Remaining Salty in Sugar Land

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 9, 2014

Matthew 5:13-20

Remaining Salty in Sugar Land

In the name of Jesus.

I.

Salt is good and does good things. It gives food flavor, it melts ice, it preserves food—before refrigeration, civilization would be much smaller without salt making food last much longer. This is why Jesus compares Christians to salt.

You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)

Jesus compares you to salt because you are good and you do good things. Salt has to be salty. Good people have to be good.

Right away, it needs to be said that good people have to be good, but not to be saved. Good people have to be good, because they are good people. Salt has to be salty because it is salt. Light has to shine because it is light.

The Word of God, Jesus Christ, has made you into a good person by His Word, and because of Him, you will produce good fruit. You will be salty, because that's what salt does.

II.

Now salt and sugar look the same. Everyone discovers this sooner or later that they taste very differently. In the same way, believers and unbelievers both do many good things. Believers and unbelievers can rescues babies from gas stations or give food to a food pantry or help their child with her math homework. But these “good works” start and end in different places, as distinct as sugar and salt.

The salt of the earth, Christians, rescue and give and help because they are alive through the Word of God. The sugar of the earth, non-Christians, can mimic good works, but in eyes of Jesus, they aren't salt and aren't salty.

“And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’ Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:40-46)

III.

Again, let us be clear: the righteous go into eternal life, because we have been given righteousness, from Christ to us through His Word. But until we are called home to heaven, we let this righteousness shine. We salt the earth.

We defend life. If we see murder, we try and stop it. It's simple as the Fifth Commandment: Don't murder; instead protect life. Don't murder by supporting abortion clinics; protect life by supporting pro-life clinics that show mothers their babies on ultrasound and offer living options for their children.

IV.

Here's the tough part: the sugar is going to call the salt poison. For example, a student from my days of being a high school teacher just wrote an article about being proudly addicted to alcohol. He wrote about how his church and family had preached and taught that being an alcoholic was dangerous for both body and soul. He condemned his church-run schools for speaking against alcoholism, so that he never felt safe admitting who he really was.

The article—really a testimonial—was filled for praise for his new friends and school, a Lutheran college in Minnesota. His pieced started by describing last year's Senior Day—he played football—when he came out as an alcoholic by walking onto midfield with a bottle of booze in hand. He exulted in his teammates and coaches who applauded and encouraged his addiction. They were the good guys; his own father, family, and pastor, who had spoken out against his love of alcohol, were condemned as poison.

Sugar always tries to call itself good and is always shouting that the salt is bad.

This news wearies my soul. I knew Kyle; he was a nice young man. He is probably a nice young man still, as far as that goes. But sadly, this is exactly what Jesus spoke about.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? (Matthew 5:13)

Kyle's soul isn't in danger because of his love of alcohol; he's in eternal danger because he loves himself. No one is in hell because they were alcoholics or because of any other sinful behavior. All the sugar in hell is there because they loved themselves and called it salt.

There is still hope for Kyle. His only hope is in Christ, who reveals Himself through Word and Sacraments. Kyle can't be saved by throwing away his bottle; good behavior or bad behavior has never saved anyone. The salt's prayer for the all sugar of the world is that the Word of God takes sugar and turns it into salt. Kyle's hope is that the Word of God takes his belief in himself and transforms it into belief in the true God.

V.

The job of salt is be salt. The job of believers is to believe. Sugar is not helped when the salt starts calling some types of sugar okay. If the salt start saying that everything is salt, then the salt has lost its taste and is worthless.

Sugar calls evil good and good evil;

salt calls a thing what it really is. (Luther, paraphrased)

You are salt. You used to be sugar, but Christ turned you into salt. And that's just the beginning of His mercy for you. And now you by His mercy get to give away the gift of speaking the truth in love to others, just as He has spoken to you.

You are salt; be salty.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.