WEBVTT 00:00:01.339 --> 00:00:05.660 Why are you here today? Not the polite answer. 00:00:06.139 --> 00:00:09.179 Not the church answer. Not the answer you've 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.539 learned to say without thinking. Why are you 00:00:12.539 --> 00:00:15.859 really here? It sounds like a simple question. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:21.420 But it isn't. Not really. Why were the crowds 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:24.199 gathered around Jesus on the hillside long ago? 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:29.660 Were they curious? Were they looking for something 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:32.820 interesting to hear? Were they hoping to witness 00:00:32.820 --> 00:00:35.979 a spectacle? Were they wanting a new discussion 00:00:35.979 --> 00:00:39.619 topic for the walk home? When people gathered 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:41.920 around Jesus on the hillsides and in the streets, 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.659 they had their reasons. Some came because everyone 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:51.939 else was going. It had become the event, a spectacle, 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:56.780 the place where something might happen. Some 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:02.659 came because they were hoping to feel something, 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:07.219 to hear something meaningful, to carry away one 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:12.579 good thought for the week ahead. And some came 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:16.040 because they were desperate for life to be different. 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:21.140 But here's the question. Did they actually understand 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:26.819 why Jesus wanted them there? Because it's possible 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:31.799 to be near Jesus and still miss the point. It's 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:34.900 possible to listen, to nod, to discuss, to make 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:37.879 it part of the weekly rhythm and still never 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:41.760 ask what God is really doing. So I'll ask again 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:48.140 gently but honestly, why are you here? Are you 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:49.900 here because this is your church and this is 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:53.400 what you've always done? Are you here for a quiet 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:57.299 moment, a familiar song, a thoughtful idea to 00:01:57.299 --> 00:02:01.170 carry into Monday? Those things are not nothing. 00:02:01.709 --> 00:02:05.670 But are you sure they are the reason? Because 00:02:05.670 --> 00:02:08.110 the deeper question is not why you decided to 00:02:08.110 --> 00:02:11.969 come. The deeper question is this. Why does God 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:16.129 want you here? What if you are not here to observe? 00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:19.830 Not here to consume? Not even here just to feel 00:02:19.830 --> 00:02:23.310 encouraged? Because in today's Gospel, Jesus 00:02:23.310 --> 00:02:27.830 does not gather the crowd just to give them information. 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:33.039 He gathers them to tell them who they are. You 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:38.879 are the salt of the earth. You are the light 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:43.860 of the world. Not observers, not spectators, 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:51.080 not religious consumers. Salt, light. Which leads 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:55.039 to the real question for us. Are you ready not 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:59.129 just to learn about salt and light? Not just 00:02:59.129 --> 00:03:05.169 to admire salt and light but to be salt and light 00:03:05.169 --> 00:03:09.770 Because that's the invitation Imagine standing 00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:14.090 on a salt plain Beneath a wide blazing sky and 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:16.849 you scrape together the white crust that is on 00:03:16.849 --> 00:03:20.629 the ground Salt crystals mixed with gypsum and 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:23.849 rock and dust and all the other minerals this 00:03:23.849 --> 00:03:27.449 pile in general is supposed to preserve your 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:31.490 food, to bring flavor, to sustain life. But the 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:36.210 rain comes. The moisture seeps in. The true salt, 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:40.110 the sodium chloride, dissolves and disappears. 00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:45.930 And what remains is only residue, useless powder. 00:03:46.889 --> 00:03:51.250 Something that looks useful, but has no power 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:55.289 left in it. That is what people understand when 00:03:55.289 --> 00:03:59.669 Jesus asks, how can salt lose its saltiness? 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:03.610 It reminds us of what Isaiah answered centuries 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:07.150 before. God's people were fasting. They were 00:04:07.150 --> 00:04:10.050 praying. They were performing the religious devotion. 00:04:11.270 --> 00:04:13.789 Yet they were still exploiting workers for their 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:16.990 own gain, quarreling with one another, striking 00:04:16.990 --> 00:04:20.069 each other with wicked fists. They were doing 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:22.550 everything religious that was expected, but they 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:25.629 were treating people with violence, like objects. 00:04:26.769 --> 00:04:29.550 They expected others to give them what they expected. 00:04:29.649 --> 00:04:33.649 They looked faithful. But the life of God had 00:04:33.649 --> 00:04:37.430 been washed out of the pile. And if we're honest, 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:42.189 it's not only their story. We know how to do 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:45.509 impressive religious things. We can organize 00:04:45.509 --> 00:04:49.129 service days. fast for days and raise money for 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:51.750 other countries, we can fill rooms with music 00:04:51.750 --> 00:04:54.970 and emotion, and we can speak passionately about 00:04:54.970 --> 00:05:00.569 faith, yet still ignore the injustices that benefit 00:05:00.569 --> 00:05:05.870 us. We can protect our creature comforts while 00:05:05.870 --> 00:05:09.149 others struggle to afford food or housing. We 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:12.329 can discuss compassion as an idea without ever 00:05:12.329 --> 00:05:14.610 rearranging anything in our lives to practice 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:19.089 it. salt on the surface, residue underneath. 