Are your lights on?
Commentary
One of the difficulties that confronts us who drive our vehicles is forgetting to turn off the lights and returning to the car after some hours only to discover a dead battery. I have found that the problem occurs most often when I have been driving during a storm in daytime and had to turn on headlights in order to be seen by other drivers. By the time I get to my destination the rain has often ceased, and the sun is shining brightly. The problem happens, too, when we drive into a brightly lighted parking lot at night.
Two of our three lessons focus our attention on light. They are so obvious about the light that they might raise for us the problem about how to know if our lights are on.
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
The pericope begins with the divine assignment to a prophet to call a public assembly for the purpose of announcing to the people their sins. From there the Lord in verses 2-3a acknowledges the religious commitment of the people and indicates awareness of the question they are asking: "Lord, why do we keep on fasting when you give no sign at all of recognizing our devotion?" The Lord through the prophet now answers the question by indicating what is wrong with their fasting, regular and religious as it might be. First, they serve their own interest on these fast days, perhaps by pursuing their business. Second, while they are acting obediently toward God, they are oppressing their employees. Third, in the midst of their fasting, they fight with one another. If all that is not bad enough, fourth, they humble themselves with displays of mourning like bowing their heads and lying around in sackcloth and ashes.
"You call that a fast?" asks the Lord. "Let me tell you what a fast really is. It is caring for others by freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, providing hospitality for the homeless poor, clothing the naked, taking care of family." The list sounds very much like that reiterated by Jesus as the criterion by which the sheep and the goats are separated on the day of judgment (Matthew 25).
Having redefined fasting through the direct speech from God in verses 6-7, the prophet then promises "your light," "your healing," "your vindicator," "the glory of the Lord" will appear (v. 8). In light of the poetic structure here with its synonymous parallelisms, the "light" and the "healing" might indeed be the same as the "vindicator" and "the glory," namely, the Lord. The identification is hardly unthinkable. The structure of Genesis 1, particularly the repeated mention of light distinguishing day from night prior to the creation of the sun and moon and stars, announces that the light of the world is God. At Isaiah 10:17 the Lord is "the light of Israel." The implication of our pericope is that when the people conduct the appropriate fast of caring for others, the Lord will be present so obviously that they will no longer ask their questions: "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" (v. 3). God will notice the proper fasting and will announce the divine presence among them when they cry for help by answering, "Here I am!" (v. 9a).
Verse 12 announces the promise that the Lord would restore the ancient ruins, perhaps the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. and the walls that once protected the city. In the present context such restoration of the city occurs when God comes to be present with those who know how to fast properly. One of the results of the restoration will be appropriate name-calling for the inhabitants: "you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in." The lists of names for the people of Israel and the city grows longer and longer as the Lord works among them: "salvation" and "praise" (60:18); "oaks of righteousness" and "the planting of the Lord" as they repair the ruined city (61:3); "my delight is in her" and "married" (62:4). The names promised to the people and their city indicate a new understanding of themselves as the people among whom the Lord God is present with the announcement "Here I am."
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
This section of Paul's letter to the Corinthians can only be understood on the basis of what he wrote in the previous chapter. In verses 18 through 25 the apostle described the culture of Corinth as one in which the Jews demanded signs and the Greeks sought wisdom. Against the world's quest for wisdom and strength, the church proclaims "Christ crucified." That word of the gospel scandalizes the Jews who considered to be cursed anyone who dies on a tree and brings the accusation of "Foolishness!" from Greeks who spent their lives devising sophisticated philosophies. "Christ crucified" is nothing less than "the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Having defined the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul then defined church membership out of the same understanding: foolish, weak, low and despised in the world. The purpose of that selection is that no one can boast of their own accomplishments or abilities; one can boast only in the Lord.
It follows from that understanding of the gospel and of the church that ministry should reflect weakness, foolishness, lowliness. Indeed, Paul admits he carried out his ministry among them "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling," and his oratory was not all that impressive either (see 1:17 as well as 2:4). Any other style of ministry would have been (and is) completely inappropriate and inconsistent with the content of the gospel. Just as none of the congregation might boast in the presence of God (1:29), so also none of them might give Paul credit for oratory, self-confidence, or developed talents. Such attribution of fame to Paul might lead to their placing faith in him rather than in the gospel. In fact, such a transfer of devotion to human beings was a major part of the problem in the community, because the people had divided themselves into factions dedicated to Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ. It is "the power of God" -- already identified as the crucified Christ -- on which faith must rest (v. 5).
