Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29 Ps 19
James 4:7-12 Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48
Lectionary Link
Lectionary Link
Today I would like to highlight the role of the accompanist. What does an accompanist do? An accompanist supports the soloist in the best complimentary way so as to help the soloist's performance be enhanced.
I would submit to us today that we are given the role in life of being accompanists to the main soloist of life, name God and God's icon in the human world, Jesus Christ.
What is the role of salt in the human diet? Salt is perhaps the greatest accompaniment to food in our human diet. And for salt lovers who have to go on low sodium diets, it is a great loss.
Humans are not like animals that need salt licks for sodium enhancement. In the human diet, salt does not stand alone; even on the lip of your margherita glass. Salt always go with food and drink to enhance and make the taste of the food or drink better.
With this understanding of salt, we can appreciate the use of salt as a metaphor in the words of Jesus. There is something else which is a contradiction in the words about salt by Jesus, and that contradiction is a lesson in itself.
Natural salt does not degrade; it does not have an expiration date. It retains essential saltiness forever. So Jesus is saying don't betray the unchangeable nature of the Holy Spirit with us. The Holy Spirit is the eternal saltiness of the divine life and the salt life of the Holy Spirit is not going to change within; but we can quench and fail to appropriate the saltiness of the divine by how we behave.
Salt is used for preserving and salt is used for flavoring food. Salt is the great accompaniment resource of culinary life.
And our lives should have a corresponding salt function as we are accompanying everything that is happening in our lives.
Our readings give us some insights on how we can best accompany life with the salt of flavor and preservation.
First from the book of Numbers we see the wisdom of humility and non-competition when it comes to ministry. Moses told the people not to worry about some men who had a vision to prophesy and lead. In fact Moses said, "would that all of God's people would prophesy." This is what baptismal Christianity is: all baptized are gifted for ministry and would that we would all find our creative ministries and this can be done, not with competition but with sensitive accompaniment. This same non-competition theme is reiterated in the Gospel reading. The disciples were worrying about competitors to Jesus who had not been sanctioned by Jesus and his group. What was the concern of Jesus? Are they doing good things? Are they teaching and living the good news of kindness and love God and each other? Then whoever is not specifically within our inner circle, are not against us and our values. "Come on guys, this world has such a great need for love and kindness, we can affirm this wherever it is performed by anyone. Goodness is it own reward and authenticity. Don't worry about the people who are giving out water and food to those who need it. The people who are against us are the exploiters of children and the vulnerable and for them there is some special jewelry; hundred pound millstone necklaces to hasten their trip to the bottom of the sea."
Jesus reminds us that the opposite of exploiting of children is the mentoring of children. If we want to be the salt of flavor and preservation in our lives we need to be mentoring others, particularly the young with loving care for their very best psychological, social, and spiritual development.
Notice how the hyperbolic speech of Jesus is used to establish priority. Doing goodness and kindness is how we best accompanying each other in this life and it is how we can be the saltiness of flavor and preservation. And isn't that better than wearing a millstone necklace to the bottom of the sea?
What is another way to maintain our saltiness in life? The Psalmist recommends that we delight in the perfect law of the Lord. We always seek the highest and best behaviors; this is a sure way to keep our saltiness and so our presence can be an example but also a preservative to the world at large about the best ways to live.
How else can we be salty Christians? By preserving health. The writer of the Epistle of James encouraged the community to be in the practice of healing prayer. The prayer of healing is one of the sacraments of the church and it means we are supposed to be a witness to the holistic health of everyone. It really is hard to fathom that so many persons who call themselves Christians, are preventing and speaking against the use of the Covid-19 vaccinations for the general health of all people. Such behavior is an indication of the loss of "saltiness" for the health of the world. How can one be a salty preserving person if one is taking risks of spreading a deadly virus?
Another way to be a salty and preserving follower of Jesus is by the regulatory self control practice of fasting. Jesus uses very hyperbolic speech to illustrate the self control practice of a fast. If you are using your hands, feet, eyes, minds, and minds for no good, then stop it. Cut it out. Knock it off, as Dad used to say.
We have to learn the self control of fasting sometimes to learn the practice of good regulation of our lives and the life of our world. This means we need to be enlightened stewards in the use of all things. And when we are out of control, we need to know when and how to apply the "fasting" brakes to regain the control of our faculties.
Why do we need to be enlightened stewards in this life? To avoid hell. The Gospel presents the most horrifying presentation of hell in the context of the stewardship of our lives through self control. What is the most frightening notion of hell? Waste. Wasting the goodness of the gift of life is hell and we learn the self control of fasting or we take the very characteristic of waste to our eternal lives. Why do I say fear hell as the waste of our lives? The word hell in New Testament Greek, Gehenna, refers to the garbage dump near Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom, long known for its association with human sacrificial rites and the rendering of animal carcasses, a place that was completely defiled and impure.
Fasting is how we live salty preserving lives, because with the regulation of self control we practice the kind of stewardship which honors the gifts of our lives, body, soul, spirit, community, and environment.
How is salt like fire? Fire was used for refining and purifying? Throwing salt in the wound is painful but salt is perhaps the most ancient antibacterial agent. We are called to be anti-evil forces with our lives; we are called to overcome evil with good and be purifying forces in our world.
May God help us today to be salty people. And isn't that nice to hear from Jesus the great Physician. Friends, I don't want you to be low-sodium Christians on low-sodium diets. Go forth and be salty! Preserve and purify our good world. Add flavor to the goodness of this world. Be great accompanists to everyone and everything in this life through loving God and our neighbors. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment