Matthew 5,13-16. 8th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Matthew 5,13-16 3815

8. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  053

Anna, grandmother of Jesus 

26. Juli 2015 

1. O God, Thou Sun of Righteousness. We beseech You: Kindle Your Light, so it becomes a bright beacon of salvation that shines forth from Your holy Church. (VELKD Prayer for 8. Trinitatis § 1).  Amen. 

2. Jesus taught them, saying: „You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.“  

3. Jesus calls you to be His disciples and it is Jesus who decides the nature and the character of His calling to you (Gibbs 259). The Gospel according to Matthew proclaims that Jesus’ disciples are the people who salt the earth and who light the world; no one else has this calling (Gibbs 259). You have been baptized in the Name of the Triune God: you are disciples of Jesus; you are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world. Only Jesus and His disciples can do for the fallen world what it needs (Gibbs 260). The world offers many different philosophies and ideologies so that it seems to be a well-seasoned choice to satisfy any and all desires of people, but in all its diversity it often leaves individuals with a bland taste that quickly wears thin. The world offers many religions that promise inner peace and enlightenment, but often leaves individuals still lost in their darkness.

4. Jesus Himself is the Salt and Light of the world. He has called you to be His disciple. He has sent you the Holy Spirit to create faith in Him. His law exhorts you to repentance, and His gospel absolves you of your sins. Jesus is the Salt that heals your wounds, and He is the Light unto your eternal salvation. He now sends you out to be salt and light to your neighbors. 

5. Jesus tells us: »A lamp is lit in order to bring light throughout all the house. Likewise, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.« Your good works flow from your vocation. Where has God placed you? How has He blessed you? What are your talents and abilities? Your good works are distributed through your vocational attributes and duties. 

6. The average person doesn’t usually think much about their vocational abilities, but every vocational skill utilized by Christians is important. Therefore, you must guard against the malaise that sets in that is content to exercise your vocation in ordinary ways. Christ exhorts His beloved disciples to live in their vocations in extraordinary ways, that is, in ways that go far and beyond what non-Christians do with their vocations (Gibbs 262). Others may be decent parents, but Christians are encouraged to be excellent  parents. Others may be ho-hum white or blue collar workers, but Christians are expected to be outstanding white or blue collar workers. Others may be nice neighbors, but Christians are to be exceptional neighbors. Others may be law-abiding citizens, but Christians are to be the most responsible citizens in their community. Others may be charitable, but Christians are to be abundant when they put their offerings in the collection plate. Jesus’ disciples are to live lives of remarkable faithfulness, piety and generosity (Gibbs 261) so that your words and deeds, in the power of faith and the Holy Spirit, will be like salt that seasons a meal and like the light in the darkness (Gibbs 262). 

7. Christians often fall woefully short of these expectations. We may not support our church as we should, we may not exhort one another in grace and love or we may be content to be part of the status quo. 

8. As Christians we must acknowledge our failures, and repent of our sins. We are unable and incapable of being salt and light to each other and the world on our own accord and by our own abilities and powers. We must rely completely and only on Jesus Christ, for He alone makes us salt and light among our neighbors. 

9. Jesus is a forgiving savior who is quick to forgive and eager to empower us to be a blessing to both church and neighbor. Each Christian man and woman is a disciple because Jesus forgives and blesses them; we then receive Jesus’ calling to be salt and light (Gibbs 262). In the brightness of His Light, our light will shine for the blessing and salvation of the world (Gibbs 262). The Psalmist David sings: »How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your Light we see light. O continue Your loving kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart!« (Psalm 36,7-10). 

10. You are the salt and light of the earth. Jesus takes you, a perfectly ordinary person, and He uses you to proclaim the love and forgiveness of Jesus (Martens § 15); He uses you to show the world how His grace and forgiveness touches individual lives for the better. Therefore, Jesus doesn’t want you to hide your light under a bushel basket and deny who you are, rather He wants you to let your light shine, just like a bright spot light or a colorful neon sign so that people see Jesus in you. Jesus is a wonderful Lord and a marvelous hope (Martens § 16), and He wants you, His redeemed Christian disciple, to point the way to Him as the Savior of the world.  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Your Name is glorious,  shine forth Your loving kindness and faithfulness to save all men and women from the darkness of their sins.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Soli Deo Gloria

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1– 11:1. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 

Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 2. August 2009 (8. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on Matthew 5,13-16. Copyright © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.