If Jesus Was Serious | Week 1 | (4-12-26)

Rev. Sarah Roberts preaches on the subject, "Salt and Light."

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Transcript

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Have you ever been watching TV? And I know it's been a while since some of us have watched TV and actually had to go through ads, but think back to that time when maybe you're watching TV and there are ads for maybe a new medication, or maybe at some point you've actually read the back of your laundry detergent bottle and something has stood out to you. And perhaps like me, you thought, who who did what to warrant clarifying that? Like who did what that needed to be said and put on a label? And for example, hair dryers have tags on them that say, don't put the hairdryer in a bathtub full of water when it's plugged in. And Zequil, which is a sleeping aid, has a warning on the back that says, may cause drowsiness. And sun shields, you know, the things that you want, you unfold and you put them on your windshield to keep the heat out and stuff, they have labels on them that say, do not drive while in place. Cartons of eggs have labels on them that read, this product contains eggs. And clothing irons even have warnings on them that say, do not iron while clothes are on your body. And this one's my favorite. You know, preparation eight, the handout cream. On the back of it, it says, do not administer orally. And you have to wonder why. Similarly, there are teachings in scripture that we might take as common sense, but are commonly neglected by us Christians. The things that seem obvious, things that had to be said out loud and had to be written and repeated because someone at some point ignored them, misunderstood them, or just didn't put any thought into what they were doing. And as funny as those warning labels are, they exist because someone at some point didn't take something seriously. And the truth is that we do the same thing all the time. And yet we don't always get it. In a lot of ways, the Sermon on the Mount feels like that. Jesus is standing before a crowd of people who have heard the law, who know the expectations, they understand, at least on some level, how they're supposed to act, and what they're supposed to do and what they're not supposed to do. And yet, somewhere along the way, things have gotten off track. They've been misinterpreted or misapplied, or maybe just ignored. So Jesus himself takes a moment to step in and say as clearly as he can, this is your identity, and this is why it matters, and this is how you ought to act. And if Jesus was serious, then those words aren't just nice ideas. They're not just nice old sayings to hang up around your house. They're truth that is meant to shape our lives. And we're starting a new sermon series today, and we're calling it If Jesus Was Serious. And throughout the series, we're going to be taking Jesus' teachings specifically from the Sermon on the Mount and comparing them to how Christians actually live their lives. Because if we're honest, oftentimes there's a gap. And we hear the words, we know the words. Some of us can recite the words, but seldom do we take them to heart the way that Jesus wants us to. And often we forget that Jesus said those things for a reason. Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, be with us now and guide us through your word. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. So today's passage is one that everybody, everybody probably knows, or you've at least heard it, or you've read it. But we're going to look a little deeper at it together today. And for context, in the chapters just before this, famously are the Beatitudes. Jesus lists out what kind of people his followers are supposed to be, the kind of people that Jesus calls to be his followers. People who are poor in spirit, humble, meek, who mourn what God mourns, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, pure in heart, and make peace. And now in our passage today, he moves from describing who his followers are becoming to declaring who they already are. At no point in these three verses does Jesus say you should try to be salt or you need to work on becoming light. He says, You are. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Jesus is reminding his listeners then and now that this is not a command to achieve, this is an identity to live from. But the problem is that, I mean, we are salt, but we're not always salty. And we are light, but we don't always shine. And at this point in time, the Israelites have been constantly going back and forth between living like they were set apart in this identity and then living like everybody else. And they were having a hard time being salty and shining. And this teaching came amid rising tension with all kinds of different religious leaders, positioning the disciples' good works as a direct contrast to the darkness in their culture that's all around them. And in this context, Jesus was not just paying a compliment by saying, You are salt and light, but commissioning his disciples to actively affect their society and actively step into that darkness through a life of distinct, God-honoring actions. He knew that this would be something that Christians were always going to struggle with, because it's often easier to blend into that darkness than it is to stand out from it. It's easier to go along with what everybody else is doing, and it's safer, and oftentimes it's more comfortable. It's easier to scroll through the news and see everything that's broken in this world and feel overwhelmed and even angry than it is to believe that we're capable of standing out and that our lives can actually make a difference in all of it. But easy and safe, if you haven't picked up on this by now, are not what we're called to. Jesus' reminder of our identity in him as the salt of the earth, as the light of the world, as a reminder that we are called to shine in the darkness and we can overcome the ways of this world. And faith isn't just about accepting or claiming this identity. It's not just about hearing it and saying, okay, sounds good, and then just going about your way. It requires us to take it seriously and embody it, and it requires action. And Jesus uses two simple images to try and get it to really click how we ought to be salt and light. That's easy enough to understand, I feel. I know what salt is. I know what light is. And these images of salt