As for "the wisdom of God" -- again already defined as "Christ crucified" -- it once was "secret and hidden" (v. 7). Other writings in the New Testament speak of "the mystery of Christ" which in former generations "was not made known to humankind" (Ephesians 3:5a; see also Colossians 1:26). They also speak of the unknown grace given before the ages began (1 Timothy 1:9; cf. 1 Peter 1:20). Now wisdom/mystery has been revealed by the Holy Spirit and is proclaimed publicly (see all the above cited passages). The point is that "this age" throughout the generations was and is not able to perceive the wisdom of God. Only through the gift of the Holy Spirit when God ushered in "the new time" is any of us able to know God's wisdom and God's power as the cross of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the problem in the church for centuries and even in our own day is the unwillingness to accept the utter foolishness of the gospel. The church might better present itself as the theater of the absurd which is full of clowns -- not simply pantomime artists but people willing to recognize the basis of the church community. The cross of Christ as God's power and wisdom is not logical; it is theological. It does not stand the test of logical syllogisms and mathematical equations. Rather the wisdom of God exhibited so foolishly before this age will never make sense in the world's terms.
In his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed, Martin Luther confessed, "I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ or come to him." Luther continues to explain that the only way he can come to faith is through the same process everyone else believes: the Holy Spirit. The same realization was confessed and announced by the author of Ephesians (3:5) and by Paul here in our pericope: "these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (v. 10). What distinguishes the men and women of this age from the sisters and brothers of the new time is precisely "God's Spirit" (vv. 14-15).
Paul concludes this section of his letter (and our pericope) by citing Isaiah 40:13 about the incomprehensibility of the Lord's mind. It is the same passage he used at Romans 11:34 to illustrate the unfathomable and inscrutable mind of God who justifies us by grace through faith alone. Here Paul answers the question, "For who has known the mind of the Lord.?" with the surprising assertion: "But we have the mind of Christ."
It is that mind of Christ Paul considers possible on the basis of God's act of justification, a mind that is not transformed to this age but transformed in order to discern what is the will of God (Romans 12:2). It is that mind of Christ Paul calls the congregation in Philippi to imitate in humble service (Philippians 2:5). And it is that mind, the apostle tells us here, that enables us to know the difference between wisdom and foolishness and to celebrate the absurdity of it all.
Matthew 5:13-20
Jesus had just finished teaching the beatitudes to his disciples as he sat "on the mountain" somewhere in Galilee. In Matthew's version he had couched the blessings in the third person, that is, "Blessed are they," until the final beatitude when the second person is introduced: "Blessed are you." Now Jesus continues in the second person address.
First of all, like the lesson from Isaiah 58, Jesus gives the disciples names to live by: "You are the salt of the earth," and "You are the light of the world." The two expressions -- one so quickly on the heels of the other -- appear to be one and the same, much like the synonymous parallelisms common in Old Testament poetry. Such poetic patterns insist on the use of synoyms, and in that connection "earth" (Greek ges) and "world" (Greek kosmos) here are probably not to be distinguished from each other but identical. One might even imagine that the two sayings were originally used together and later attracted to themselves the commentary. In any case, the terms "salt" and "light" as descriptions of the church (disciples) deserve some attention here.
The mere mention of salt in our day makes some people shiver. Many of us are all too familiar with the physician's command during that annual physical examination: "Stay away from the salt." Driving along certain highways in the United States can make us feel like we're in healthy territory when the signs announce "Low salt area." Yet even those of us who hardly reach for the salt shaker at a dinner table will sprinkle on French fries and on eggs, and not simply because Job 6:6 tells us that salt is necessary for food that is tasteless.
"You are the salt of the earth," Jesus said to his disciples. The commentary that follows does not help the preacher except to announce a purging of the congregation of those folks who have lost their flavor and are "no longer good for anything" (v. 13). The finance committee would squirm in their shakers.
Is there some positive twist we can put on salt? What are some of the possibilities that might have arisen in the minds of the disciples on the mountain when they heard their new identity? First, there is mention three times in the Old Testament of "the salt of the covenant" or "a covenant of salt." At Leviticus 2:13 the expression, occurs in connection with the Lord's instruction that all cereal offerings brought to the altar shall be seasoned with salt. Then comes the expression "you shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking...; with all your offerings you shall offer salt" (see also the sprinkling at Ezekiel 43:24). At Numbers 18:19 the Lord tells Aaron what belongs to his group (the priests) when people offer sacrifices. "All the holy offerings which the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you ... as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you." It appears that the words "perpetual due" and "covenant of salt" mean the same thing, perhaps because salt enabled food to last in the absence of refrigeration. At 2 Chronicles 13:5 Abijah, king of Judah and of Davidic descent, defended himself before the upstart king of Israel, Jeroboam, by citing the Lord's promise of the kingship of Israel "forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt." The passage seems to define the Davidic covenant on the basis of something more than spicing up the menu. Is "forever" the key to unlocking the puzzle, especially again because of the preserving function of salt?
