02082020- Matthew 5. 13-20
This comes to us – by way of Matthew’s private source – M.
Jesus was at it AGAIN!
He was attempting to build people “UP.”
He was being “ENCOURAGING” and “CHALLENGING” both at the same time.
“You are the LIGHT of the world!”
“You are the SALT of the earth!”
You ARE important.
You MATTER.
You are NECESSARY.
You are of great VALUE…of great WORTH.
Most of us like to think of ourselves as BEING “the good guys!”
We TRY to do THAT which is right.
We ATTEMPT to do THAT which is HONORABLE.
We are not BAD PEOPLE. (FAR from it.)
Most of us were TAUGHT to do the right thing from little on… FAMILY VALUES, our CHURCHES, our HOMES, our SCHOOLS “lifted up” the idea of doing the right THING “for the right REASONS” and always “holding our heads up HIGH.”
There should be “a sense of PRIDE” in WHO we are, WHAT we do and HOW we live our lives.
Words like HONOR…
RESPECT…
PRIDE…
And, SELF-WORTH, quickly come to mind.
We are to be AN EXAMPLE for those around us.
We are to be GOOD human beings…good PEOPLE. HONEST. TRUSTWORTHY. KIND. PRINCIPLED.
And to further challenge “the twelve” AND “THE CROWDS” along with them, Jesus ADDED, “unless your “righteousness” EXCEEDS that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will NEVER enter the kingdom of heaven.”
THERE he said it!
He laid down “the challenge” BEFORE them ALL. The gauntlet was laid down.
Now, I know…I have not always been KIND to the Pharisees.
I can be pretty HARD on them, when they lie-in-wait and attempt to ENTRAP Jesus with his own words…continually.
When they CALL HIM OUT for his disciples not washing their hands PROPERLY…or WHO he hangs with…or WHO he eats with…
Or the fact that he and his “motley crew” do NOT seemingly follow the traditions of the ELDERS…
When they constantly CHALLENGE Jesus on Breaking the Sabbath Day RESTRICTIONS…Sabbath after Sabbath after Sabbath!
When they are constantly WATCHING and OBSERVING his every behavior…
To be honest, they WERE a real pain in the “messianic backside!”
BUT they were far better than their counterparts in the SADDUCEES. The Sadducees were the collaborators with ROME. The Sadducees were out for themselves and what they could GET out of this whole ROMAN OCCUPATION.
The Sadducees were the ones on the TAKE, along with the HIGH PRIEST and the Jerusalem ELITE.
The Pharisees were more like US.
They were righteous.
Yes, they allowed their legalisms sometimes to blind themselves.
The Pharisees were not bad JEWS.
They were the MOST COMMITTED people to the religion of their day.
They were the good guys – wearing WHITE HATS for the most part.
They TRUSTED in God.
They PRAYED…although sometimes making a bit-of-a-show-of-it…and they tried to GET the BEST SEATS…
They were the “goody two sandals” of their day!
Come on, now, we all have our flaws…
We all have our downsides!
We all have some work to do…
And that is part of the point that Jesus is making here.
YOU BE the Salt.
YOU Be the light.
OUT THERE – the world can be a little DARK and SCARY and anything but GODLY sometimes.
You can change all that.
You go out there and brighten it up. You be that symbol of hope. You go and be an inspiration to others around you. You be that BEACON that shows other people the way. You set “the BAR.” You are the moral imperative.
You bring the RICHNESS and the VIBRANCE and the FULLNESS and the EXCITEMENT into this world of ours. You make it happen, because YOU CAN DO IT!
The World is watching!
BE THE CHURCH!
Be the LIGHT.
Amen.