Magyar Egyház, 1981 (60. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1981-07-01 / 7-8. szám

MAGYAR eGYtlAZ

10. oldal

our struggle. One of these places is in the Sermon on the Mount, as it is found in the gospel of Matthew.

The Sermon on the Mount is basically understood and accepted to be a collection of Jesus’ teachings about life lived in relation to God, directed to those who have already been touched by the spirit and being of Christ: those who are convicted — those who have heard the call and are ready to follow. The Sermon is for those people who are called Christians to help them understand that you cannot be a Christian without being a disciple, and that because of the radicality of God’s will as opposed to the will of the world, there are consequences to being a disciple. Consequences because, although Christians may struggle to not be of the confusion of the world, we continue to live in it and will be persecuted for living out a life based on the Law of God, and not on the Law of God.

Although there are many tenets covered in the Sermon on the Mount describing what it means to follow God through Christ, the two points which speak most loudly and clearly to me at this point in time are those which speak about Salt and Light. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” Two things strike me right off with this. The first is that Jesus does not say we are the salt of the earth, but says that you are. Jesus does not include Himself in this characteristic and task of discipleship. It is up to us to carry it out. We have been filled with the message and life of God, so now it is up to us to do something with that without waiting for the Christ to have to take us by the hand every step of the way. Jesus also says, “You are the salt of the earth.” The second point is that Jesus does not say you will some day, maybe, be the salt of the earth, but says that right now, at this moment, you are. There are no excuses that we can make about not being ready yet, or having a bad day, or only being able to do half a job. No. If we say that we are Christians, then we are: right here, right now. The responsibilities and consequences of being a

The Confirmed young people in Roebling, N.J., left: Melanie Soltész, right Sandra Jean Somogyi, center The Rev. Debra Johnson, minister.

disciple fall on us immediately and completely. We do not have the luxury to kind of “ease” into things.

All right, so you are and I am the salt of the earth, right here and now. What does that mean? Well, let us think about salt for a minute —what does salt do? Salt seasons, bringing a fullness of flavor to whatever it is sprinkled on. So too, as disciples we should bring a seasoning of the fullness of a life lived out of the will of God, as shown to us through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, in everything that we do, and to every person that we touch. Salt can be a preservative, and it can sustain. It used to be that when there was no refrigeration meat would be packed in salt, and the meat would then keep for a period of time. So too, as disciples we can have a preserving and sustaining effect on the world, to keep it from decaying and rotting away, by maintaining the world’s gaze on the glory of God. Salt can also be an irritant if it should get in your eyes or in a sore. So too, as disciples many times we need to be an irritant to the complacent and wandering ways of the world, to make people uncomfortable with their lives lived without God. Finally, salt can make you thirsty if you should take it into your mouth. So too, as disciples our lives should compel people to thirst for a knowledge of and relationship with God as creator, redeemer and sustainer, so that their lives might become filled so as to hear the call of God and follow Him. Salt is basic and necessary. We as disciples are also basic and necessary to this world as we bring the good news of Jesus Christ to all people.

Well, you would think that in covering salt we would have covered all the bases of what it means to be a disciple. However, Jesus goes on to also say, “You are the light of the world.” Again, He does not say we, and does not say will be. He says you— that is you and me, without waiting for Christ to tell us what to do— and He says are— that means right now, and not some unknown day in the future. You are the light of the world. That statement always sends shivers down my spine—but what does it mean? What is a light? A light is obvious, and the only way that you can miss it is if you cover your eyes and turn away. It is meant to be seen, so that you would not put it under a bushel under cover, but on top of a hill for all to see. So too, disciples are meant to be seen. We are meant to be known for who we are: people who have heard the call of God and are willing to follow. But there is a tedious balance in this in that we are meant to be seen in the things that we do and say, but we are not to be glorified for ourselves in this. We are who we are and do what we do because of the life given to us by God, and so it is our lives which reflect the glory of that God. The light which shines from us as disciples is only a reflection of the source of light— God. Just as light is obvious and meant to be seen for itself, it also illumines to give light to other things, and to help see. As disciples we are not to keep the light of our lives to ourselves, but we are meant to share with all people any illumination that we might have to help make the world a better place, and to help others see those possibilities, and to see the source of light and life as being God, known to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

As I think all of this through, it seems to me that there is one word which really describes the life of a dis-