Uniting Church SA eNews Reflection 3/2/2026
“You are the salt of the earth … the light of the world!”
So declares Jesus at the start of this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Matthew 5:13-20 – we’re early on in the Sermon on the Mount, the first of the five great discourses we’ll be following through in our “Year of Matthew” this year in the lectionary – the full boxset of Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom!
What does it mean for us to be salt and light? Well, Jesus spells it out in the verses which follow, in what initially seems a surprising way:
“Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill … until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter … will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (5:17-18)
L-A-W Law – help! It’s clear here that Jesus sees himself not as a rebel but as a reformer, in the tradition of prophets/teachers calling the people to repentance, to renewal of their commitment to the Law, with all the wonderful benefits that would surely bring, the building of a strong society/nation based on true justice, compassion, freedom – the kingdom of heaven on earth, in other words.
“Therefore,” Jesus says:
“… whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven … For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:19-20)
So, L-A-W Law. We know what it was back then: the Mosaic Law with all its exacting provisions about living together justly, harmoniously, creatively in community and society, under God. Now it is the law of the land we live in today – wonderful, democratic Australia – still under God, of course.
Our “righteousness” in relation to our laws, Jesus unambiguously explains, should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees of his day – who, famously, as Jesus continually pointed out, obeyed the Law legalistically, for their own selfish ends, trying to buy their way into the kingdom by doing so! No, Jesus is telling us – and this is what the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is effectively all about – obey laws from the heart, selflessly, living out our care for and service of each other in the process. That’s how we can “enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So, yes, indeed, be salt: preserve the laws of our land, adding “flavour” by working creatively to improve them. And be light: set a great example by following the law out of a heart attitude of care and service to others. Great advice from Jesus – as usual!
Picture: Procopius the Righteous Praying (1914) by Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947).