Second, we must at least mention the perplexing salt image at Mark 9:50 where Jesus tells his disciples, not that they are salt, but that they must "have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." The passage appears to be a list of lessons for discipleship, particularly on how to deal with temptations to sin. The final piece of the handbook is the recognition that "everyone will be salted with fire" -- perhaps a promise of persecution. There follows a statement about salt losing its saltiness -- essentially our pericope's parallel -- and then comes the admonition, "Have salt in yourselves." The punch line might call to mind the Old Testament practice of salting the sacrifices, a fitting image following the announcement that "everyone will be salted with fire."
Obviously Jesus could have helped us all by explaining how he was using the salt image to identify his disciples. Without that assistance we seem to be left to our own devices. While some scholars cite the use of salt to describe the Torah, I see greater probability in either of the two options cited above: a reference to an enduring covenant or an image regarding sacrifice. While neither one is indicated by the immediate context on the mountain, the taste or non-taste issue can elevate the preacher's blood pressure.
"You are the light of the world." In our discussion of the "light" imagery in Isaiah 58 we cited Genesis 1 and Isaiah 10 in order to demonstrate that the light that brightens up the gloom of Israel is the Lord (see also Isaiah 9:2). Even within the Book of Isaiah the image is transferred to the people. The second servant song in Second Isaiah contains the Lord's assignment of a new role to the servant, probably there the people of Israel in Babylonian exile. The original role to bring back the tribes of Israel is deemed by the Lord to be too small, and so "I will give you as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Israel's function "to the nations" is as a secondary light, even reflective like the moon, because the primary light of the world is the Lord.
In the New Testament the same kind of transfer takes place. Jesus is identified at the very beginning of John's Gospel as "the true light, which enlightens everyone" (1:9). Later in the same Gospel Jesus claimed, "I am the light of the world" (8:12), and immediately upon applying that epithet to himself, Jesus promises to his disciples that they "will have the light of life." Furthermore, at Matthew 4:15-16 the author quotes Isaiah 9:1-2, which concludes with the announcement, "Light has dawned." Immediately Matthew speaks of Jesus and his sermon that the kingdom of God is at hand. The purpose of the quotation is (1) to get Jesus into Galilee and (2) to acclaim him as "the light."
When Jesus addresses his disciples with the announcement, "You are the light of the world," it is clear their function is a derived one, as was that of the people of Israel. Christians are the light only because we are in the light who is Jesus Christ. (Note how the author of 1 John uses the light imagery as the motive for fellowship and loving one another.) Interestingly, Jesus immediately tells that "a city built on a hill cannot be hid" (v. 14). The allusion might be to the eschatological city of Jerusalem which on the Lord's day will be the location from which the Lord will rule as king over the entire world (see Isaiah 2:2-4 and especially the vision of Zechariah in chapter 14). The disciples before Jesus "on the mountain" already prefigure the Kingdom of God to come; the church is the foretaste of that community, and as such its function is to shine before the world so that others might see their good works and glorify God.
The church as the eschatological community shining here and now in the world, yet called to do good works, raises the question about where it should be. Is the church simply to stay comfortable "on the mountain" attracting humanity like moths to a porch light? Or is the lofty mountain location reserved for the eschaton while here and now the church enters the darkness, bringing light by its willingness to trip over people living in the dark streets, by its identification with those who wallow in the gloomy hopelessness of this world, and by its advocacy for those whose voices are not heard way up there in lofty places?
Perhaps a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees is one that celebrates the righteous act of God in justifying us and then holds the fast of serving people in their needs. Getting into the darkness of people's lives might be the only way we can determine if our lights are on.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
In the church, we speak often of "salvation." But what do we mean by that term? Certainly several different meanings are given us in the scriptures. The apostle Paul understood "salvation" to include our resurrection from the dead, our vindication in Christ at the last judgment, and our entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God. And certainly Third Isaiah's understanding is preparatory for that, for in this sixth century B.C. prophetic text, "salvation" means to live abundantly in God's presence.
In verses 8-12 of our text, that meaning is spelled out. God's presence with the faithful will mean light that dispenses every shadow (vv. 8a, 10cd) -- light that will "break forth," like floodwater bursting out to cover the earth (v. 8a). God's presence will give "healing" to every hurt (v. 8b) and protection and guidance in every circumstance (vv. 8cd, 11a). Fellowship with him will mean renewed vitality and productivity, like that given to a watered garden (v. 11c). It will enable persons to rebuild the ruins of their lives (v. 12), and to know God's immediate fellowship with them (v. 9). When the faithful call to God, he will answer them; they will cry to him, and he will reply, "Here I am!" like a father responding to the call of a searching child (v. 9). Yes, that is a central meaning of the word "salvation" -- to be with God and to enjoy life abundant in his presence -- and I suppose every one of us would like thus to be saved.
