Message: Salt and Light / Matthew 5:13-20

In the West, the phrase “salt and light” feels very familiar. For many people shaped by a Christian cultural heritage, biblical images have become part of everyday language. When we hear phrases like “David and Goliath,” “the Good Samaritan,” or “Noah’s Ark,” we immediately understand what they mean. They help us communicate deeper meaning without long explanations.

But symbols have limits. A symbol points to meaning beyond itself. It is like a finger pointing at the moon. Through the finger, we can see the moon, but the finger is not the moon. The tricky part is that the meaning of symbols can change as the world changes. Think about the word “computer.” It used to mean a real person whose job was to calculate numbers. Over time, the meaning changed. Today, no one thinks of a computer as a person. Symbols may look fixed, but they are not. They are living tools that need fresh understanding whenever the situation changes.

Jesus understood the relationship between symbol and meaning. He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” By “the law and the prophets,” he meant the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures. These texts were written by people who encountered God in specific times and places. They were like fingers pointing to God, helping people sense God’s deep and faithful love.

The problem begins when people confuse the Bible with God. When it is treated as an idol, it becomes a tool of oppression rather than a source of liberation. In Jesus’ day, some people approached the Scriptures this way. They were the scribes and the Pharisees, who treated the words of the Law as absolute and used them to judge, condemn, and control others. Jesus challenged this rigid way of thinking again and again.

At the same time, the Bible should not be treated as outdated or useless. Jesus did not come to throw it away. He came to fulfill it, which means showing its true meaning and letting it become a living source of hope. What matters is living in a way that shows God’s life-giving love, as revealed in the Bible. This is what Jesus means by “fulfill.”

This is important for our time. Today, we see two extremes when it comes to Scripture. On one side are those who insist that the Bible must be obeyed literally, no matter the situation. They treat the Bible as more important than God. They pick out a few verses that suit their views and use them to exclude or condemn others, ignoring the larger story of love and grace in Scripture. In this way, Scripture becomes a weapon rather than a guide.

On the other side are those who treat the Bible as nothing more than an old and irrelevant document. They show little respect for the deep faith and desperate hope of the people who wrote it. Instead of wrestling with the text and its context, they set it aside when it makes them uncomfortable or does not match their own views. They see practices like Bible study, reading, and memorization as outdated. They may think of themselves as “liberal,” set apart from other Christians. But trying to change everything without humility and respect for tradition is not truly liberal. It is a form of spiritual arrogance, and it can echo the same mindset that drove colonialism. The word “radical” comes from the Latin word for “root.” Without knowing the roots, real change is not possible.

Jesus challenged both extremes. He rejected the use of Scripture as a tool of oppression, and he also warned against discarding Scripture just because it could be misused. Scripture is one of the great gifts given to humanity. That is why Jesus said, “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

But Jesus went a step further. He emphasized that Christians are not just receivers of God’s revelation in the Bible. He said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world.” They were called to be witnesses who showed the heart of God that Scripture points to. This was not because they were perfect. They met Jesus, and their lives were changed. They experienced God’s love and chose to follow him, bringing good news into places of darkness.

In Jesus’ time, salt was not just a seasoning. It was essential for daily life. There were no refrigerators, so salt was one of the main ways to keep food from spoiling. Salt was also linked with cleansing and healing. Ezekiel hints at the practice of rubbing salt on a newborn baby (16:4). Salt preserved. Salt cleansed. Because of this, in worship, salt was included with offerings as a sign of God’s protection and care for life.

Light also had a very different value from the electric lights we use today. Most lamps burned oil, often olive oil, so they were used carefully and only when needed. Welcoming guests was one occasion when people made sure a lamp was lit. At that time, lighting a lamp showed care, respect, and hospitality. During feasts and celebrations, lamps were used more generously. Their light brought warmth and helped people experience a sense of belonging.

Jesus called his disciples to be that kind of salt and light. He called them to protect life and to make space for hope and welcome here on this earth. They were not called the salt and light of heaven. They were called the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

This is an important point because, in the ancient world, some people thought the physical world did not matter much or was even bad. They believed that only spiritual knowledge truly mattered. As the early churches grew, this kind of thinking became stronger because of the harsh realities they faced. Under the oppression of the empire and the weight of poverty, many struggled to believe that the world was meant to be good and that human life still reflected God’s image. For some, the world felt like a battlefield or a prison, not something worth saving. In that kind of pain, a strong temptation arose to give up on the world, to focus faith only on personal salvation beyond this life, and to hope that only a chosen few would be saved.

Jesus was against this view. For him, God never gives up on the world. No matter how broken or hopeless it looks, God does not abandon this earth. This is not blind optimism. The Bible itself speaks honestly about human evil, even saying that God regretted creating humanity as it had become (Genesis 6:6). And yet, God did not turn away. God entered the world, suffering alongside those who suffer, planting seeds of hope in the midst of pain. The Gospel of John describes God’s love for the world this way: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16). God loves every single person on the earth. God loves you and me. God loves the world. God never gives up on us. God’s salvation is for the whole universe.

The Gospel is not about escaping from the world. It begins with God’s love, a love that embraces a broken world. And Jesus calls us to be the salt and light who carry that love and hope into the world.

Many people today are living with suffering and despair. In many places, violence and war are still a reality. Natural disasters take innocent lives. Climate change threatens the future for the next generation. This earth can feel more like a place of grief than a place of joy. Sometimes the pain is so heavy that we start to wonder if there is any hope at all. Some people lose their sense of meaning and purpose when they lose someone they love. Others, caught in difficult relationships, find it hard to feel any peace.

But that is exactly why true Christians are needed now more than ever. The more the world decays, the more it needs salt to heal what is broken. The darker the world becomes, the more it needs light to guide the way. We are called to point to the heart of God through our lives. The good news of Christ is not found in fancy words. It is found in our small, everyday actions that reveal God’s love and hope.

God has not given up on the world. One sign of that is us. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Min Hwang