St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
February 9, 2014
Year A: The Fifth
Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112:1-10
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Mathew 5:13-20
Salt and Light
I
know it feels like Christmas just ended – like we just took down the tree and
put away the decorations until next year.
But,
in fact, the holy season of Lent is just a few weeks away.
Lent,
those forty days of preparation for Easter, starts, of course, on Ash
Wednesday, which this year is March 5. We’ll have three services here in church
and I’m going out to McGinley Square at both rush hours to offer “Ashes to Go”
to people who can’t or won’t come to church. Hopefully some of you will join
me.
Whether
here in church or out on the street, the imposition of ashes with the words,
“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return” is powerful. It’s a
powerful ritual that reminds us that we don’t have all the time in the world –
reminds us that we are completely dependent on God who created us from dust and
will not let go of us even when our bodies return to the earth.
And
then, throughout Lent we’re going to offer other services and practices
designed to help us have a better
Lent – to make us more mindful of the ways we’ve let down God, let down each
other and let down ourselves –and to open our heats to repent, to ask forgiveness, and to be
transformed.
The
services on Sunday will be different, with the confession right up front, some
different prayers and more somber music.
Of
course, we’ll put away the word “Alleluia” until Easter.
A
friend has created Stations of the Cross for us, which will be displayed in
church during Lent. And on Wednesday evenings we’ll walk those stations,
reflecting on the rejection of God’s Son and the great sacrifice of Jesus on
the Cross.
And,
we’ll also be reading a powerful little book called Speaking of Sin.
So,
during Lent there will be a lot going on here.
And,
maybe, on top of all that, at least some of us will take on our own special
spiritual practices during Lent. And what’s the most common practice during
Lent?
“Giving
something up.” Fasting!
Maybe
that means giving up something extra like chocolate or wine. Some people try to
quit smoking. I know some people who give up computer games or (can you imagine?)
facebook!
Why
do we do this? Why do we sacrifice? Why do we fast?
Well,
like the ashes, fasting reminds us of our total dependence on God. Fasting
reminds us of our many blessings. Fasting helps us experience in a very small
way what life’s like for those who are forced to fast every day. Fasting cuts
away some of the extras, some of the distractions, that weaken our focus on
loving and serving God.
So,
these Lenten practices, especially fasting, are all good. And I hope that each
in our own way, we’ll try to give up something, sacrifice a little, during
Lent.
But,
it’s not enough.
All
our religious practices – our fasting, our walking the Stations of the Cross,
our confessions – are worthless if they have no effect on how we live our lives
when we’re out there in the world.
If
we give up chocolate and then go out into the world and live pretty much like
everybody else, then God is displeased.
It
would be much better just to eat the chocolate.
Today’s
long reading from the Prophet Isaiah comes from what should have been a
wonderful and joyous time in the history of the people of Israel. Many of them
have returned home from exile in Babylon.
Homecomings
are usually times of great excitement and celebration.
Yet,
that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
The
people seem to be doing everything right. They follow their religious
obligations. The follow the rules. They fast.
But,
despite following all the religious rules, despite fasting, their country is
still a broken mess.
So,
in confusion, they cry out to God,
“Why
do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves but you do not notice?”
And
God, speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, tells them why their practices, their
fasting, have made no difference. God says,
“Look,
you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist.”
In
other words, the people gave up whatever they gave up, they fasted, but those
practices made no difference on how they lived their lives. Out in the world
they lived pretty much like everybody else. And God is displeased.
It
would be much better just to eat the chocolate.
And
then, in one of the greatest passages of all of Scripture, God, speaking
through Isaiah, describes the kinds of sacrifice God really wants.
God
calls on the people – God calls on us – to loose the bonds of injustice
and to let the oppressed go free.
God
calls on the people – God calls on us – to share our bread with the
hungry, to bring the homeless poor into our home, to clothe the naked, to not
hide from those in need.
Or,
as Jesus teaches us in today’s gospel lesson, God calls us to be the salt of
the earth and the light of the world.
It’s
hard to know exactly what Jesus meant by salt. In the ancient world, like
today, salt was used for many things. It was used to season and preserve food.
It was used in religious ceremonies. And, salt was also a symbol of purity and
wisdom – which I’d guess is what Jesus is pointing us to.
Light
is easier to understand. Jesus is the light of the world. And we, his
followers, are called to be the light – to let our light shine - in what’s an
often dark and shadowy world.
We
are called to be salt in a world filled with suffering – filled with suffering people
like the great actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who died last week enslaved by
addiction.
We
are called to be light in a world filled with suffering – filled with suffering
people who don’t know where they’ll stay tonight, filled with people right now,
today, who don’t know how they’ll feed themselves or their families.
Fortunately,
just like we have ritual opportunities to pray and to fast, we have other
opportunities to serve, to be salt and light in the world.
First,
every time we come into church the first thing we see are the bins waiting for
food donations to hungry neighbors. We’ve been doing OK, but the truth is that
a lot of us still come to church empty handed. The truth is, a lot of us go to
the market and don’t pick up an item for the poor. The truth is we can do
better. Let’s all be part of this work. Let’s all be salt and light for our
poorest neighbors.
Second,
as I’ve mentioned before, faith leaders and others in Hudson County have begun
the work of starting a shelter for homeless families. Right now, there is no
shelter in our heavily populated county for families. If they enter a shelter
they need to split up.
Our
second meeting is this Tuesday at 7:00pm at Grace Van Vorst. Come to the
meeting if you can. Whether you can be there or not, let’s all be part of this
work. Let’s all be salt and light right here in Hudson County.
Finally,
this Thursday, we have our first “Stone Soup” supper. We’re throwing open our
doors to absolutely everybody – rich and poor and everybody in between is
welcome. We need your help. We need food for the meal and help with the
preparation. We need you to be here to welcome our guests. Let’s all be part of
this work. Let’s all be salt and light right here at St. Paul’s.
So,
even if your Christmas decorations are still up, it’s just a few weeks until
Lent.
Here
in church we’ll be offering all sorts of opportunities to pray and reflect.
Some
of us will give up something for Lent. We’ll fast.
That’s
all good.
But,
our prayer and fasting are worthless and displeasing to God if they aren’t
matched by how we live our lives, if we don’t also strive to the salt of the
earth and the light of the world.
If
we live like everybody else, it would be better just to eat the chocolate.
Amen.
Posts
