Salt and Light

What does salt do? It enhances flavour. It brings out the best in the food. It preserves, giving life. It changes what it touches. When Jesus says, ‘you are the salt of the earth’, what does he mean? We are to be the people who make a difference. The people who bring out the best in others. Those who give life by living out Christ’s love. Isn’t that an amazing call?

And what does light do? It enables us to see. It gives colour - after the sun goes down everything is in black and white. Light draws us in, it’s inviting, welcoming, a relief, a sign of home, safety, comfort. When Jesus says, ‘you are the light of the world’, what does he mean? We show people God through our own way of being, our conversation, our care for one another. We are people of faithful integrity. We draw in others, invite and welcome them into the journey of following Jesus. What an amazing identity to carry!

Now at the end of the gospel reading Jesus says something which may have been quite alarming to his listeners. He tells them that they will never enter the kingdom of heaven unless they are even more righteous than the scribes and pharisees. But the scribes and pharisees were the most religious people around. They knew the law inside out. They could quote it, live it, breathe it. They were the ones who taught everyone else what to do, how to be right with God. So how could anyone hope to be EVEN MORE righteous than these people? We probably all know the answer - the scribes and pharisees were talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk in that their rhetoric and their hearts didn’t match up. They were meticulous about the law, but sometimes they missed its heart. They were not loving their neighbour as themselves, which Jesus points out to them several times over throughout the gospels!

So what Jesus is saying is actually achievable. He is asking our faith to be alive - to change our hearts - to influence our actions. He asks us to consider the question ‘what is righteousness?’ thoughtfully.

Now it can all sound a bit daunting, having to be righteous. But our New Testament reading gives us space to breathe - Paul gives us some reassurance in the reading from 1 Corinthians, where he describes how he didn’t need or try to be eloquent or impressive. Instead, when he told others about Jesus, his simplicity and ordinariness left space for the Holy Spirit to be at work. The being salt and light is what happens when the Spirit guides us in what we do and say. Thankfully it’s not just down to us, but we always have this help from God. So what is righteousness? Righteousness is that we have a right relationship with God, that flows into a right relationship with others. It is that we are earnest in our desire to be guided by and filled by the love of Christ, the light and salt of the Holy Spirit. Of course we’ll fail at times, but the key is that we pick ourselves up and try again. When we give generously, serve quietly, speak truthfully — that’s the Spirit at work.

And notice what Jesus says: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father.” The goal isn’t that people think we’re impressive. It’s that they glimpse God. Faith isn’t proven by how beautifully we can explain it. It’s revealed in how we live it. And when belief and action come together, when we both trust the Spirit, then the world tastes something different. Then the light shines in the darkness, and people give glory to God for the righteousness they see before them.

So how will you be salt and light today, and this week? How will you make space for the Spirit?

Amen.