The deadline for our brief to the U.S. Supreme Court is looming large, and beginning to really cut into my blogging and leisure reading. Thus, rather than come up with thoughts of my own, I thought I’d pass along something Rev. Linda Miller gave us at Chalice yesterday. Although the author of John would later write that Jesus taught that He was the light of the world, John 8:12, the author of Matthew has Jesus putting that responsibility elsewhere.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Matthew 5:13-14 (emphasis mine). Linda tackled the first metaphor as well in her sermon. After talking about the myriad uses of salt, including as a preservative, she admonished us as follows: You are the salt of the earth, with out you, something precious spoils. Which I processed as meaning, without the hard work of good Christians, the Gospel will become rancid and dangerous to consume.