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:22.829 And when the storms of life come, pressure to 00:05:22.829 --> 00:05:26.689 fit in, the fear of others' opinions, the scarcity 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:30.170 that's in our shopping cart, if there's anything 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:35.029 truly of Christ that remains, everything else, 00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:39.269 is any of it real? Because faith that cannot 00:05:39.269 --> 00:05:43.430 endure or care for the suffering is salt that 00:05:43.430 --> 00:05:47.740 has already lost its taste. At this point, we 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:51.279 might be thinking of Jesus as if he were saying, 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:56.160 try harder, do more, be better than the Pharisees. 00:05:57.300 --> 00:06:00.740 That's not what he's saying. He says our righteousness 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:06.439 must surpass theirs, but not by effort, by its 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:10.420 source. Isaiah shows the turning point. True 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:14.800 fasting is not performance, but humble repentance 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:19.519 before... God. A heart honest enough to admit 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:24.800 we cannot save ourselves. Imagine you go to a 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:27.139 white elephant party. You know the ones people 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:31.199 bring their joke gifts along, and you try to 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:33.980 grab one, hope it's one that's fun enough, and 00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:36.160 maybe steal one that you like that someone else 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.120 had. Maybe it's one of those things, it's something 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.040 you got at Christmas, and you really didn't want 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.379 to keep it, so you re -gifted it at the party. 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:46.740 And so you come along with a huge, beautifully 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:50.540 wrapped box with a $5 Chick -fil -A card down 00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:54.240 on the inside. You see everyone else start opening 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:57.920 the presents and your heart drops as you see 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:03.779 them open jewelry, wine, vacation trips. And 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:08.040 with only your gift and one other sitting there, 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.019 you tentatively pick up your own present, open 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:17.019 it up, laugh at the Chick -fil -A card inside, 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.180 and you're just glad that no one chose your gift, 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:22.860 so you don't have to feel ashamed at what you 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:28.600 brought. But the host suddenly walks over, grabs 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:33.100 that cheap gift card from you in a steal, even 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:35.899 though he saw you put that present under the 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:41.970 tree, and he says, I love waffle fries. and He 00:07:41.970 --> 00:07:47.290 places the gift that He bought into your hands 00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:51.709 because He loves you and He wants you there, 00:07:52.110 --> 00:07:54.730 a gift that you could have never provided yourself. 00:07:56.389 --> 00:08:00.410 That is the righteousness of Christ. Not earned. 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:06.970 Not proven. Given. And only the humble can receive 00:08:06.970 --> 00:08:10.759 a gift. So before we point at the brokenness 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:15.060 of the world, with accusation and self -righteousness, 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:19.240 the Gospel turns the mirror gently toward us, 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:22.300 so we can see exactly how our righteousness came 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:25.519 to be. Because the moment we confess we are not 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:31.060 enough, Christ says, I am enough for you. And 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:33.899 for every place that our salt has lost its taste, 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:39.159 Christ forgives us completely. through the cross 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:44.600 and gives us his own life in our place. Through 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:49.500 his cross he takes our emptiness and in his resurrection 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:53.820 he gives us life. And suddenly righteousness 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:57.080 is no longer a performance, it's a relationship. 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:01.899 Not striving upward for grace, but receiving 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:05.759 the grace that is coming downward for us. Instead 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:07.940 of blaming others, we can start being honest 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:11.759 about ourselves. We become salt and light only 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:17.620 because Christ first became life for us. So if 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:21.480 Christ is truly alive in His people, what would 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:26.379 that light look like in the real world? Isaiah 00:09:26.379 --> 00:09:29.440 answers vividly, undo the injustice around you. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.370 Lift the burdens of others. Feed the hungry. 00:09:32.450 --> 00:09:34.809 Welcome the homeless. Clothe the naked. Do not 00:09:34.809 --> 00:09:37.350 hide from your own flesh and blood. In other 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:41.009 words, take care of your family. And Jesus says 00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:44.409 that kind of life is a city on a hill that cannot 00:09:44.409 --> 00:09:49.649 be hidden. Look around this community. I'm looking 00:09:49.649 --> 00:09:54.429 at you. Doctors, teachers, engineers, planners, 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:58.090 caregivers, builders, problem solvers of every 00:09:58.090 --> 00:10:03.299 kind in this room. Look around. Is it possible 00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:06.519 God has already placed in this room all the gifts 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:09.539 that are needed to push back the darkness in 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:14.620 real and tangible ways? Not just our one -time 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:19.500 events, not just our good intentions, but sustained 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:24.399 shared work that makes hope visible in Houston. 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:29.759 Because light is not just an idea. Light is seen. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:34.080 and its warmth is felt. So what if when two or 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:37.379 three are gathered in His name, or a hundred, 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:41.799 to use their gifts to evaluate and solve the 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:44.000 problems of this city, isn't it possible that 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.720 God is in our midst, even now, and will explain 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.340 the answers to injustice that we could not possibly 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:56.059 understand by ourselves? Because when the church 00:10:56.059 --> 00:10:59.669 lives this way, People do not merely admire our 00:10:59.669 --> 00:11:02.730 programs. They glimpse for themselves when the 00:11:02.730 --> 00:11:07.250 Kingdom of God is breaking in. So we return to 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:10.450 the question we started with. Why are you here? 00:11:11.730 --> 00:11:14.769 You're not here by accident. You're not here 00:11:14.769 --> 00:11:18.750 merely by habit. You're not here just to listen 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:22.590 and leave unchanged. You're here because Christ 00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:25.830 has called you. He has called you salt of the 00:11:25.830 --> 00:11:28.190 earth. He has called you light of the world. 00:11:29.429 --> 00:11:31.830 And the question today is simple. Not are you 00:11:31.830 --> 00:11:35.730 ready to learn about salt and light today. Not 00:11:35.730 --> 00:11:38.529 are you ready to think about salt and light today. 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:41.769 Not even are you ready to watch God make someone 00:11:41.769 --> 00:11:46.830 else salt and light, and you say good job. The 00:11:46.830 --> 00:11:51.190 real question is are you ready to be salt and 00:11:51.190 --> 00:11:54.240 light? Because everything God has done in Jesus 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.159 Christ was never meant to stay at a distance 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:01.460 from you. It was meant to live in you and move 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:05.440 through you. The church can stay busy. We can 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:08.039 organize events. We can fill the calendars. We 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.379 can make everything look efficient, productive, 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:13.179 successful. We can even convince ourselves that 00:12:13.179 --> 00:12:16.860 every activity is the same thing as our faithfulness. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.200 But Jesus did not say, you are the well organized 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.590 of the world. He did not say, you are the well 00:12:23.590 --> 00:12:27.129 -scheduled of the world. He said, you are the 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:30.090 salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. 00:12:31.029 --> 00:12:35.750 Not someday. Not when you feel ready. Not when 00:12:35.750 --> 00:12:37.590 you finally have everything figured out and get 00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:45.549 inspired. You are now. Because the gifts are 00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:48.570 already here. The calling is already spoken. 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:51.840 Christ is already present among His people. So 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:54.580 the question is not whether God will act. The 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:56.379 question is whether we will step into what He's 00:12:56.379 --> 00:13:00.340 already doing. Will we be a people who loosen 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:03.580 the bonds of injustice? Will we be the ones who 00:13:03.580 --> 00:13:06.000 share bread with the hungry? Will we welcome 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.299 the forgotten? Will we refuse to hide from our 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:13.259 own flesh and blood? Will we be salt that preserves 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:16.820 life and light that makes hope visible? Not by 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:21.519 our strength. Not by our perfection. But because 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.879 Christ Himself is our righteousness, our life, 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:30.059 our light, He's not a burden placed on your shoulders. 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:35.259 This is an invitation placed in your hands. So 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:37.860 come be who Christ has already made you to be. 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:40.840 Come live the life that is already yours in Him. 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:46.039 Come be salt. Come be light. Watch what God will 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:50.389 do. Through ordinary people, who finally believe 00:13:50.389 --> 00:13:53.549 the kingdom of the gospel is true. And even when 00:13:53.549 --> 00:13:56.850 our light feels small, his light never fails. 00:13:57.789 --> 00:14:01.909 He is with you. He goes before you. And he will 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:06.269 finish the work he has begun. Thanks be to God.