Certainly the Judeans to whom our prophetic passage is spoken would like to have such a life. They are returnees with their families from Babylonian exile, and their plight is rather desperate. Their city of Jerusalem lies still in ruins; they are plagued with crop shortages and inflation and lack of housing; and there is dissension between their priestly Zadokite leaders and the Levitical priests who remained in Palestine during the exile. In fact, most of Third Isaiah comes from the Levites and their followers who were persecuted and deprived of priestly duties by the Zadokite priests when the latter returned from Babylonia after 538 B.C.
The Judean populace and their Zadokite priests therefore are pictured in our text as seeking the salvation of God by undergoing a day of fast and penitence. They go through all the rituals of such a day, crying out in prayer to God, falling prostrate on the ground, rending their garments, sprinkling ashes on their heads, donning sackcloth, and foregoing normal activities (cf. Joshua 7:6; 1 Kings 21:27; Psalm 35:13-14, and so on). They are a very religious people, who "seek" God daily, that is, they ask the prophets for oracles from God in order to know how to walk according to his will (v. 2a). And they imagine that if they go through the proper rituals of penance, God will take notice of them and come to be with them in his saving presence. They cannot understand why that has not been so. They are very much like us modern churchgoers who believe that our attendance in worship will guarantee God's salvation of us.
As a result, the prophet adopts the role of a prophetic "watchman" for the people to warn them that their life is in danger from God (v. 1; cf. Ezekiel 33:1-9). And he announces that God has not listened to their prayers and taken heed of their plight and come to dwell with them, because they really have not been praying to God and offering true repentance and seeking to walk in his commandments (vv. 3c-5). In reality, they have forsaken God (v. 2d).
Instead, the Judeans have been using fast days to pursue business as usual (= the meaning of "seek your own pleasure," v. 3c), when fast days were supposed to be times of rest from labor (Leviticus 16:29, 31). And far from repenting of sin, the people quarrel and fight and oppress one another (v. 4). So God does not listen to them. We have the old stereotypical saying that "God hears every prayer," but not according to the prophets (cf. also Isaiah 1:15). Persons who pray must be "acceptable to the Lord" (v. 5c).
What pleases God? Surely not phony religiosity and prayer that is contradicted by our actions. No. Third Isaiah spells out part of the answer in 6-9b, 9c-12. The repentance that God chooses and the worship that is pleasing to him is the worship or "work" (for worship means "work") of liberation, the removal of every yoke that binds human beings to any sort of servitude (vv. 6, 9c). And within his definition of servitude, Third Isaiah includes the bondage or oppression of the poor that is incurred by debt and that is mentioned so often by the prophets (v. 6b; cf. Amos 2:6-8; Jeremiah 34:8-9). But in our text, Third Isaiah also speaks of slavery to the gnawing pain of an empty stomach (vv. 7a, 10a), and to the misery of homelessness and exclusion from the community (v. 7b). He talks of the shivering shame of being dressed in rags (v. 7cd) and of the sin of withholding help from our "own flesh," that is, from those with whom we share a common humanity as brothers and sisters under God (v. 7d). And in verse 9cd, the prophet also mentions the wickedness spoken by the Zadokite party against the Levites, but of course, "speaking wickedness" could refer to all our gossip and evil talk and lies about our neighbors. Such sins prevent our true service of God and mark our worship and repentance as phony before him, and so they cut us off from that salvation, that presence of God with us, that we would so much like to have.
Before we label all of that as "works-righteousness," let us remember that our Lord Jesus announces to us the same message -- that mercy toward others is good in God's sight, because it is finally mercy toward him. "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). Love toward our fellow human beings is finally love toward God in Jesus Christ, and true love of God always issues in love toward our neighbors. Apart from that, the repentance we mouth and the worship we carry out is rather futile, as our text says.
To be sure, all of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. All of us fail in our love for our neighbors and therefore in our love for God. And that is why we come into this church and offer our confessions of sin. We all ultimately have only the one prayer, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). And our Lord tells us that the God of mercy hears that prayer and justifies us in his sight by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But what our text further reminds us is that even that prayer must be followed by merciful action in our everyday lives. We cannot just confess our sin and then do nothing to aid others. No. Confession -- true confession -- leads to deeds of mercy in our society, and kindness toward our associates, and acts of forgiveness and self-sacrifice in our homes, and efforts every morning to do those things that are pleasing to our God. The work of worship and the work of daily life must coincide. And from that work, we will be able sincerely to call, and God will answer us, "Here I am!"