and light evoke an imagination of Jesus' listeners, especially at the time he's giving this message. I think it's hard for us to realize just how valuable salt was back then when Jesus was giving this message, because it's so common these days. And when you go to a grocery store, chances are if you're if you're getting salt, I always have salt, but sometimes I need it. And if you are getting salt that day, it's probably going to be one of the cheapest things that you buy. But that was not the case in Jesus' time. Salt was harder to obtain and it was much more valuable. Back then, being called the salt of the earth would be like today, Jesus saying you're the Wi-Fi of the earth is very important. And salt was more important back then because of its value as a preservative. They didn't have refrigerators, they didn't have electricity. And salt was one of the main ways to preserve their food. And in fact, it was so valuable that in Jesus' time, Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt. Fun fact, I learned that's where the word salary comes from. And it's also why when somebody wasn't doing their job, they would say they're not worth their salt. And there's nothing, there's an old Roman saying that said there's nothing more useful than sun and salt. And it's quite a compliment to be called the salt of the earth, but also to be called the light of the world. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that he himself is the light of the world, and yet here in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us we too are the light of the world. And think for a minute at how much more valuable light was back then, before electricity. And nowadays we almost always have light. We have street lamps, there's neon signs and billboards, and we have flashlights in our pockets, 24-7. But back then you couldn't just walk into a room and flip a switch and the whole place would light up. We almost take light for granted these days, but it was so important and valuable back then. To be told that we're the light of the world, to be told is to be told that we're extremely important and we're valuable. And using this illustration, especially back then, was a beautiful way for Jesus to try and get this truth to really stick. And both of them have something in common too. They don't exist for themselves. Salt does no good just sitting in the container in the pantry unopened. It can't enhance anything. It can't preserve anything that way. Salt can't do what it's created to do if it never interacts with the things that needs salt. And in the same way, we don't just exist for ourselves. We're called to live for God and for others, to bring goodness and grace and truth to the places we go. Likewise, light does no good if it's concealed. No one turns on a lamp when they need to see something and then they throw a blanket over it. You put it where it can be seen and where it can shine, because even a small light makes a big difference in a dark place. And the same is true for us. If the Beatitudes describe the essential character of the disciple of Jesus Christ, the salt and the light metaphors indicate their influence for good in the world. Yet the very notion that Christians can exert a healthy influence in the world should bring us up with a start. What possible influence could the people describe in the Beatitudes exert in this dark world? What lasting good can somebody who is poor and meek do? People who mourn and those who try to make peace instead of war, would they not simply be overwhelmed by the darkness? What could they accomplish? What can they accomplish whose only passion is an appetite for righteousness and whose only weapon is purity of heart? Are not such people too feeble to achieve anything? Especially if they're so small of a minority in the world. And it's evident that Jesus does not share that opinion. But the reverse. God has given us exactly what he needs from each of us. And every light matters. Every person counts. And even the smallest light is a welcome sight in a very dark place. We can all bring glory to God simply by letting that light shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna. There you go. Hide it under a bushel? Okay. The smallest act of kindness, the simplest gesture of hospitality, of grace, the humblest sharing of our time or the gifts we do possess, they all give glory to God. And we don't have to change the whole world. We just need to let our light shine. And so if we really know all of this now, then why don't we live it out? Or why do we often struggle so much to be who Jesus says that we are? I believe a big part of the reason why we struggle to apply these things and why we so often forget is that knowing something is not the same as experiencing it. I'm gonna be real with y'all. I know I should go to the dentist at least like once a year for a cleaning. I don't do that. I know that I should fold my laundry and actually put it away after it is clean, but I do not do that. And my husband is shaking his head because he knows too well. We have a, I'm serious, we have a laundry chair in our living room. You know why it's called a laundry chair? Because laundry is in that chair more than anything else ever has been and probably ever will be. Can't remember the last time someone sat in that chair. But when I finally do these things, it clicks and it makes sense why I should have been doing them all along. And when Josh and I, when Josh, my husband, and I were dating, he was a very different person than he is now. And I want to be clear that I have permission to share this with you all. I don't always get permission when I mention him in the pulpit, but I did run this by him this time. So when we were dating, he he believed in God. He knew that God was real. And that was about it. That was about as far as this faith went. And at the time, I was a religion major at Huntingdon. I was very active in my faith, and I made it clear to him that my faith was very important to me. And I went to church every Sunday, and and I told him that he didn't have to join me, but I always invited him to. And I never compromised my faith or my religious practices. I just made it clear that I knew what my identity was, and I was gonna let that shine in our relationship. And much later into our relationship, maybe even after we were married, I can't even remember, we were talking about the early days of our relationship and how far he had come in his