Obsolescence

Matthew 5:13-20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Psalm 112:1-10; Isaiah 58:1-12

I’m willing to bet that, at some point, all of us have used a typewriter.  They were fantastic contraptions, bringing an alternative to all of us with atrocious penmanship over the years.  The first modern typewriter came out in 1867.  It was incredibly successful, mostly because it was capable of recording around 100 words per minute compared to the 30 words per minute limit of handwriting.  As a little point of trivia, the QWERTY keyboard we’re all so used to is intentionally inconvenient, because the mechanical action of these typewriters needed time to recover lest the bars get tangled up in each other.

The typewriter was extraordinarily successful for over one hundred years, at least until the mid-1980s when computers rose in prominence and word processing software came to replace the typewriter.  Now, in 2011, its very rare to find people who still own typewriters, let alone use one on a regular basis.  I remember using a type writer for some of my homework assignments in elementary school, and even then it was an electronic model, but I don’t think I’ve used one since the mid-1990s.  They simply don’t exist anymore, because they’ve been replace by something that does the same job better, and therefore have been replaced.

This is the kind of phenomenon Jesus is referring to when he says, “If salt loses its saltiness, it’s not good for anything, just throw it out.”  The typewriter lost its “saltiness”.  Yet Jesus is saying all this as a warning to those who follow him — you are the salt of the earth, be wary not to use your saltiness.

A bit later, Jesus says, “you are the light of the world.  No one turns on a light then covers it up, so in the same way let your light shine”.  It’s another warning for us, “you’re a light — don’t hide yourself.”  We’ll come back to these things, so don’t forget them.  Salt of the earth.  Light of the world.

You see, Christians are supposed to be different.  In a number of places we read that we are in the world but not of the world.  We’re held to a higher standard, not because of anything we’ve earned, but because we love God and want to do what He asks of us.  We’re supposed to stand out.  In a way it’s not to dissimilar from the Old Testament Law.  Most of the rules listed in the Law seem silly to us.  There really is no reason to not trim our hair around the temples, nor do we understand why blending two different fabrics together is a sin.  We see no reason to forbid the eating of pork of shellfish.  Nor do we understand the wisdom of not yoking ox and donkey together.

And yet that is just a sampling of the things God required of Israel.  I’m convinced, however, that all of these laws have one main purpose — for the people of Israel to stand out.  Yes they are the civil code for Israelite society.  Yes the laws encourage proper moral behavior.  But, their main purpose is to show the world that Israel as a nation belongs to God.  A people who never cut the hair on the side of their heads would definitely stand out.  Israel was to be different, so that people would wonder why they’re different and ask them about it.

Fast forward to Jesus and the sermon on the mount.  He’s very clear in saying that the Law is not going anywhere, in fact that total adherence to the Law is what God requires for a person to earn their own salvation.  Thankfully, Jesus’ total adherence to the Law saves us so that we don’t have to, because we cannot hope to follow the Law in its entirety.

But that doesn’t mean we have free reign to do whatever it is we want.  In our Lutheran Confessions there is a bit about the “Third Use of the Law.”  The Law is meant to be a guide to Christians as to what is sin and what is not, so that even though we have nearly no hope of succeeding, we can try with the Spirit’s help to avoid sinning.

Now, back to where I started this — as Christians we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  As light of the world, we are to shine God’s light for all to see.  Remember the song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine?”  That light is God’s love for all world, and ought we to “hide it under a bushel? (No!)”  Just like no one in their right mind will light a candle only to put it in a box, we shouldn’t try and hide God’s love, even though we do frighteningly often.

Similarly, we are the salt of the earth.  Now, why do we use salt?  There are a few main reasons: one is to add flavoring, another is to preserve meat, and yet another is to melt ice.  As the salt of the earth, we, by spreading the love of God, melt hearts frozen by sin.  We add flavor to the world by standing out from it, being in the world but not of it.  And by sharing the good news of God’s love and the forgiveness of sin, God will protect the world from the effects of sin and lead all who believe into eternal life.