EPIPHANY
5
February
4-6, 2023
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Matthew 5:13-20
“YOU ARE SUCH A
GREAT BLESSING!”
1.
As
you live your lives as salt.
2.
As
you live your lives as light.
3.
As
you live your lives as teachers.
“You are such a blessing!” Have you
ever heard or said that? Maybe you helped push someone’s car when they were
stuck in the snow. Maybe someone shoveled all that plow slush from the end of
your driveway. Maybe you are the primary caregiver for an aging parent. “You
are such a blessing to me!” How did that make you feel? Good, right? You know
why? Because it is good and godly to a blessing to other people and we feel
good because it is good and that’s why God’s word for us today is such good
news. Too often we get tricked into thinking that we need to do something great
to have purpose or having meaning or be relevant but no less than the Lord
Jesus Himself comes to us through His word, looks at you, looks at me and says,
“You are such a great blessing!” simply for being who He made us to be. Let’s
see why and how.
We are in a part of Jesus’ famous
Sermon on the Mount. His words are for all people to hear but especially
directed at those following Him, His disciples. He corrects the bad teaching of
the Pharisees and teachers of the law who taught you were not acceptable to God
unless you lived like they did. Jesus taught that you were acceptable to God
only through the forgiveness He provided. That changes everyone who believes in
Jesus.
“You are the salt of the earth.”
When we think of salt we mostly think of its use to flavor food, or, this time
of year, to melt snow and ice. The people of Jesus’ time knew its value for
flavoring but likely they thought of another important use, a preservative. Before
there was refrigeration meat was preserved by soaking it in barrels of salt
water. The salt that the meat absorbed prevented it from becoming rotten. This
is why you are such a great blessing. Simply be being you. At your Baptism you
were brought into the family of God. You are believers in Jesus. Your presence
as believers in this community and country are preserving it. Throughout history
when God has had enough of blatant immorality and disregard for His will, He
destroys. The world before the Flood. Sodom and Gomorrah. Rome. When that
happens God ends people's time of grace. There is no longer a chance to repent.
Souls are lost to Hell. As Christians we prevent that from happening. For the
sake of ten God fearing souls, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been spared. So
don’t get discouraged if everybody does not jump on our Jesus loving bandwagon.
You are a reason this community and this country still enjoys God’s grace. You
are still such a great blessing, as long as you maintain faith in Jesus. “But
if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good
for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.”
You are also such a great blessing as
you live your lives as light. “You are the light of the world. A city
located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15People do not light a lamp and
put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all
who are in the house. 16In the same way let your light shine in
people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
who is in heaven.” Now some of you may be remembering that Jesus said, “I
am the light of the world.” It’s one of His great I AM statements. Here he says
we are. What gives? A good illustration often used is as the sun is to the
moon, so Jesus is to us. He is the light of the world. He has chased away the
darkness of sin death and the devil. He brought us from the darkness of
unbelief to the light of faith. He has revealed what God’s good and holy will
is. We are reflectors as the sun is to the moon. Now I don’t want anyone going
away from here saying, “Pastor told us to moon people.” I didn’t. What I’m
saying is reflect Jesus.
As Jesus has loved you, love others.
Not just the easy ones but especially those difficult for you. And know this,
it is no easy task for Jesus to love people like you and me. As Jesus has
forgiven you, forgive others. Freely. Fully. As Jesus served you, serve others.
He cared about people’s physical and emotional needs but was never content with
that. So you and I can care about other people, help them as we have
opportunity, praying that we can build a relationship to the point we can talk
to them about what they really need, the same Savior we need. As Jesus
prioritized the work of His Father, we prioritize the work of our Father in
heaven. Another thought. Jesus said, “Let your light shine in people’s
presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is
in heaven.” Shine in people’s presence. I am so glad the pandemic pushed us
to offer online worship. It was a blessing for shutdown time. It has been a
blessing for shut ins, people who are sick, when jobs have interfered. It has
been a blessing for those who have moved to where there is no faithful to
Christ church, people in the military, and our off to college students. For all
our online worshippers we are glad to have you and if you need a pastor call
us. For all those whose only way to worship is online keep it up. But for the
rest of I’d like you to think about something. How are people going to see your
good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven if you keep staying at
home? You don’t light a lamp and put it under a basket, do you? You are such a
great blessing as you live your life that can be seen, not hidden.
And you are such a great blessing as
you live you lives as teachers. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. 18Amen
I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or
even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything
is fulfilled. 19So whoever breaks one of the least of these
commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches them will be called great
in the kingdom of heaven.” There it is. Great. Jesus says you are a great
blessing as you teach others to obey God’s commandments. Some portray Jesus as
coming to proclaim a moral free for all. They misuse His forgiveness and mercy
to set aside God’s holy will. Jesus does not. He came to uphold God’s will and
keep it in our place. We are a blessing, a great blessing when we teach others
God’s commandments as well. And no this is not just for pastors and teachers
using Luther’s catechism. Some of you have been attending our Christian
parenting class. We have been focusing on providing our children with the tools
they need to thrive as Christians in a non Christian society with the goal of
having them with us in heaven some day. For each of the tools the number one
way for parents to teach is modeling. And this is how you are such a great
blessing not by doing big things that make a splash but your quiet every day
living for Christ. The way you talk and words you refuse to use. Your
faithfulness at your job. Your kindness and your caring. The way you strive to
live each day as a Christian is how you teach. You are such a great blessing.
Jesus concluded this part of His
sermon with some words that at first might sound scary. “Indeed I tell you
that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in
the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The people hearing
this must have gone, “Oh, no!” because outwardly the Pharisees lived pretty
good lives. For us it would be like He said, “Unless you are nicer than Pastor
Waldschmidt, you’re not going to heaven!” Guess I’m out. But I’m not. Neither
are you. As believers in Jesus we are covered by His righteousness which is
perfect. He’s the greatest blessing to us. Which is why we want to be a
blessing to others. For about 150 years now, the people of St. Jacobi have
understood the importance of their presence as salt, light and teachers. Not
because of themselves but because they are connectors to Jesus. May God in His
grace give us many more years of being such great blessings! Amen.
