Summary: Christians are salty when they work for the justice and inclusion for all. They are bright when they behave in ways that are good and right and true.
Emily Potter got a call from her sister, and it made her heart sink. "It's cancer," said her sister, talking about the report that their mother had just received. "Not my mom," thought Emily. "Please not my mom." Cancer had already devastated their family once before, and they had lost friends to it as well.
The only way that Emily knew how to express herself was to create something. So, she made a sweatshirt that contained the word "salty." She showed up to her mother's first round of chemotherapy wearing the sweatshirt. And why did she choose that particular word? Emily says that being salty "means that I am extremely bitter, angry and resentful towards her cancer." But it also sends the message that her mom is "tough and aggressive."
According to Emily, people with cancer are some of the toughest and most courageous people on earth. She wears her "salty" sweatshirt as a kind of armor, one that strengthens and preserves her bond with her mother. When she puts it on, she is saying, "I love you. I'm here for you. Let's be salty. Together."1
In the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus offers the images of salt and light to illustrate faithful and loving living. "You are the salt of the earth," says Jesus to his disciples, and with these words he is speaking of salt as more than a flavor-enhancer -- he is implying that salt is a preservative. In the ancient world, long before refrigeration, salting was the prime method for preserving food such as meat, fish and olives. Without salt, food would go bad quickly. The very same is true for the church, when it does not have salty members.
The church needs salty people like Emily -- people who are "angry and resentful" toward things that hurt, diminish or destroy the precious people that God has created. Christians should be salty about the lack of affordable housing in so many parts of our country. They should be salty about children who go to bed hungry at night. They should be salty about youths who get in trouble with the law because they lack good adult role models and supportive communities.
When followers of Christ are being salty, they act as preservatives in a world that so often seems to be going bad. They make investments in affordable housing and take part in efforts such as the construction being done by Habitat for Humanity. They donate to food pantries and feeding efforts that offer nourishment to families in need. They give their time and resources to youth programs in the church and the community that provide guidance and support to young people. Like Emily, they send the message, "I love you. I'm here for you. Let's be salty. Together."
Jesus really wants us to be salty -- to be tough and determined as we do his work in the world. Bread and salt are symbols of welcome and blessing in the cultures of the Middle East, and he knows that salt is an important aspect of remaining connected to others. He asks, "if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?" The answer: It can't. "It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot." Our challenge, as followers of Christ, is to remain salty.
Jesus then says, "You are the light of the world." You are a person who bears the light of Christ, a light that glows with humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity and peace. Do not hide your light under a bushel basket, or it will go out quickly, but instead put it on a lampstand, so that it can give light to your fellow church members, your family, your community, and the world. Let your light "shine before others," says Jesus, "so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
Let your light shine, says Jesus -- be bright. Think of yourself as a high-powered flashlight, an essential piece of equipment when you are walking in the darkness of the woods or sitting at home when the electricity goes out. We normally take the presence of light for granted, but when we find ourselves in darkness, a flashlight is absolutely needed. It keeps us from tripping, falling, bumping into things, hurting ourselves or knocking things over. It also gives us a sense of peace when we feel frightened by the darkness.
Jesus wants us to be flashlights in a world of darkness, and to remain bright. Paul explores what this means in his letter to the Ephesians, when he says, "Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true."2 We walk as children of light when we behave in ways that are good, loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are flashlights when we act in ways that are right, treating others with fairness and justice. And we remain bright when we show each other what is true, sharing the good news of Jesus in our words and our actions. When we walk as children of light, we push back the darkness, replace fear with peace and reduce the chance that we will hurt ourselves or others.
One problem with the church today is that we are not focusing on being salty and bright. We look around, see darkness in the world, and become anti-this and anti-that. But Jesus never says that our job is to curse the darkness -- instead, it is to let our light shine. In so many ways, the church has failed in its mission of bringing light into darkness and pointing people toward Jesus, the one who is the light of the world. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."3
When we focus on being like Christ, we act in ways that are salty and bright. Jesus is salty when he enters the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and cleanses the temple. He drives out the people who are selling and buying there and also overturns the tables of the money changers. Then he quotes the prophet Isaiah by saying, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations."4 Jesus is determined to maintain justice and do what is right -- that is why he drives the robbers out of the temple. Jesus is committed to including all people in the worship of God -- that is why he joins Isaiah in wanting all people to be welcome in the house of prayer. As Christians, our mission is to be like Christ: To be salty in the work of justice and inclusion.
We are also challenged to be bright, as we work together to bring light into darkness. There are so many people in the world who are attracted to the light of Christ, and who need his illumination if they are going to avoid hurting other people, damaging themselves, knocking things over or living in hopelessness and fear. We can help to guide them to the light of Christ, but this work needs to be done in community. For us to have credibility with outsiders, our churches need to be places of love instead of hatred, grace instead of judgment, humility instead of arrogance, gentleness instead of violence, unity instead of disintegration and light instead of darkness.
There is a footnote in Paul's letter to the Ephesians that points us in the direction we need to go. Remember the line mentioned earlier, "Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true"?5 There is nothing wrong with this verse, but the footnote says that other ancient biblical authorities say that the phrase "fruit of the light" should read "fruit of the Spirit." That's fascinating, isn't it? The fruit of the light can be understood as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Always pay attention to footnotes.
A description of this fruit can be found in Paul's letter to the Galatians, in which he says that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."6 This fruit is the exact opposite of the bad fruits that we see all around us: Anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness and other destructive behaviors. As churches that are salty and bright, we need to make sure that the fruits of the Spirit are available to all within the Christian community.
Emily Potter speaks for many people when she says, "Sometimes things get thrown our way in life that we weren't expecting or can't control. Sometimes that can make us feel isolated [or] alone." She is right -- we all know these feelings, and so do the people around us.
Emily says that she tries to send the message, "You are not alone. We are here to make a difference and promote kindness to all. Let's be salty. Together."7 That is an excellent message for the church to send as well. Let's be salty, working on justice and inclusion for all. Let's be bright, behaving in ways that are good and right and true. When we show others the fruit of the Spirit, people will see our good works and give glory to God in heaven.