Fleshing Out Salt and Light

What does a retired neighbor, a college professor from UMCP, and a young skateboarder who is a senior at Wilde Lake High School share in common? They are people God has placed in my life this past week and enjoyed a good conversation regarding faith and life. These new friends are people created in the image of God and come from different backgrounds and experiences. My retired neighbor is an African American male who has lived in Columbia since the late 1960’s and served as a prison guard most of his career. The college professor is an African American woman in her early 30’s raised in the Seattle, WA area, teaches theater classes and experienced variety of forms of racism in her life. The young skateboarder is a white male and just succeeded in creating a new skate park at Centennial Lake after many obstacles and challenges from neighbors and the Columbia Association. One is religious while another one has major doubts about God and Christianity. One grew up in the church while another one had very little church involvement. One experienced hypocrisy and irrelevancy in the Christian church and joined what many of us would consider a cult. The other two, who also experienced hypocrisy and irrelevancy of Christians, choose not to attend church, and hence, one does not seem to care much about Christianity while the other one is open to hear and consider.

The last two weeks in my messages we have looked at peoples perception that Christians and the Church are hypocritical and irrelevant. I have challenged us to humbly admit that at times we are both hypocritical and irrelevant. We have lived as people who believe one thing and do another. We have lived too sheltered and have withdrawn from engaging our friends and community with the life-changing message of Jesus, but also we have compromised and adapted too much to the ways of our culture. We have not loved well those outside the Christian faith.

Friends, Jesus loves and delights in us, and He calls us not to be hypocritical or irrelevant but to be transparent and relevant. Because He abides in us and we in him, He lifts us up when we fail and prunes us by ridding us from our sin and bad habits. In both passages of Scripture we explored the last two weeks, Matthew 23 and Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches us about the importance of being a good influence in our community. He calls us to be salt and light—to preserve others and stop the decay of evil and unrighteousness; to wisely guide people to the truth and to help them experience the hope and joy of the gospel; to protect and expose others of their sin and bad habits in gentleness and humility; and to point them to the restorative and redemptive grace of Jesus. By living as salt and light, we care for those Jesus cared for (Jesus did not come for the healthy but the sick, not the righteous but sinners (Matt 9:12-13)). We must then also care for the poor, fight against inequities and for justice and mercy, and pursue reconciliation. This is our call! Remember, my friends, Jesus is the true, perfect vine who provides our spiritual life and vitality, and this enables us to live out the radical call even when we find it difficult.

Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who stood against the Third Reich and martyred for his Christian faith, challenges: “Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.”

So as I think of my friends, how will I flesh out my call with them? I am always thinking and evaluating: “how am I loving them and showing them Jesus?” I know that I can’t do this alone. I am thankful that Jesus abides in me. His radical love, forgiveness and mercy motivate me. And yet I need you to help me as well. What a great and awesome privilege it is for us to join together to be salt and light to this community and the world! May God continue to have His way in us!

Warmly,

Pastor Jeff