St Matthew, Chapter 5, verses: 13 - 16, The Sermon on the Mount: You are the Salt and Light of the World.

The Heading for our paragraph study today is:  (The disciples compared to salt and light)

We have finished with the Beatitudes and continue with the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus gives us additional teachings.  In this paragraph he starts by telling us that we are the salt of the earth.  Salt is a basic element necessary for life.  We find it in all living things on this planet.  Yet Christ speaks to us as though we are the common element that is used by everyday people to give flavor to their foods.  You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt looses it strength, what will it be salted with??   There is something within those that he spoke to, and within us, that was and is basic for all christians, life.  Out of all of the people that lived during the life of Christ only a small percentage heard this sermon.  And Christ was speaking to them because there was something special about them.  There was something special about them that brought them to see and to hear his sermon on that day.  There was a desire in them that needed fulfillment.  There was a hunger within them that required feeding.  There was a hole in their lives that needed to be filled and in this sermon he gave them the basics of life. 

Those people then and we who seek the Lord now, have a desire to know him.  We have a hunger that needs to be fed with the words of life and Christ feeds us with his words.  But if we loose this life, this salt, what good are we.  If we loose this life, that is within us, what will we be salted with, what will our life be reignited with??  We become of no use except to be thrown out of the kingdom and to be trodden under foot.    We become like the weeds that are gathered and put into the fire to be burned forever. 

We are the light of the world, Christ continues in his sermon.  He gives us examples of what it means to be the light.  A city on a mountaintop cannot be hidden.  A lamp placed on a lamp stand is there for a purpose, to give light for all who enter the house.  Even so are we.  We are given light so that we may shine in the darkness.  We shine so that others may see and that we may give light to those who are near to us.  We are placed above the floor, on a stand to give light to all.  We are elevated so that the work that we do may be seen by all men and bring glory to God in heaven. 

Let your light shine before men.  Where is your light??  DO YOU KNOW that you have light??  Do you shine before men??

St Matthew, Chapter 5, verses: 11-12, The Beatitude: Blessed are you when men Reproach, Persecute and Speak falsely against you.

We finish up the Beatitudes today with:  11Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for my sake. 12 Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven were before you.; for so did they persecute the prophets who were before you.

Christ gives us the last Beatitude with, what we find is common in our society today.  In our social circles, at work, at play, formally or informally, we are reproached.  It is common practice to talk about and gossip about the habits and behaviors of other people.  We see it in our favorite programs on TV and on cable.  We find it in our social networks.  We read it in the news.  We live it within ourselves and think nothing about what we do.  It is only when our talk results in serious harm or detriment to others, that we give what we say some thought.  A young boy hangs himself because his secret of his sexual orientation is spread all over the internet.  Children hang themselves because of the fear of the talk in school.  We live on reproach, we thrive on persecution, and we love to speak falsely about anyone that will win us favors within our circles of influence.  Did you see, did you hear about, what happened last night at the...??  All, are our common compulsions and obsessions in society today. 

Christ says that those who know him and suffer for his name sake are blessed.  It is not popular to be a christian.  If we profess our faith at work, in social circles, at play, we are labeled as freaks, and no one likes being labeled as a Jesus freak.  Christ congratulates those who suffer.  He says that they should rejoice and be glad because they have a great reward in heaven.  They are the blessed ones.  They are the ones who can walk with their heads held high because they know that the word of God is truth and God does not lie.  So anyone who suffers reproach for Christ, who suffers persecution for Jesus' name sake, who suffers false gossip behind their backs are blessed and rewarded.  They did the prophets the same way that they are doing you today.   You will be rewarded.  Rejoice!!!

 Suffer with knowledge.  Suffer with dignity.  Suffer with truth, for the name of Jesus Christ.  Persecution for Christ is a blessed thing.  It is bitter, yet it is sweet, for it brings great rewards.   

St Matthew, Chapter 5, verse 10, The Beatitude: Blessed are they who suffer Perscution.

