A Sermon Preached Sunday, February 6, 2011 Epiphany 5A

by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

Text: Matthew 5:13 - 20

About 10 years ago my sister-in-law gave me a two-pound bag of pecans.

They were grown in Texas and advertized as being “the world’s best pecans”, and they were! Now, I don’t bake much, so I put the pecans in the freezer and over the years would get some out to add to salads or other recipes. When I moved here 3 years ago, I transported the pecans (about one-half-pound was left) and put them in my new freezer. I thought, “Gosh, those will be nice for when I need some pecans”.

So this past Thanksgiving, I decided I needed some pecans to add to the spinach/orange/pomegranate salad. I got them out of the freezer and discovered they weren’t exactly stale, they just didn’t taste like pecans anymore. In fact, what had truly been “the world’s best pecans” didn’t taste like much of anything anymore.

So when we came to this scripture about our being Salt and Light to the world,

I got to thinking about those pecans because, frankly, I’ve never heard of real salt somehow losing its taste. . .Except in this scripture passage. So the metaphor is always hard for me to relate to.  The pecans help me think about what it means when something doesn’t have the flavor and other properties that God intended for it. The pecans also help me see what happens when we hide our lights under a bushel, or in the freezer. It does no one any good, and eventually the light and the flavor are gone. What a waste!

Now I wonder if, to some degree our Faith isn’t like this. We have it but maybe we don’t “use” it much, and so it goes flat. Maybe sometimes we even hide it away so no one can see it. So it does no one any good and finally becomes worthless.

I don’t know about you, but I think that the particular “flavor” of Christianity that we are blessed with as Episcopalians is something the world desperately needs. We have a way of being faithful that’s different from many other Christians. The Episcopal way of being followers of Jesus is inviting and inclusive. Thoughtful. Biblically based. It focuses on a loving God, who is here to set us free and give us life!  Yes it’s “rank” with authority but structured with significant checks and balances and some real autonomy built in as well. And it always encourages people to use their God-given minds: We know life’s often more gray than black and white, so we learn to live faithfully in the tension of that. It’s steeped in 2000 years of tradition, yet flexible enough to be open to the ways God’s Spirit is moving in our world now. And it is spiritually deep and broad, grounded in common prayer and the sacraments, but concerned as well that believers find the best ways to pray as individuals and families.

Now this is NOT the image of Christianity that the media often portrays, but it IS what the unchurched see, and it’s what people see who maybe left the church when they were young adults. Is THAT what we want all those children of God to think about what it means to follow Jesus? It’s no wonder so many remain unchurched!

Meanwhile we’re over here with this great treasure: A religion of great saltiness and flavor. We should be a light to the nations, but for some reason we Episcopalians don’t seem to know very well how to shine our light and serve up the flavorful word. Now I wish I had a clear plan that would get our light and flavor out there, but I don’t. As Episcopalians who hold this great treasure, I hope we will all be thinking about this. Maybe it would help just to think about what our religion means to us personally so we can articulate it when we have the opportunity. I do know we already have the spiritual qualities we need to get out the word. We have SALT and LIGHT.   

 (The following section is adapted from Synthesis, Epiphany 5, 2011, H. K Oehmig)

We’ve been “salted” with God’s Holy Spirit…Not to be shaken over popcorn, added to soups, or spread on icy roads. Instead we’ve been “salted” for godliness and Holy Spirit-uality, so we are the ones called to bring Jesus’ flavor to this world. ‘Question is, how do we use this salt we’re given?

Someone (Cardinal Suhard, quoted in Oehmig’s article) suggested a fresh way of being salt

without resorting to dogmatism or moralism:

“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, not even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”

So we live in ways that make people ask questions about our lives. We live in ways that make people scratch their heads and somehow turn to God for the answers. Being salt is not being a magician or flashy showman. After all, salt is an inconspicuous and ordinary substance. It is minute and is usually mixed with common things. It’s earthy and does its work in unobvious ways. It flavors, preserves, heals, or sharpens SILENTLY. I’ve noticed it does no good at all to my French fries, if it stays in the shaker. It’s effective only when used.

         

When salt can be tasted, touched and sprinkled—Like in our willingness to speak out and do something to eradicate violence and injustice and to attend to our own day-to-day relationships, at home, school, church, and work. By grace, in these places, we can become really alive, warmed and lit by the Holy Spirit, and we can shine and refract the light of God to others.

(End of section adapted from Synthesis, Epiphany 5, 2011, H. K Oehmig)

This is our calling: Not to hide the light but to put it up high for all to see.

Remember we are God’s salt and light. As Episcopalians, we have something really wonderful that the world desperately needs. Let’s figure out how to share it…Lest we become like that half-pound of “the world’s best pecans”, which, by the way, ended up in the trash.