You are salt; you are light; you are God’s heart. Don’t be afraid, and be who you are, for the sake of the world.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Lect. 5 A
Texts: Matthew 5:13-20; Isaiah 58:1-12

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

You are blessed, and you are beloved. Jesus has told you so.

But you are this, too: You are salt. You are light. You are already in God’s reign, so – don’t be afraid.

Don’t be afraid, even if what we’ve just heard from God’s Word seemed frightening and heavy. Especially on top of all that disturbs us in our world today.

You know the weight of that list: democratic practices that have served us for centuries are threatened, ignored, dismantled. Nations with whom we’ve long been friends are rudely insulted and treated as nothing. And our government threatens and harms the weakest, the most vulnerable, whether it’s our neighbors, or the earth itself.

And today God’s Word sounds no better. Isaiah frightens with warnings and judgments. Jesus gives no slack, for none of God’s law is abolished, he says, all, to the last letter, must be done, and if we are not exceeding in our righteousness, he says, it won’t be well for us.

But don’t be afraid. Things are not as they might seem, at least not with God. You might just have missed the truth in these words from God.

You are salt. You are light. You are already in God’s reign. Remember what that means.

Salt is gift. Salt keeps precious things from going rotten. Salt brings flavor and life to what is bland and dead. Salt, in our climate, keeps neighbors and friends from falling and breaking their necks. Salt melts ice. That’s who you are.

Light is gift. Light reveals truth and exposes deceit. Light brings understanding and warmth in confusion and cold. Light opens up paths for walking and beckons others to join. That’s who you are.

And the reign of heaven: that’s where people follow God’s will. It’s where God reigns in people’s hearts because God’s love has so moved and shaped their hearts that they, in turn, are God’s love. They are God’s heart. That’s who you are.

Sometimes you forget, and think whenever Jesus says “enter the reign of heaven” he means “go to heaven when you die.” Remember, your life is joined to Christ’s death and resurrection; life with God after you die is always your gift.

And remember, what Jesus is always saying is, living under God’s rule, shaped by God’s heart, is living in God’s reign. Right now. That’s where you are.

You are salt. You are light. You are already in God’s reign. So – be who you are.

That’s all Isaiah and Jesus ask. Isaiah doesn’t expect that one person will end oppression and injustice, provide clothing for all who are naked, and end homelessness and world hunger. Jesus doesn’t expect that one disciple will provide salt and light for the whole world. They simply ask, be who you already are.

Be salt. Be the one who keeps the good from going rotten, who preserves precious things in this world for the sake of life. Be flavor and beauty in the ugliness of the world. And care for all those falling on ice. Salt can help. It’s who you are.

Be the light of God’s hope in your place, where you are. Reveal truth; name deceit. Don’t hide that you love other people, that God loves all people, because you fear exposing yourself in a world of hate. Get up on your soapbox or stool or whatever you have, and shine light so others can see. It’s who you are.

And be the warmth of God’s love in the world, for you are God’s righteousness already.

God has said so in your baptism; will you disagree? Sometimes you wonder if you’re righteous enough, and today Jesus’ words raise that anxiety. But in your baptism God claimed you as a beloved child. Clothed you forever in God’s righteousness. That’s who you are.

Remember? we sang with the psalmist that the righteous are “merciful and full of compassion.” That’s God’s righteousness. Mercy and compassion. Remember that when Jesus, who said every letter of the law must be fulfilled, was pressed as to what was the heart of God’s law, he said the whole law of God was fulfilled in “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” To be God’s righteousness is to be God’s heart in and for the world. It is to be God’s mercy and compassion for those who are hungry, afflicted, oppressed.

That’s the righteousness that exceeds that of the best law-keepers, scribes, Pharisees, whomever. Keeping God’s law isn’t following rules and punishing those who fail. The Son of God, who reveals the heart of God to us, who died and rose as the truest witness of the eternal love of the Triune God, has told us, told you: Keeping God’s law is knowing and loving the heart of the Lawgiver, and bearing that heart into the world the Lawgiver so loves.

You are salt. You are light. You are God’s heart. So don’t be afraid.

And hear what Isaiah says that means for you: God “will guide you continually,” says the prophet, “and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. You shall be the repairer of the breach.” And hear this – “the restorer of streets to live in.”

That’s your truth as God sends you into a world that is frightening and disturbing, as you live in a desert and feel incapable of doing anything: you are a watered garden in that desert, to refresh others, you are a repairer, a restorer, and God will guide you, satisfy your needs, make your bones strong.

So go, be who you are, so God’s salt and light and heart can bring healing and life to this world as God always intended.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen