|
|
 |
Other chemical formulas stick in the mind, not least H20, water and NaCl - salt. Salt, of course, has been in the news quite a lot this winter as we have tried to cope with the severity of the winter snow. The salt mines in Britain have been working at full capacity and there has been the oft repeated complaint that, despite this, many of our roads have remained untreated as councils have cut back on the gritting of side roads, like Hartland Road, for example!
I hadn't realised what an art gritting of roads really is. It isn't as easy as it seems. Timing is everything. The grit, or rock salt, has to be spread on roads that are damp so that it can stick. Otherwise it gets blown away or displaced by vehicles. To be most effective grit has to be ground down by cars driving over it. It then melts away existing ice and prevents further ice from forming. I didn't learn that from my chemistry teacher but from an informative BBC website! What seems to be important is that salt acts as a kind of catalyst, creating a reaction which is beneficial for others.
It is a natural chemical which humans have used for centuries to preserve food before the days of refrigeration and to enhance taste in cooking. A small quantity of salt used in cooking acts as a catalyst to bring out the flavour of whatever dish is being cooked. Too much salt can dominate other foods and make them unpalatable.
In today's Gospel, Jesus talks about our being the salt of the earth and in doing so seems to have quite a grasp of salt's qualities. He links it with an image of light which must not be hidden but placed so that it may usefully shine to provide illumination. He tells us that our deeds of Gospel service must be like such a light which draws others to see our good works. In both images, the salt and the light act as catalysts. Both have a particular purpose in doing something useful for others. The light shows others the way in a dark place and, for Jesus that dark place is a world which does not live by Gd's race. The salt flavours the world with goodness, bringing out the best in others. Both have a particular purpose in helping others to see God at work in his world and as such they are the ingredients of discipleship.
For each one of us Jesus Christ is personal. He speaks to our hearts in a personal way and calls each one of us to follow him as he opens our lives to the joy of being a companion in the work of Gospel salvation. Irish Christians of the past had a lovely phrase for discipleship. We aren't just followers, we are Companions of the High King. That suggest a much more intimate relationship because a companion is literally one who share bread with another. Sharing of food, something Jesus set great store by, and it provided many an intimate setting for the teaching of his disciples, the crowds and even those who opposed him.
Though we are called personally to walk with Jesus we are also called to do this with others. A definition of a Church might well be - a group of people who together walk with Christ, share food with him - as in this Eucharist - and who are led out to be with him in the world as he challenges, saves and draws people lovingly into his kingdom. Our role as salt is at its strongest when we are helping him to flavour the world with God's goodness or, as our first hymn today put it:
Christ bids us to serve him as salt and
light,
To make of creation a feast of delight,
for justice and mercy should flavour the earth.
To make of creation a feast of delight,
for justice and mercy should flavour the earth.
Our personal religion may have needed the salt of God's grace to bring it to birth and to help us grow in faith but it is not simply for our own benefit. Christianity is a corporate religion which is best practised when we are working together both with and for our Lord. Because we are held secure in the knowledge that God loves us and that we are infinitely precious to him, this should give us both a confidence and a desire to share our experience of him with others. That's really what Jesus is talking about when he speaks of our light - the light of our faith - shining before others so that they may see our good works and be lead to give glory to our Father in heaven.
Returning to ourselves as the image of salt, we have a particular role in nurturing the faith of others. Another way of seeing this is that we should be dedicated to bring out the best in other people and the best, of course, is when their hearts and souls are drawn towards the love of God.
Over the past couple of days, we have been holding our Deanery Vocation Fair. The evidence is all around you on the display boards. Looking at these will tell you about the many and varied ways in which you can minister and give witness to the Gospel. There is arguably something for everyone. Reading the material on the boards can give you a lot of information about these opportunities for Christian Service. However, the most valuable thing about the Fair wasn't the display boards but rather the group of Christians, from all over the Deanery who manned the stalls and who were prepared to share with people their insights and experiences of particular ways of serving God. It was the conversations they had which was the true value of the event. As well as talking with people who are seeking a way of responding to God's call to them to be Companions of Jesus, there was also a great value in each of the participants talking with each other too.
When we are serving God in a particular way, it is always good to share with others who are serving God in other ways. Corporately we are all involved in the vocational journey of the Church to make Christ know to others, including each other. The value of encouraging each other, supporting each other and sharing our experiences of God with each other cannot be over-estimated. The work of nurturing and encouraging each other is one of the key things of being drawn together as a church in a particular place. We all share in the working out of the Gospel Vision and this is best achieved by mutual action.
In St John's we have a number of ways in which we do this - from the simple but vital fellowship which flows out of our coffee time together to the study and nurture groups which feed our faith. The forthcoming Lent study based on the Resurrection stories and written by our talented and missionary new Bishop will help us to grow in faith and fellowship. The moving Taizé service last Sunday night is another sign of how we can be nurtured in prayer using simple symbols and worshipful songs. Those who go to Faith Camp or Holy Island discover new depths of commitment to the Gospel. Toddler mums find a feeding from the weekly Toddler Church; our children and young people are nurtured in our Sunday groups by dedicated Christians who share their faith through their teaching Our choir members sing out the faith of others which has been written down as the music and poetry of our hymns and worship songs. Each of us in our hymn singing are making those words and that faith our own just as we do when we read and pray the prayers of others. Our sharing of personal faith becomes a corporate nurturing, equipping us for the working out of God's Vision for the salvation of the world and its peoples.
The Church today is facing many challenges and also is being given new opportunities to work alongside God. Jesus is treading new paths into the heart of humanity and the world. He is leading us to a wider, deeper and more wonderful vision of his Kingdom. It is not always a comfortable journey and we need courage of our convictions as well as determination to walk as his companions. We will sometimes need to leave familiar places behind familiar ways of doing things and familiar structures of ministry and practice. God is always making things new and never more so than now. This is not a time when we are in decline as a church, whatever the media tells us. This is a time of ferment of spiritual activity,as the world is being challenged to return to the values of justice, mercy, peace, love and faithfulness - all qualities of God Himself. To which we can all add the pinch of salt which describes both God and us - the salt of holiness which is about dedication of our lives to the holiness of God. This is what the world needs most if its vision as God's creative joy is to be re-discovered.
I have marvelled and been humbled by the events this week unfolding in Egypt. There, as substantial body of citizens are striving for a new future. One that is less corrupt, more fair and more just. In order to get that new future they have been prepared to gather together night and day in a hostile climate. They have suffered hardship and violence, hunger and oppression. But they are determined and no matter how this pans out, the courage of their convictions is amazing to see.
The Church today, in a different but not totally dissimilar way is being called to make such a stand against the world's darkness and to paint over it the rainbow hue of God's light and love. We are part of that. In the cauldron of the world's struggles to make good, we are the salt thrown into the melting pot. There is a lot at stake and it's got nothing to do with who stands at an altar or rules a diocese or whether we have enough money to pay for our heating or central services. It's got everything to do with a world that has lost its way and desperately needs nurturing back into the Kingdom of God - the Kingdom of grace, of love, of forgiveness, or joy.
On the packet of the salt that is our lives is stencilled the word Vision. We as Christ's Companions, sharing his bread of faith and nurtured by his wisdom and insight and gift of love, are signs of that Vision of the Kingdom which the world needs desperately. It needs the gift of God's saving Love which we have been given in and through Jesus Christ.
But we are not only given the gift of Christ - we are part of that gift offered to others.
Which is why we must, ourselves, be nurtured, encouraged and enthused by each other. We must care about each other and hold each other in love. We must work together to build up the Kingdom in all our lives. We must excite each other and hold each other in love. We must work together to build up the Kingdom in all our lives. We must excite each other to true joy in the Lord and we must hold each other in prayer. Only so will the salt which flavours our life with God's holiness remain a living ingredient and not something that has lost its taste.