured out in
order to be helpful.
In fact, it's only
when it's poured out that we learn it is salt.
One of these
shakers contains sugar, not salt. And until you try to use it, you'll
not be able to determine which is which.
You are the salt
of the earth. We have been sent to provide "punch" for the world. We
have been sent to make others thirst for the things of God. But if all
you ever do is sit in a salt-shaker, there is no punch.
We are no more
useful than a shaker of sugar.
And while sugar
can make things taste good, it is neither essential nor necessarily
helpful for life.
Jesus knew that he
was light. Jesus knew that he was salt. And the light shone in the
darkness. And the salt had a strong flavor.
His life was lived
for the world. He gave himself for us. And when we celebrate communion
in a few moments, we recall and remember the salt and light that he
offers to us.
"Taste and see
that the Lord is good", says the Psalmist (Ps 34:8). Taste and see that
the church has been called to be good for the world, says Jesus.
Let your light
shine, for you are light.
Let others taste
your saltiness, for you are salt.
Look beyond the
walls of the church, look beyond the bounds of the community of our
church and share your light and your salt with all the world.
Amen.
"Punxsutawney
Phil Predicts More Winter Weeks." AP Report printed in Skagit
Valley Herald, February 2, 1996.
