Jesus is up a mountain, talking to the crowds. Had we been there, we would have just heard him say words what some might describe as puzzling or mystifying. We are in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus has just been saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;

blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

As they develop, these beatitudes become more down to earth and matter of fact:

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God;

blessed are you when people revile you, persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against your falsely on my account.

It is this point that we move into Sunday's gospel reading:

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world

Yes, Jesus is still talking in metaphor (or is it simile) but, for those who didn’t have access to fast food, frozen meals and Deliveroo, for those whose only light was a lamp on a lampstand, these two images must have carried a very practical and pragmatic message.

It may be a clear message, but that doesn't mean it is easy to adopt and inhabit. This message from Jesus is not a simple message to live out; but neither is it a difficult message to understand.

The clue is in that first word: “you”. It’s not "her" job to be the light of the world; it’s not "his" job to be salt of the earth. And whether you want to take the word ‘you’ as being in the singular or the plural ... it still includes you. 

And Jesus is addressing me as much as he is anyone else!

Dan Tyndall

3 Feb 23