Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Readings — Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 112:1-10; I Corinthians 2: 1-16; Matthew 5:13-20

Jesus said to the disciples,

You are the salt of the earth…

In the ancient world, salt was considered a pure substance, created by sunlight and seawater. Soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, which gave us the term “salary”. Sometimes, community meals were called “salt sharing”. Without salt, meals were bland, tasteless, as salt enriches the flavor of whatever it touches. Some would say salt brings out the joy. Salt does not exist for itself; instead, it gives itself to enhance whatever it touches.

Here is another rendering of what Jesus said to his disciples,

It is you who are the salt of the earth…
It is you who are the salt of God’s creation…

As salt gives itself to bring out the flavor of the other, to enrich the other, so are the followers of Jesus to give themselves to the enhancing of others, to give themselves for the benefit of the uniqueness of others.

This world is so full of “takers”, the Epstein files being one such horrible example. We, as followers of Jesus, are to be givers. We, as followers of Jesus, are to grace others as we have been graced by God.

As he was struggling with his last breaths on the cross, what did Jesus proclaim? To the crowd, he said, “Father, forgive them…” To the neighboring thief, he said, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise”. His last words were then, “It is finished”. His life ended with giving graciously to the thief beside him, and even to the crowd chanting, “Crucify him, Crucify him”.

It seemed like those who took his life were victorious until early that bright Easter morning, until that glorious day of resurrection. The Giver of Life could not be contained, could not be entombed. The Giver of Life rose victorious from the grave to continue his mission.

Earlier this week, we remembered a deed of courageous giving. On the third of February 1943, the Dorchester, a United States Army transport, was torpedoed on its way to Greenland. Men rushed topside from below decks, many without their life jackets. On deck four, chaplains calmly guided many to the lifeboats and into life jackets. All four chaplains, George Fox, Alexander Goode, Clark Poling, and John Washington, handed their life jackets to others. As the ship quickly sank, they were observed, arms linked, praying together. A Methodist, a Jew, a Dutch Reformed, and a Roman Catholic. They, too, gave their lives so that others would live. They gave witness; they gave their all, so that others might live.

We are not all called to give our all for others, as did the four chaplains of the Dorchester in 1943. However, we are all called, as followers of Jesus, to be givers, givers so that the lives of others may be enriched, so that the lives of others may be more joyous.

Jesus said to his followers,