faith. And I remember asking him if he could recall a specific moment when things shifted for him, when it like clicked and pushed him to start taking his faith seriously. He told me that there was always a part of him that knew I should probably start going back to church. I should probably pray more, read my Bible, get involved in some kind of community at the church. And at first, he started going to church with me because he liked me and he knew it meant a lot to me. But then he started to experience God in ways that he hadn't before. He was experiencing God through conversations I would have with him about stuff I was learning in religion classes, or by attending campus ministries events, which, by the way, he was not a student at my school at the time, but he would still come to my school's campus ministries events. And at first it was just to support me when I would lead worship or when I would preach. But then he started to form his own relationships with my friends and my mentors and my parents, who are some of the most godly people that I've never known. And he knew it was important to go to church and to read the Bible and to have these conversations about faith and to be a light in the world, but until he experienced all of these things for himself. He didn't fully realize how transformational it is. Knowing is not going to lead to doing. Not until experience changes your understanding. Information is not going to transform you. Experiencing and encountering Christ is what does that. In our Wesleyan tradition, we actually talk about this. We say that the living core of the Christian faith is brought to life or vivified through experience. And that we are not just passive recipients of God's grace, we are active participants in it. Experience is how we personally receive and live into God's forgiving and empowering grace. And when that happens, when we truly experience Christ, we don't have to force ourselves to be who we already are, to be salt and to be light. It becomes something that flows naturally out of us. And it frees us from this idea that we have to strive or perform or prove something. And in that experience, you won't find guilt or shame. You won't find judgment for however long you've spent getting it wrong or avoiding it. Instead, you will be empowered. You will receive grace and you will be emboldened and passionate about sharing this with the world. The solution to feeling helpless in a world full of darkness is found in this identity. And when you've experienced something so life-changing and so life-giving, you don't want to stop sharing it. I am I'm naturally a very passionate person. If I like something, if I really like it, then I really like it. And I will not stop talking about it, and I'll look for chances to bring it up in like every conversation. And if it gets brought up in a conversation, you better buckle up. Especially, this is the best example for me. Dogs? Talking about dogs? You want to bring up dogs? I'm gonna pull up all what is it now, 10,000 pictures I have of my dogs on my phone. I'm not joking. You see, I'm already getting, I already can't stop talking about it. And I also think about, you know, when I when I first, well, when we first moved here in the first week, I was like, I have to find my coffee place. That's just that was my goal. And I found Seoul Caffeine. And immediately I was telling all my friends back home and my family, as soon as you get here, I have to take you to this place. It's amazing. I love it, it's my new favorite place. And the same with Cheryl's Cafe. First time I ate there, I was texting all my friends and my family, you gotta come over here and you gotta eat here with us. Or if I have a really good book that I've read, then I start to annoy all of my friends and tell them that they should also read it so that I have someone to talk to about it because I just really want to talk about it. And I'm so excited about how good this book was. And that's something that just happens naturally from those experiences. This being set apart, it is a long process. Salvation only takes a moment, but sanctification lasts a lifetime. And perhaps this is already happening for you already, and that is amazing. And my encouragement to you today is don't get complacent. Continue to be that light, continue to shine, and don't lose that saltiness. And I have more good news to offer you this morning. That all of this is not something that we have to figure out on our own. Because Jesus didn't just talk about it, he lived it. Just last week we celebrated the clearest example of that. On the cross, we see the ultimate expression of his words on the Sermon on the Mount. We see the ultimate light shining through the darkest of places, a light that cannot be overcome. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus paid the ultimate price to save us from sin and death, and for it to really truly resonate with us how we ought to live. Changes everything. Because now being salt and light isn't something that we have to manufacture on our own. It's something that flows out of a life that has been changed by a risen Savior. We don't shine because we're strong enough on our own. We shine because he is alive. We don't bring goodness to the world because we have it all figured out and we have it all together. We do it because his grace is at work within us. Jesus was so serious that he died for you and for me and for all of us as the ultimate example of what it means to be set apart. So that when we lose heart or lose our way, we can look to the cross and be reminded of who we are and how we ought to live. So the question for us this morning isn't, will you be salt and light? The question is, have you experienced the one who says you are? And if so, do you believe that he was serious? The world doesn't need more people who know all the things. It needs people whose lives have been changed by Jesus, people who live out their identity in a risen Savior. People who don't just talk about light, but who shine. People who don't just sit around taking up space like the salt shaker in your pantry, but are willing to be poured out for others. Because even the smallest light, it is impossible to ignore that in the darkness. And even a little bit of salt can make a huge difference. So stop worrying about trying to become something that you're not, and live as the people that Jesus says you are. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.