Two of our three lessons focus our attention on light. They are so obvious about the light that they might raise for us the problem about how to know if our lights are on.
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
The pericope begins with the divine assignment to a prophet to call a public assembly for the purpose of announcing to the people their sins. From there the Lord in verses 2-3a acknowledges the religious commitment of the people and indicates awareness of the question they are asking: "Lord, why do we keep on fasting when you give no sign at all of recognizing our devotion?" The Lord through the prophet now answers the question by indicating what is wrong with their fasting, regular and religious as it might be. First, they serve their own interest on these fast days, perhaps by pursuing their business. Second, while they are acting obediently toward God, they are oppressing their employees. Third, in the midst of their fasting, they fight with one another. If all that is not bad enough, fourth, they humble themselves with displays of mourning like bowing their heads and lying around in sackcloth and ashes.
"You call that a fast?" asks the Lord. "Let me tell you what a fast really is. It is caring for others by freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, providing hospitality for the homeless poor, clothing the naked, taking care of family." The list sounds very much like that reiterated by Jesus as the criterion by which the sheep and the goats are separated on the day of judgment (Matthew 25).
Having redefined fasting through the direct speech from God in verses 6-7, the prophet then promises "your light," "your healing," "your vindicator," "the glory of the Lord" will appear (v. 8). In light of the poetic structure here with its synonymous parallelisms, the "light" and the "healing" might indeed be the same as the "vindicator" and "the glory," namely, the Lord. The identification is hardly unthinkable. The structure of Genesis 1, particularly the repeated mention of light distinguishing day from night prior to the creation of the sun and moon and stars, announces that the light of the world is God. At Isaiah 10:17 the Lord is "the light of Israel." The implication of our pericope is that when the people conduct the appropriate fast of caring for others, the Lord will be present so obviously that they will no longer ask their questions: "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" (v. 3). God will notice the proper fasting and will announce the divine presence among them when they cry for help by answering, "Here I am!" (v. 9a).
Verse 12 announces the promise that the Lord would restore the ancient ruins, perhaps the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. and the walls that once protected the city. In the present context such restoration of the city occurs when God comes to be present with those who know how to fast properly. One of the results of the restoration will be appropriate name-calling for the inhabitants: "you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in." The lists of names for the people of Israel and the city grows longer and longer as the Lord works among them: "salvation" and "praise" (60:18); "oaks of righteousness" and "the planting of the Lord" as they repair the ruined city (61:3); "my delight is in her" and "married" (62:4). The names promised to the people and their city indicate a new understanding of themselves as the people among whom the Lord God is present with the announcement "Here I am."
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
This section of Paul's letter to the Corinthians can only be understood on the basis of what he wrote in the previous chapter. In verses 18 through 25 the apostle described the culture of Corinth as one in which the Jews demanded signs and the Greeks sought wisdom. Against the world's quest for wisdom and strength, the church proclaims "Christ crucified." That word of the gospel scandalizes the Jews who considered to be cursed anyone who dies on a tree and brings the accusation of "Foolishness!" from Greeks who spent their lives devising sophisticated philosophies. "Christ crucified" is nothing less than "the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Having defined the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul then defined church membership out of the same understanding: foolish, weak, low and despised in the world. The purpose of that selection is that no one can boast of their own accomplishments or abilities; one can boast only in the Lord.
It follows from that understanding of the gospel and of the church that ministry should reflect weakness, foolishness, lowliness. Indeed, Paul admits he carried out his ministry among them "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling," and his oratory was not all that impressive either (see 1:17 as well as 2:4). Any other style of ministry would have been (and is) completely inappropriate and inconsistent with the content of the gospel. Just as none of the congregation might boast in the presence of God (1:29), so also none of them might give Paul credit for oratory, self-confidence, or developed talents. Such attribution of fame to Paul might lead to their placing faith in him rather than in the gospel. In fact, such a transfer of devotion to human beings was a major part of the problem in the community, because the people had divided themselves into factions dedicated to Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ. It is "the power of God" -- already identified as the crucified Christ -- on which faith must rest (v. 5).
