5 Epiphany A February 5, 2017
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie Hutson
Isaiah 58: 1-12 + Psalm 112: 1-10 + 1 Cor. 2: 1-16 +
Matthew 5: 13-20
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, who creates us; Jesus who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who intercedes and sustains us. Amen.
Jillian was a young girl of maybe nine or ten years old when I first got to know her. She sat, with her mother and older brother in the second pew, pulpit side. This meant that I could see into their pew when I stood to preach. As the sermon started, Jillian would settle into the pew, knowing that from time to time I will ask the Sunday School kids a question during the sermon….so she actually listened! But while she was listening, her leg would start to bob up and down…sometimes so hard the entire pew would shake. Jillian’s mom would reach over and put her hand on Jillian’s knee and her leg would return to being still….for about thirty seconds when it would all begin again. One day, as they were leaving worship and we were shaking hands, Jillian’s mom apologized and said she hoped I wasn’t distracted by the way Jillian’s leg bounced up and down throughout the sermon. “I don’t know why she does that” her mom noted; Jillian responded “Because the sermon always makes me want to get up and DO something.”
I don’t know if Jillian actually meant that the sermon made her want to get up and be active for the sake of the work of the kingdom of God, or whether it just made her antsy…but the reality is that our faith is not intended to be a means unto itself. Our faith is intended to compel us to works of action in the world, toward love and justice and peace for all of God’s people.
Let’s be clear….our works of faith do not save us. Thanks be to God, our salvation does not depend on us, but in fact, was accomplished once and for all by Jesus on our behalf. But it is in that freedom…in the absence of works righteousness….that we are moved to be the body of Christ in the world. When we hear the holy words of Scripture….when we sing….when we pray…..even, perhaps, when we hear a sermon…..we are moved to be God’s people in the world and we are moved to acts of righteousness.
In the reading from Isaiah today the Israelites were complaining to God. Complaining, that in spite of all of their acts of worship…specifically their fasts, God was not responding to them as they had hoped. Fasting, for the people of Israel was a show of their devotion to God. But God is quick to answer the Israelites complaint: Is this the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
And then they are reminded of what God does choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke. To share bread with the hungry. To bring the homeless poor into your house; to clothe those without clothing. To stop pointing fingers at one another and just talking badly about one another and instead to offer food to the hungry (that is repeated twice) and satisfy the needy.
In other words….we are not called only to the rituals we love – to the worship that fills us, to the songs that make our hearts soar. We are called to action.
To some degree, this morning, I realize that I am preaching to the choir, so to speak. This is a congregation who, having met the people without homes in our neighborhood….and gotten to know many of them….you welcomed them to breakfast….you made sure they had lunch….they became members here and we wept at their funerals….and now you are providing fifty nine homes for them. So, as your pastor, hear me say: Well done.
Only we are not done. We will not be done until there are no more hungry poor…until all people have shelter and safety for themselves and their families. We will not be done until no one is judged because of the color of their skin or because of their gender or because of their sexual orientation or because of their nationality or because of their religion. We will not be done until there is equality for all of God’s people….for all people.
Two weeks ago I stood with many of you in a field at Judkins Park with approximately 175,000 of our closest friends. On that sunny Saturday morning, they really did feel like our closest friends. It was my my first public protest. It may have been one of the first times in my life that I really believed what Jesus said in the Gospel reading today: You are salt. You are light. I wish that I could tell you something that would sufficiently describe that day. Every single person there had a message of love. Every single person there wanted the world to change for the better. Every single person there believed that it could. And that they could be a part of that change. Although they might not have used this language, every single person there believed that they were salt and believed that they were light.
On that day, those hundreds of thousands who had gathered were moved to action and have continued to act because of their belief that it is up to them to act on behalf of justice.
How much more, then, should we…followers of the risen Christ….whose message in the world was one of love and caring for our neighbors….how much more then should we be salt and light in the world?
One of the literally enduring attributes of both salt and light is that they are both always present in the world. Salt is found in sea water and deep in the earth. Light is always present….in the sun and in the moon and in the stars. Even in the darkest of night on this side of the globe, the other side lives in the light. So, it is not as though we have to re-invent salt and light. Jesus did not say “You could be salt.” Or “You might be light if you just try a little harder.” Jesus said “you are salt. You are light.” Now. This very moment. And you always have been. And for some of us, we won’t quite believe that until some event or turn of event so moves us out of our self centered fast and into a field of people similarly moved to be salty signs of love.
A couple of things about salt and light, though. Salt can sting when it gets in old wounds. Light can shine on people and events that were counting on the darkness to hide them. Although they may sound harmless or even desirable when Jesus describes them, they have the capacity to feel unpleasant when they are in action. But if we know anything from the story of following Jesus, we know that it is not always easy and it is not always pleasant and we often wonder if we actually have what it takes to walk this discipleship route. And that’s when Jesus takes us by the shoulders….looks us in the eye….and says to us: Eric…Selma….Judy…..Joshua….Maya…..you are salt. You are light. You already have what it takes. You have already been called….you’ve been called in the waters of baptism….you’ve been fed with a meal that rings of freedom….you’ve been told the stories of your ancestors and you’ve sung the songs of your faith. And those things are the preparation for the things that are still ahead. Those things are the fast that will, in the great upside down kingdom of God, feed you for the days that are ahead.
But what is required of us because of our faith are acts that will season the world with peace and love and that will shine light on injustice in every dark corner where it may be found.
When we act on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized….when we offer our food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted….the prophet Isaiah reminds us….then we will be known as children of God….and our light shall rise in the darkness, our gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide us at all times, and satisfy our needs in parched places and make our bones strong; then we shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. What is old and ancient will be rebuilt and we will raise up the foundation of many generations. Then the breach, the rift, the divide that separates us will be repaired and the streets will be restored and we will see that the kingdom on earth reflects the kingdom of heaven.
Thanks be to God and let the church say..Amen.