Jesus, the Master Teacher
From the Gospel: “You have heard that it was said . . . But I say to you.”
Most of our Gospel lessons in this liturgical year come from Matthew’s Gospel. That is most clear in Epiphany and Pentecost seasons. In Epiphany every Sunday Gospel except for one is from Matthew; in the season after Pentecost, every Gospel is from Matthew. I mention that because the lesson which we have heard today is quintessentially Matthew—part of a key section in Matthew in which he makes clear the way that his understanding is distinguishable from the approach of the other Gospel authors.
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Salt.
When we hear, “you are the salt of the earth,” we distance ourselves, constructing a mental list of the virtues that seem to come naturally to such a person. We then look at our list, our recipe if you will, with the resignation of someone who knows they will never be a master chef. There is no delight; there is frustration, fatigue, resignation, dashed hopes, cynicism, shame. But Jesus does not say, “You will become the salt of the earth.” Or “That person over there, they are the salt of the earth.” He says, “You are the salt of the earth.” What does it mean to be salt? Here are some things I’ve learned about salt from Nosrat.
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Justice, Kindness, Humility
The call of our lessons today is not a call to adopt an internal disposition of justice, kindness and humility as part of a program to reject the Law and the Prophets, but rather an invitation to adopt a changed heart while observing the Law and the Prophets. It is a call to continue in public worship, to live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, to give thanks for God’s Law, and to do so with a converted heart, with humility, and with love of neighbor.
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Of the Same Mind and Purpose
The cross of Jesus is the great equalizer. And when we follow Jesus, we claim God’s power and not our own. And that gets lived out through Christian ethics. Treating one another with kindness. Speaking the truth in love. Showing humility. Being gracious with one another. Holding our opinions lightly. There is so much wisdom in Paul’s exhortation to “act right” today. The social context was very different in first century Corinth, but the dynamics are timeless.
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Pay Attention: God is Faithful
Even where we have not been faithful, God is faithful. Even where we have misplaced our trust, God trusts in us. Even when we have attempted to go our own way, to have faith in and to trust only our own devices, God stoops to meet us in the person of Jesus the Christ.
God is faithful; by him you have been called (1 Cor. 1:9), writes Saint Paul.
In response to God’s faithfulness, we in turn are called to be faithful. Because we are people of faith due only to the grace of God; his faithfulness begets our faith; his faithfulness is the soil from which all other faithfulness blooms.
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Arise, shine; for your light has come.
The three kings talked for many days as they began their trip home, knowing their lives had been changed forever, and yet understanding that they would be changed even more as they pondered all that had happened. Something very old, something older than time itself, had been revealed to them in the face of the little child, something universal and yet very particular and personal, a gift specific to each of them, an enduring treasure to be savored and shared. And today, on this Feast of the Epiphany, they offer that gift to us.
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