As for "the wisdom of God" -- again already defined as "Christ crucified" -- it once was "secret and hidden" (v. 7). Other writings in the New Testament speak of "the mystery of Christ" which in former generations "was not made known to humankind" (Ephesians 3:5a; see also Colossians 1:26). They also speak of the unknown grace given before the ages began (1 Timothy 1:9; cf. 1 Peter 1:20). Now wisdom/mystery has been revealed by the Holy Spirit and is proclaimed publicly (see all the above cited passages). The point is that "this age" throughout the generations was and is not able to perceive the wisdom of God. Only through the gift of the Holy Spirit when God ushered in "the new time" is any of us able to know God's wisdom and God's power as the cross of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the problem in the church for centuries and even in our own day is the unwillingness to accept the utter foolishness of the gospel. The church might better present itself as the theater of the absurd which is full of clowns -- not simply pantomime artists but people willing to recognize the basis of the church community. The cross of Christ as God's power and wisdom is not logical; it is theological. It does not stand the test of logical syllogisms and mathematical equations. Rather the wisdom of God exhibited so foolishly before this age will never make sense in the world's terms.
In his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed, Martin Luther confessed, "I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ or come to him." Luther continues to explain that the only way he can come to faith is through the same process everyone else believes: the Holy Spirit. The same realization was confessed and announced by the author of Ephesians (3:5) and by Paul here in our pericope: "these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (v. 10). What distinguishes the men and women of this age from the sisters and brothers of the new time is precisely "God's Spirit" (vv. 14-15).
Paul concludes this section of his letter (and our pericope) by citing Isaiah 40:13 about the incomprehensibility of the Lord's mind. It is the same passage he used at Romans 11:34 to illustrate the unfathomable and inscrutable mind of God who justifies us by grace through faith alone. Here Paul answers the question, "For who has known the mind of the Lord.?" with the surprising assertion: "But we have the mind of Christ."
It is that mind of Christ Paul considers possible on the basis of God's act of justification, a mind that is not transformed to this age but transformed in order to discern what is the will of God (Romans 12:2). It is that mind of Christ Paul calls the congregation in Philippi to imitate in humble service (Philippians 2:5). And it is that mind, the apostle tells us here, that enables us to know the difference between wisdom and foolishness and to celebrate the absurdity of it all.
Matthew 5:13-20
Jesus had just finished teaching the beatitudes to his disciples as he sat "on the mountain" somewhere in Galilee. In Matthew's version he had couched the blessings in the third person, that is, "Blessed are they," until the final beatitude when the second person is introduced: "Blessed are you." Now Jesus continues in the second person address.
First of all, like the lesson from Isaiah 58, Jesus gives the disciples names to live by: "You are the salt of the earth," and "You are the light of the world." The two expressions -- one so quickly on the heels of the other -- appear to be one and the same, much like the synonymous parallelisms common in Old Testament poetry. Such poetic patterns insist on the use of synoyms, and in that connection "earth" (Greek ges) and "world" (Greek kosmos) here are probably not to be distinguished from each other but identical. One might even imagine that the two sayings were originally used together and later attracted to themselves the commentary. In any case, the terms "salt" and "light" as descriptions of the church (disciples) deserve some attention here.
The mere mention of salt in our day makes some people shiver. Many of us are all too familiar with the physician's command during that annual physical examination: "Stay away from the salt." Driving along certain highways in the United States can make us feel like we're in healthy territory when the signs announce "Low salt area." Yet even those of us who hardly reach for the salt shaker at a dinner table will sprinkle on French fries and on eggs, and not simply because Job 6:6 tells us that salt is necessary for food that is tasteless.
"You are the salt of the earth," Jesus said to his disciples. The commentary that follows does not help the preacher except to announce a purging of the congregation of those folks who have lost their flavor and are "no longer good for anything" (v. 13). The finance committee would squirm in their shakers.
Is there some positive twist we can put on salt? What are some of the possibilities that might have arisen in the minds of the disciples on the mountain when they heard their new identity? First, there is mention three times in the Old Testament of "the salt of the covenant" or "a covenant of salt." At Leviticus 2:13 the expression, occurs in connection with the Lord's instruction that all cereal offerings brought to the altar shall be seasoned with salt. Then comes the expression "you shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking...; with all your offerings you shall offer salt" (see also the sprinkling at Ezekiel 43:24). At Numbers 18:19 the Lord tells Aaron what belongs to his group (the priests) when people offer sacrifices. "All the holy offerings which the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you ... as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you." It appears that the words "perpetual due" and "covenant of salt" mean the same thing, perhaps because salt enabled food to last in the absence of refrigeration. At 2 Chronicles 13:5 Abijah, king of Judah and of Davidic descent, defended himself before the upstart king of Israel, Jeroboam, by citing the Lord's promise of the kingship of Israel "forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt." The passage seems to define the Davidic covenant on the basis of something more than spicing up the menu. Is "forever" the key to unlocking the puzzle, especially again because of the preserving function of salt?
