5 Epiphany A, 2023
In our worship, we read the Bible in bits and pieces. The technical name for one of those bits and pieces is a “pericope.” The word literally means “to cut around” something.
A pericope is a section cut out from a larger book. Each week we cut pieces out of three Biblical books: an Old Testament book, a New Testament letter, and one of the four gospels. That’s what we read aloud during our time together.
We don’t sit down and read a whole book of the Bible every Sunday. That’s the good part about pericopes. And the bad part about pericopes is this. We don’t sit down and read a whole book of the Bible every Sunday. In our worship, we read the Bible in bits and pieces.
The bad part about pericopes is that we don’t get the whole story. We read and hear a few verses. Maybe we look for the point in those verses. But we always risk missing the point. We hear these verses in isolation. It’s hard to put them back into the bigger story.
We are reading through Matthew’s gospel this year. We won’t read every verse of that gospel in worship. But we’ll hear most of them. And, for the most part, we’ll hear them in order.
That helps, but it’s not enough. Every so often we have to review where we’re at in the story.
Jesus is “God with us.” That’s how the story begins. That’s how Matthew celebrates Christmas. Jesus is God with us to save God’s people from their sins. That mission attracts attention from the Gentile world. The Magi come to the manger.
Jesus’ mission also attracts the attention of the powers of this world. Jesus is worshipped as the King of the Jews. For that reason, he is a threat to and threatened by the powers of this world. The shadow of the cross falls over the manger in Bethlehem.
Jesus is son of Abraham, son of David, son of Joseph, and son of God. That identity is confirmed and amplified in his baptism. Satan works to derail Jesus’ mission. Satan fails and Jesus moves from personal identity to public ministry.
“Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near,” Jesus proclaims. He calls disciples. Through the disciples, Jesus will carry out his mission. It’s a nondescript bunch. It’s the core of a larger nondescript bunch called “The Church.”
Jesus teaches and heals and frees people throughout Galilee. The movement is launched. Then Jesus preaches a whopper of a sermon.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ mission manifesto. The Sermon on the Mount is a discipleship manual. We get a description of the Kingdom of God in the Beatitudes.
Jesus announces the Great Reversal of the Kingdom. He describes what that Reversal looks like for disciples. He acknowledges how the powers of this world will react to and reject that Reversal.
That summary gets us up to date. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” Jesus tells the disciples. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
When we get the mission right, we’ll know. When we move the margins, the center reacts. When we embrace the disposables, we join them in their struggles. When we do that, we can rejoice and be glad, Jesus says. We’ll be in very good company.
Jesus chooses to work in the world through you and me. We heard that message a few weeks ago. Today that message gets magnified. Jesus chooses to change the world through you and me. “You are the salt of the earth,” he declares to the disciples. “You are the light of the world.”
Salt and light change things by making them better. Think, for example, about snow and ice on your driveway. Even when the thermometer is below freezing, sunshine will melt the snow. Salt will thaw the ice. Our front stoop is no longer a death trap for the delivery people. And it’s possible to get in the garage without sliding around.
Salt and light change things by making them better. Think, for example, about cooking and cleaning. A little bit of salt improves the flavor of lots of things. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Jesus uses these everyday images to make a powerful point. Jesus chooses to change the world through you and me.
And Jesus uses us to change things for the better. I think that’s the main thought for today. Jesus uses us to change things for the better.
Before we go on, I want to point out the good news in that main thought. Jesus says you are salt and light, right here and right now. That’s not something you work your way into. That’s not something you earn. This call to be disciples is God’s gift of grace. It’s what happens when God is with us in Jesus. It’s what happens when God makes us beloved children in Jesus.
We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Not “we might be.” Not “we will be.” We are.
Think about what happens in Holy Communion. You receive the Body and Blood of Christ. You hear the words, “given and shed for you.” Not might be. Not will be. Given and shed for you right here and right now. The living presence of Jesus for you is God’s gift of grace. Right here. Right now.
Through that gift of grace, Jesus changes us for the better. Jesus makes us what God created us to be. That’s the good news. That’s such good news that it changes our hearts. It fills us with joy and peace, hope and encouragement. But that’s not the end of the story.
Jesus changes us for the better so we can be part of his mission of life. That’s what it means to be disciples. Jesus uses us to change things for the better. That gets us to verse sixteen: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
If that verse rings a bell, I’m glad. We use it to remind ourselves of what baptism looks like in the life of a believer. And this is God’s story all through the Bible.
Our first reading reminds us of Isaiah’s ancient words. God wants to loose the bonds of injustice, to let the oppressed go free, to feed the hungry, to shelter the unhoused, to cover the naked. “Then,” Isaiah declares, “your light shall break forth like the dawn…”
Faith is fulfilled in doing. I’m taking a risk today and offering a second main point. “For I tell you,” Jesus declares, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Here’s what he means.
In Matthew twenty-three, verses two and three, Jesus goes after the scribes and Pharisees. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,” Jesus proclaims, “therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” Disciples don’t just talk the talk. We walk the walk.
Faith is fulfilled in doing. This isn’t an anti-Jewish critique. Jesus is talking about Christians who like being forgiven but don’t like acting that way. Jesus uses us to change things for the better. Faith is fulfilled in doing.
In next few weeks, Jesus will give us examples of what changing things for the better looks like. Jesus will show us the ways our faith is fulfilled in doing. You can prepare for those readings by thinking about your daily life.
Think and pray about these questions. How is Jesus using you personally to change things for the better? How is Jesus using Mamrelund Lutheran Church to change things for the better?
I know you can come up with an awesome list of answers. As you come up with them, maybe you’ll post some of them on our church Facebook page. Others might find encouragement and inspiration in your answers.
Changing things for the better isn’t easy. It means doing things in new ways. Jesus uses us to change things for the better. Faith is fulfilled in doing.
Let’s pray…
The Acedic Lutheran 