Well, some of you may not know this, but I’m not the only minister here at the United Church of Rowayton.
If you’ve ever looked at the back cover of your bulletin each week, you notice that it lists the names of our Church Staff.
And, before it lists my name, it says at the top: “Ministers to the Community: The Congregation.”
Yes, that’s you! All of you here in this church today — and all of you watching online – you’re ALL ministers!
As we heard in our “Words of Integration & Guidance” this morning, we (in the Protestant Church) believe in the priesthood of all believers, meaning ALL of us – not just a special chosen few – are called to be ministers.
You have been called to a minister of God’s presence in the world. You have been called to be a bearer of God’s light in the world.
As Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading from his Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world.” Jesus was saying that we are all ministers.
The word, “minister,” comes from a Latin word meaning “servant.” All of us are called to serve the world by shining our Light. That’s our vocation.
And, as we heard this morning, this calling, this voice, is not outside of us. It’s our inner voice. This inner voice calls you to shine your Light, to be who you were created to be.
That’s why we need to ‘be still’ each day. So, we can listen to that voice within us.
Scripture says, “Be still and know the “I AM.” Be still, so that the “still small voice of God” that is within you can guide you and teach you.
The Latin word for “teaching” (for “education”) is “educare,” which means to “bring forth that which is within you.”
Jesus was such a wonderful educator, such an incredible teacher. He understood that his students had never been to school. Most of them were completely illiterate. So, Jesus had to teach profound lessons in very simple terms.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells them very simply: “You are salt of the earth.” What does that mean?
Well, during Jesus’s day, salt was a very precious and valuable commodity – often considered worth more than its weight in gold.
People around the Mediterranean used cakes of salt as currency, as money. In fact, the English world “salary,” comes from the Latin word for “salt,” which is “sal.”
Why was salt so valuable? Well, remember, in Jesus’s day, there was no refrigeration, so salt was needed to preserve meat and fish.
Salt also had important medicinal qualities. It was used to wash newborn infants and disinfect open wounds.
And, of course, salt was used as it is today: to add flavoring – zest – to food.
Jesus is giving his students this “salt” metaphor, so that they could understand that they are “salt for the earth.” That (even though they are poor and illiterate) they are a valuable and precious commodity.
He wanted them to know their worth. That their purpose for being is to preserve and protect, to treat and to heal, and to bring zest and life to the world.
And, Jesus follows that statement with “You are the Light of the world.”
Earlier this year, I gave a sermon in which I quoted Carl Sagan’s famous line that “we are made of star stuff.” We are made of Light.
But, if you ask most Christians today, “Who is the Light of the World?” most will probably say, “Jesus is.” They won’t say, “I am.”
But, Jesus said, “YOU are the Light of the world.” That is the Truth of your being: That you are Salt and that you are Light. You are valuable, precious, and worthy. You are made of star stuff!
And, as we heard this morning, notice that Jesus doesn’t say we CAN become salt or we CAN become light if we accept him as our personal Lord and Savior. He says we are already are salt and light.
But, many of us (due to life experiences) have lost our “saltiness” (our unique flavor, our zest for life), and many of us (for our entire lives) have hid our light under a bushel basket.
As Henry David Thoreau famously said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation, and they go to their graves with their songs still in them.”
We, my friends, are here in this lifetime to share our song – to shine our Light (to be all that we were created to be) – but, as Thoreau said – most of us do not. And, why is that?
Well, I’ve shared with you before this now famous quote from the contemporary spiritual writer, Marianne Williamson:
“It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
You were born to make manifest the glory of that God that is within you. That is how you minister to the world. Not by playing small (and being nice) so that other people will feel secure and comfortable, but by zestfully and boldly shining your Light and speaking your Truth.
The Old Testament reading from today’s lectionary is from the book of the Prophet Isaiah. It says, “Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Loose the bonds of injustice. Let the oppressed go free. Then, your light shall break forth like the dawn.”
We, my friends, are the Light of the World, and that is how our light breaks free: When we lift our voices and speak our truth.
That is our calling. That is how we minister. That is how we shine Light in the darkness.
We, my friends – we the people of the United Church of Rowayton – are people of Salt and Light, and we were born for a time such as this.
So, my fellow ministers: be bold. Be courageous. Be Truthful. And, Be Light!
May it be so. Amen.
Here are three questions for relfection and/or journal writing:
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Where in your life right now do you sense you are being called to be “salt” or “light”? What might it look like to bring healing, preservation, or zest to that situation or community?
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The sermon speaks about being still and listening to the “still small voice” within. What helps you listen for that voice, and what tends to drown it out? When have you experienced that inner guidance leading you toward your true self?
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Marianne Williamson suggests that we often fear our own light more than our darkness. In what ways have you played small or hidden your light, and what fears might be behind that? What would it mean to shine more boldly and truthfully right now?