Today's Beatitude is:  10Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  


Blessed are they who suffer persecution.  This is a strange thing to say, especially in today's time.  We do not suffer persecution today because we have laws and rules that protect us from such.  On the job, at home, in the public, at church, wherever we are, in this society we live in, we have rules and regulations that protect us from persecution.  This does not mean that people do not suffer from wrongs committed by others, whether the wrongs are true wrongs or wrongs that are imagined based on our sense of justice.  People are wronged everywhere but those wrongs do not rise to the level of justification to activate the systems in place.  I feel wronged in my car when someone cuts in front of me or I feel wronged when someone takes a parking space that I intended to take.  I may feel wronged in the grocery store when someone jumps in front of my line so that they can get service before me.  I may feel wronged in the mall when someone runs past me and almost knocks me down without apologizing for the wrong.  These situations in most cases do not rise to the level of activating the rules in place, unless the parties involved physically take action in their own hands and seek to justify the wrong.  The legal process steps in when physical action is taken, to stop the hostilities and to correct the situation by the rules in place or through legal means.

Wrongs that we feel do not, however, equate to persecution, unless those wrongs are continuous over time and repeated.  Persecution grows out of a lack of justice.  The Jew's were persecuted, the American Indians were persecuted, the Afro-Americans were persecuted, the founders and fore-fathers of America suffered religious persecution when they came to America.  All suffered persecution without the restitution brought by justice.  Yet we find that even in our society today and in many societies throughout the world persecution exists.  Christians suffer their religious beliefs in many countries where Islam is practiced.  Christians suffer persecution and injustice in many countries where the government holds a tight reign on the population and does not allow religious and political freedoms.  Persecution is a demon with a whip that torments man wherever he lives, and justice is it's keeper. 

Christ says in this Beatitude that blessed are they who suffer.  He does not say blessed are those who are persecuted and seek and demand justice.  For there is a difference.  In our society today we are taught to fight back when we are persecuted.  Men who suffer wrongs will take up arms to right the wrong of injustice.  We are fed, through our media, constant examples of the hero who fights injustice and wins.  We cheer and love to see battles of right and wrong where the hero wins.  The right of might triumphs over injustice in our media, in our schools, in our governments, in our homes, and more than anything our beliefs.  These are the lessons that we receive and pass down to our children. But Christ says blessed are they who suffer.    Theirs is the kingdom of heaven, if they suffer for the sake of justice.  If they feel the sting of the whip of persecution and suffer the wrong for the sake of justice, they have the kingdom of heaven. 

So we ask ourselves, today, suffer now and own the kingdom of heaven or take up arms and right the wrong that we feel.  Do we allow ourselves to feel the anger associated with persecution?  Do we open ourselves up to the cloak of injustice that would have us consumed with the belief that we must ourselves become the balance scale of justice so that the wrong that is committed is corrected?  Do we permit the seed of injustice to grow within us till we believe that we are now the judge and jury?  For this is the goal of the cloak of injustice, to deceive us into believing that we are right in our injustice.  But Christ says that blessed are they who suffer.  Blessed are they who do not put on the cloak of injustice but suffer the pain and harm for the sake of justice.  They are already rewarded by doing so.  They who suffer are justified by their actions, by their thoughts, by their hearts.  Theirs is the kingdom.  Theirs is the glory that has been given by God.  Theirs is the robe of righteousness that they will receive having been washed in the blood of the lamb.  

Today we do not weigh the value of our beliefs.  We simply act based upon what we believe.  Even for those who have religious beliefs, it is difficult to act upon those beliefs if they do not trust them.  Trust requires action.  Trust demands that beliefs are real and can be relied upon as a platform for action.  Yet it is awkward, today, to act upon our beliefs.  In our protected environments, i.e., the church, the home, with spiritual friends and partners, we can put beliefs to action.  But this is our clothing that we wear in those situations and environments.  When we are away, we wear different clothing befitting the world that we live, play, and socialize.  Weigh the value of what you believe.  Weigh the value of suffering vs injustice. Weigh the value of the kingdom of heaven against taking action today, right now, to fight persecution.  Weigh the value of Christ's words of truth against your beliefs.  Which way does your balance scale sway???