Sermon for 5th Sunday after Epiphany – Matthew 5:13-20

Jesus says some pretty strange things, but today he says one of the strangest things of all. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?” Does that make sense? No. It’s a super stable compound. Salt can’t go stale. It can’t lose its taste. Not that Jesus wants to be a chemistry teacher or anything. So, what does he mean?

Well, let’s start with the context. Jesus is going all around Galilee, teaching and preaching and healing every sickness. He becomes famous, because it’s an epidemic of folks who need miracles. So they start coming out from everywhere. The crowds get bigger. It gets overwhelming, because Jesus never gets a moment to himself. We’d be overwhelmed too. So Jesus goes up a hill to get away. His disciples find him there. And so begins his sermon on the mount. Last week we heard – blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Now, this is a controversial sermon, because what Jesus is saying, is that the ones who will inherit the kingdom of God aren’t the rich or powerful, but the poor and powerless, and where does that leave us if we aren’t them?