Sermon 8th February 2026 – 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Matthew 5:13-20 – Salt
of the earth
Have you ever been to a
market and seen clothing that is around half the price of what you would pay in
stores? You soon discover they are fakes – knock offs. They have the same
branding – they look the same – and you can’t understand why the real brands
cost so much more when there doesn't seem to be any difference. But over time
you begin to see the difference. When
you wash them and they fade or go out of shape. They break down soon after
buying them. But you can’t tell the difference when you first buy them by
looking at them.
I heard an interesting
comment that you don’t learn what is fake by studying them looking for faults. You
study the original – the real ones and you can then quickly discover the fakes
once you are very accustomed to the real product. The same can be said of the
Christian faith. Many people are disillusioned with the Christian faith because
what they see doesn’t really represent what the Christian faith should be. And
that happens when the Church believes that its mission is to be like the world
it lives in. That is not what we are called to do. Jesus says we are called to
be the salt of the earth.
Salt has various functions
which can also represent the mission of the church. Salt is used to flavour. Could
you imagine fish n chips without salt? It would be so bland. In fact many
people don’t taste food first to see if it needs salt – they reach and add salt
automatically. But imagine if you reached for the sugar by accident. It looks
like salt but you would immediately notice the difference when you taste it. Likewise
the Church brings flavour to the world when it teaches true Christian
principles. Forgiveness instead of retribution – turning the other cheek. Unconditional
love – even loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. Sometimes
that becomes counter-culture when we have to call out injustices and don’t
accept the changes of the world as we point out error. Just think how
counter-culture Jesus was when he asked his Father to forgive those who were
crucifying him. When he ate with sinners – when he touched lepers – associated
with Samaritans. But forgiveness doesn’t mean overlooking or accepting sinful
behavour but seeing reconciliation with God as always an open path – like the
woman who was caught in adultery. She was not condemned but told to ‘sin no
more’. But Jesus points out that following God’s commandments are not only
important but essential. As Jesus says: Do not think that I have come to
abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For
truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one
stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
And that’s where another
quality of salt comes in – to preserve. Even with modern methods of preserving
food such as refrigeration, salt is God’s gift of preserving food by creating a
hostile environment for bacteria. Likewise
the Church preserves the beauty of God’s world by preserving God’s presence in
the world. We only have to look at what happens to our world when God’s
presence is ignored. Immorality and unethical behaviour prevails and in fact
confuses people where evil is called good and good is called evil. Sin is
called ‘fun’ – progressiveness – enlightenment – modern times.
It’s like buying a product
on the internet – the picture looks like the real product – they even use the
authentic brand names – but it’s so cheap. So you buy it and when it arrives it
sort of looks like a real product but then over time it begins to become
faulty. Likewise, through sin, we don’t recognise the path we are going on when
we start to reduce our time with God. We don’t realise the harm it is doing to
our relationship with God. Life looks the same but - We don’t’ worship as much – we don’t pray as
much – we don’t read God’s word as much – and soon we can’t tell the difference
between the ways of the world and the ways of God. And that’s where God’s
presence reveals the way we’ve been heading and it can be a real shock to
understand what we have allowed our lives to be affected by. We don’t realised
how far we have strayed from God.
And that’s the 3rd use of
salt – to heal. Salt has strong healing qualities. Many gargle salt water to
heal a sore throat.
Salt water can be used to
heal infections. But salt can also hurt when it does its healing – as the
saying goes – rubbing salt into a wound. It stings – but so too God’s healing
can be painful as we realise what we have done. Repentance is not easy which is
why it’s easier to justify ourselves rather than have God justify. It is easier
to remove ourselves from God so we don’t experience guilt. Which is what Adam
and Eve did – they hid from God. John’s revelation said he saw a double edged
sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth in the vision of Jesus that he saw. Jesus
himself said - Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I
did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Likewise the book of Hebrews says
- For the word of God is alive and
active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart. Jesus’ words – his law – is like a surgeon’s scalpel that needs to cut
deep in order to heal. And it can leave scars – as Jacob discovered after his
wrestle with God. He received his blessing – he received his new name – but he
walked away with a lifelong limp. His name became Israel which means one who
struggles with God.
Likewise our lifelong
journey with God can be a struggle as we are constantly called back from our
sinfulness. But then comes the healing. The Grace of God that comes from the
cross – the new tree of life whose leaves are the healing of the nation. And
this is what God has called on us to reveal to the world as his light. Sometimes
it is easier to keep our faith private. It’s safer. We’ll just go to church –
feel secure about our salvation. But Jesus needs our faith to be seen. Jesus
says: You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No
one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the
lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory
to your Father in heaven.
Even Paul experienced the
nervousness of proclaiming his faith despite his personal experience with
Jesus. He said: I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My
speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on
human wisdom but on the power of God. Let us remember – the church doesn’t need
the world to accept it. The world needs
the church to be the salt and light of the world. It needs a true Church not
one that has lost its saltiness. It needs a Church to shine in the world so the
world will give glory to God and know the true healing that he brings. And just
like salt enhancing the taste of your food – as King David said in Psalm 34. Taste
and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