Second, we must at least mention the perplexing salt image at Mark 9:50 where Jesus tells his disciples, not that they are salt, but that they must "have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." The passage appears to be a list of lessons for discipleship, particularly on how to deal with temptations to sin. The final piece of the handbook is the recognition that "everyone will be salted with fire" -- perhaps a promise of persecution. There follows a statement about salt losing its saltiness -- essentially our pericope's parallel -- and then comes the admonition, "Have salt in yourselves." The punch line might call to mind the Old Testament practice of salting the sacrifices, a fitting image following the announcement that "everyone will be salted with fire."
Obviously Jesus could have helped us all by explaining how he was using the salt image to identify his disciples. Without that assistance we seem to be left to our own devices. While some scholars cite the use of salt to describe the Torah, I see greater probability in either of the two options cited above: a reference to an enduring covenant or an image regarding sacrifice. While neither one is indicated by the immediate context on the mountain, the taste or non-taste issue can elevate the preacher's blood pressure.
"You are the light of the world." In our discussion of the "light" imagery in Isaiah 58 we cited Genesis 1 and Isaiah 10 in order to demonstrate that the light that brightens up the gloom of Israel is the Lord (see also Isaiah 9:2). Even within the Book of Isaiah the image is transferred to the people. The second servant song in Second Isaiah contains the Lord's assignment of a new role to the servant, probably there the people of Israel in Babylonian exile. The original role to bring back the tribes of Israel is deemed by the Lord to be too small, and so "I will give you as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Israel's function "to the nations" is as a secondary light, even reflective like the moon, because the primary light of the world is the Lord.
In the New Testament the same kind of transfer takes place. Jesus is identified at the very beginning of John's Gospel as "the true light, which enlightens everyone" (1:9). Later in the same Gospel Jesus claimed, "I am the light of the world" (8:12), and immediately upon applying that epithet to himself, Jesus promises to his disciples that they "will have the light of life." Furthermore, at Matthew 4:15-16 the author quotes Isaiah 9:1-2, which concludes with the announcement, "Light has dawned." Immediately Matthew speaks of Jesus and his sermon that the kingdom of God is at hand. The purpose of the quotation is (1) to get Jesus into Galilee and (2) to acclaim him as "the light."
When Jesus addresses his disciples with the announcement, "You are the light of the world," it is clear their function is a derived one, as was that of the people of Israel. Christians are the light only because we are in the light who is Jesus Christ. (Note how the author of 1 John uses the light imagery as the motive for fellowship and loving one another.) Interestingly, Jesus immediately tells that "a city built on a hill cannot be hid" (v. 14). The allusion might be to the eschatological city of Jerusalem which on the Lord's day will be the location from which the Lord will rule as king over the entire world (see Isaiah 2:2-4 and especially the vision of Zechariah in chapter 14). The disciples before Jesus "on the mountain" already prefigure the Kingdom of God to come; the church is the foretaste of that community, and as such its function is to shine before the world so that others might see their good works and glorify God.
The church as the eschatological community shining here and now in the world, yet called to do good works, raises the question about where it should be. Is the church simply to stay comfortable "on the mountain" attracting humanity like moths to a porch light? Or is the lofty mountain location reserved for the eschaton while here and now the church enters the darkness, bringing light by its willingness to trip over people living in the dark streets, by its identification with those who wallow in the gloomy hopelessness of this world, and by its advocacy for those whose voices are not heard way up there in lofty places?
Perhaps a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees is one that celebrates the righteous act of God in justifying us and then holds the fast of serving people in their needs. Getting into the darkness of people's lives might be the only way we can determine if our lights are on.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
In the church, we speak often of "salvation." But what do we mean by that term? Certainly several different meanings are given us in the scriptures. The apostle Paul understood "salvation" to include our resurrection from the dead, our vindication in Christ at the last judgment, and our entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God. And certainly Third Isaiah's understanding is preparatory for that, for in this sixth century B.C. prophetic text, "salvation" means to live abundantly in God's presence.
In verses 8-12 of our text, that meaning is spelled out. God's presence with the faithful will mean light that dispenses every shadow (vv. 8a, 10cd) -- light that will "break forth," like floodwater bursting out to cover the earth (v. 8a). God's presence will give "healing" to every hurt (v. 8b) and protection and guidance in every circumstance (vv. 8cd, 11a). Fellowship with him will mean renewed vitality and productivity, like that given to a watered garden (v. 11c). It will enable persons to rebuild the ruins of their lives (v. 12), and to know God's immediate fellowship with them (v. 9). When the faithful call to God, he will answer them; they will cry to him, and he will reply, "Here I am!" like a father responding to the call of a searching child (v. 9). Yes, that is a central meaning of the word "salvation" -- to be with God and to enjoy life abundant in his presence -- and I suppose every one of us would like thus to be saved.
