The Message, February 8, 2026: "Salt and Light," Matthew 5:13-20

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
February 12, 2026

 

“Salt and Light”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 5:13-20

            I love salt. Just ask Renee. One of her most frequent observations … actually more accurately … criticisms of me was that I would put salt on my food without even tasting it first. I tried to explain to her that I possess a special ability that enables me to sense when something needs salt even before tasting it. I can just tell.

            Okay … maybe I do not possess that particular talent … but I do like salt. I prefer salty snacks to sweet snacks. Of course, salted caramel or chocolate with sea salt bring the two together perfectly.

            Having said that, when I cook, I am careful … restrained … with my use of salt. I know that some people have salt restrictions in their diets, so I hold back. But I also know that salt enhances the food that I am cooking. Salt helps to draw out the flavors in the other ingredients. I was watching a cooking show the other day when an Italian chef did the unthinkable. He criticized his grandmother … his Nonna … because she under-salted the food when she cooked. Blasphemy, I know … but I understood his point.

            One of the things that we know about Jesus was that he used examples when he preached and taught that were drawn from the everyday lives of his listeners. He did not use abstract, esoteric illustrations that they would struggle to understand. He used illustrations that they knew.

            In the ancient world, salt was highly valued. Yes, it was used to enhance their cooking, but it was so much more than that.

            The Greeks called salt divine. The word that they used was “Theion.”
            The Romans had a saying that, “There is nothing more useful than sun and salt.”
            In the first century, salt had some very specific qualities and uses. First was its purity. The Romans said that it was the purest of things because it came from the sun and the sea. Because of that, salt was one of the most primitive offerings to the gods.

            Salt was a preservative. In fact, it was the most common preservative for centuries. Without refrigeration, salt was used to prevent rot and decay.

            Salt was … and is … curative. It was used as an antiseptic. It was … and still is … used to cleanse wounds.

            And finally, salt did … and still does … enhance the flavor of food.

            Salt was such a valuable quantity that it was often used to pay one’s salary. That is the origin of the phrase “to earn one’s daily salt.” Salt was a commodity; it was used as currency. Those who are considered to be salt possess the qualities of honesty, hard work as well as a sense of goodness or purity.

            Of course, ancient salt was not processed or treated. In the first century, salt could become fouled and it did lose its flavor. When that did occur, the fouled or flavorless salt could be thrown onto the garbage heap or upon the roadway. It became nothing more than the gravel beneath the travelers’ feet.

            I hope that you have enjoyed our exploration of the salt encyclopedia. I can assure you that there is MUCH MORE that I could have told you about the history of salt. But as some say, “A little salt goes along way.”

            I do not think that we will have to spend as much time with Jesus’ use of the illustration “light.” We know that light illumines but does so much more. Light carries data at high speeds, light is used to sanitize. Light is used to entertain. We have so much light in our day and age that we actually talk about light pollution. But in the first century, light was also precious. As we all know, citizens of the first century did not have access to electricity. Their homes were generally stone structures typically with only one window. Their oil lamps would fit in the palm of your hand and did not cast much light, and if they got nudged or bumped they could easily be extinguished. Those little lamps were placed on a stand so that they could cast as much light as possible.

            I could add that there were actually certain occasions when a lamp WAS placed under a basket. That was done to prevent them from getting bumped or jostled so that they would not be snuffed out. But lamps were created to be seen. They were lit to provide light. There was no other reason to light a lamp other than to illuminate the darkness.

            As we have already noted, Jesus used two illustrations that were both crucial parts of every day of the lives of his listeners. Salt was valuable and useful, light was precious, and they … his listeners … ARE both salt and light.

            Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God’s Love Incarnate, the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World came and lived among us. He came to start a “revolution,” but it was not like any revolution that the people of the first century imagined or had prayed for. As we pointed out last Sunday, the Sermon on the Mount laid the foundation for everything that would follow. Our passage this morning is the gateway for the rest of that sermon. Jesus had to show the people that he really was the fulfillment of everything that the people had hoped and prayed for. And he had to demonstrate to the people that he actually lived according to this new way that he was announcing.

            What Jesus was also communicating in this portion of the sermon was that those who follow him must also live according that that new way. He did not say, “You must try to be salt and light,” or “You must aspire to be salt and light,” or “You will be salt and light someday.” No, he said, “You ARE salt. You ARE light.”

            Jesus did say that he had come not to destroy the Law or the prophets, but rather to fulfill all of the Law and the Prophets. He did not come to destroy, but rather complete. Two thousand years later, we know that Jesus will say that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart and souls and mind and strength. We know that he will say that a second one is like it; that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. The people sitting on that hillside had not yet heard those words. We know that Jesus would summarize all of the Law and the prophets with those two commandments. When Jesus sat down that day and opened his mouth to speak, he had to reveal to his first disciples and those first students the essence of this new way.

            Love God with all that you are, with every part of yourself. And do unto others what you would have them do unto you.

            I know that we read these words as twenty-first century Christians, but Jesus was speaking to first century Jews initially. He was calling Israel to BE Israel. “Do not just say that you are God’s Chosen People… BE it … DO it.” God had called them to be the salt of the earth … but the people of Israel were behaving like the rest of the world. They were engaged in power politics and factional and tribal squabbling. They fell victim to pride and greed and avarice just like everyone else. How could Israel possibly preserve or save the world … if they had lost their taste, their saltiness?

            God had called the People of Israel to be a light to the nations. Jerusalem was supposed to be a shining city on the hill. They were supposed to shine with God’s light into the darkness of evil, pain and suffering. But the people who were called to the “Light” had become part of the darkness. The Children of Israel were supposed to be a beacon of hope, but they had fallen fall short of that. Their lamp was under a bushel.

            Again, centuries later, we know that Jesus IS the Salt of the Earth. We know that Jesus IS the Light of the World. Those first followers are going to learn that. And there, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, they just heard that they ARE Salt and Light. Jesus was clear and direct in his commentary on the scribes and the Pharisees. They taught and administered a particular way of being faithful to God. And Jesus told them that the realm of God was breaking into the world in him and through him. He came to complete the Law and the prophets NOT by following thousands of scribal rules and regulations, NOT by memorizing hundreds of pages of Mishnah (interpretation by the rabbis), NOT by adherence to volumes of Talmud (commentary on the Mishnah). Jesus completes the Law and the prophets by showing his followers what it means to have reverence of God and for life.

            God’s Way is love.
            God’s Way is mercy.
            God’s Way is justice.
            God’s Way is gentleness and kindness.
            God’s Way is Light.

            God is the Source of Love. God is the Source of Light. We are not the source. We are not the creator. We are the window; we are the lens through which they shine. And as such, we cannot shrink into the shadows. We cannot hide in the background. Jesus does not call us to be secret salt or part-time light.

            Jesus speaks across the centuries to those who lived in the first century and to those living in the twenty-first. Those who follow the Way of Christ ARE Salt and Light.

            We are to be bold and steadfast and true. We are to follow that Way faithfully and fully.
            We must follow the Way of Christ in such a way that people know who it is that we follow. We cannot be shy or reluctant in our shining.

            Those first followers had no idea what they were getting into. We have the benefit of hindsight. We know that to which we are called.
            Yes, we ARE Salt.
            Yes, we ARE Light.
            May the living of our lives and the practice of our faith be true to the Way of Christ. May we add to the quality of the lives of others. May we offer joy.
            May our lives and the practice of our faith be visible in the world. May people see God in us and through us.
            Amen.

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