Certainly the Judeans to whom our prophetic passage is spoken would like to have such a life. They are returnees with their families from Babylonian exile, and their plight is rather desperate. Their city of Jerusalem lies still in ruins; they are plagued with crop shortages and inflation and lack of housing; and there is dissension between their priestly Zadokite leaders and the Levitical priests who remained in Palestine during the exile. In fact, most of Third Isaiah comes from the Levites and their followers who were persecuted and deprived of priestly duties by the Zadokite priests when the latter returned from Babylonia after 538 B.C.
The Judean populace and their Zadokite priests therefore are pictured in our text as seeking the salvation of God by undergoing a day of fast and penitence. They go through all the rituals of such a day, crying out in prayer to God, falling prostrate on the ground, rending their garments, sprinkling ashes on their heads, donning sackcloth, and foregoing normal activities (cf. Joshua 7:6; 1 Kings 21:27; Psalm 35:13-14, and so on). They are a very religious people, who "seek" God daily, that is, they ask the prophets for oracles from God in order to know how to walk according to his will (v. 2a). And they imagine that if they go through the proper rituals of penance, God will take notice of them and come to be with them in his saving presence. They cannot understand why that has not been so. They are very much like us modern churchgoers who believe that our attendance in worship will guarantee God's salvation of us.
As a result, the prophet adopts the role of a prophetic "watchman" for the people to warn them that their life is in danger from God (v. 1; cf. Ezekiel 33:1-9). And he announces that God has not listened to their prayers and taken heed of their plight and come to dwell with them, because they really have not been praying to God and offering true repentance and seeking to walk in his commandments (vv. 3c-5). In reality, they have forsaken God (v. 2d).
Instead, the Judeans have been using fast days to pursue business as usual (= the meaning of "seek your own pleasure," v. 3c), when fast days were supposed to be times of rest from labor (Leviticus 16:29, 31). And far from repenting of sin, the people quarrel and fight and oppress one another (v. 4). So God does not listen to them. We have the old stereotypical saying that "God hears every prayer," but not according to the prophets (cf. also Isaiah 1:15). Persons who pray must be "acceptable to the Lord" (v. 5c).
What pleases God? Surely not phony religiosity and prayer that is contradicted by our actions. No. Third Isaiah spells out part of the answer in 6-9b, 9c-12. The repentance that God chooses and the worship that is pleasing to him is the worship or "work" (for worship means "work") of liberation, the removal of every yoke that binds human beings to any sort of servitude (vv. 6, 9c). And within his definition of servitude, Third Isaiah includes the bondage or oppression of the poor that is incurred by debt and that is mentioned so often by the prophets (v. 6b; cf. Amos 2:6-8; Jeremiah 34:8-9). But in our text, Third Isaiah also speaks of slavery to the gnawing pain of an empty stomach (vv. 7a, 10a), and to the misery of homelessness and exclusion from the community (v. 7b). He talks of the shivering shame of being dressed in rags (v. 7cd) and of the sin of withholding help from our "own flesh," that is, from those with whom we share a common humanity as brothers and sisters under God (v. 7d). And in verse 9cd, the prophet also mentions the wickedness spoken by the Zadokite party against the Levites, but of course, "speaking wickedness" could refer to all our gossip and evil talk and lies about our neighbors. Such sins prevent our true service of God and mark our worship and repentance as phony before him, and so they cut us off from that salvation, that presence of God with us, that we would so much like to have.
Before we label all of that as "works-righteousness," let us remember that our Lord Jesus announces to us the same message -- that mercy toward others is good in God's sight, because it is finally mercy toward him. "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). Love toward our fellow human beings is finally love toward God in Jesus Christ, and true love of God always issues in love toward our neighbors. Apart from that, the repentance we mouth and the worship we carry out is rather futile, as our text says.
To be sure, all of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. All of us fail in our love for our neighbors and therefore in our love for God. And that is why we come into this church and offer our confessions of sin. We all ultimately have only the one prayer, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). And our Lord tells us that the God of mercy hears that prayer and justifies us in his sight by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But what our text further reminds us is that even that prayer must be followed by merciful action in our everyday lives. We cannot just confess our sin and then do nothing to aid others. No. Confession -- true confession -- leads to deeds of mercy in our society, and kindness toward our associates, and acts of forgiveness and self-sacrifice in our homes, and efforts every morning to do those things that are pleasing to our God. The work of worship and the work of daily life must coincide. And from that work, we will be able sincerely to call, and God will answer us, "Here I am!"
