Matthew 5: 13 – 20
Isaiah 58: 1 – 12
Psalm 112
Psalm 112
Even though Jesus delivered his “Sermon on the Mount” to his
disciples, living in first century Galilee, to his disciples who were peasants
and poor laborers of Israel, this passage has been frequently cited throughout
the history of American political speech craft. It wasn’t about us, had nothing
at all to do with the United States of America, but we have, for better or
worse, appropriated it as our own.
In 1630 Governor John Winthrop, while still aboard the ship Arbella, spoke to his fellow Puritans as
they made their way to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the “the new world.” He said that they would make
a “city on the hill” of their new home, and that both the eyes of the world and
the ever present help of Almighty God would be upon them there. (Winthrop “A
Model”)
John F. Kennedy used the City on a Hill theme in his last
formal address before becoming president in January of 1961:
“Today the eyes of all people are
truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national,
state and local, must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men
aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.
For we are setting out upon a
voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the Arabella in 1630. We are committing
ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of governing the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, beset as it was then by terror without and disorder
within” (Kennedy “City upon a Hill”).
President Ronald Regan, in his farewell address after two
terms said:
“…in my mind [that city on the
hill] was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept,
God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace;
a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there
had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone
with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still”
(Regan “Farewell”).
President Barak Obama, and numerous other American politicians through the years – Republicans and Democrats alike - have referred again and again to these
words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (though Reagan attributed the phrase to
John Winthrop, not Jesus). But, no matter how much we might want to describe
the Unite States of America as this “city on the hill,” we are not.
No nation is. The city on the hill is made up, not of nation
states, but of the many followers of Jesus no matter where or when they live,
or have lived, or will live. The city on the hill is you. The city on the hill
is me. The city on the hill is us – if we are following the precepts that
Christ taught, living by this code. It’s not just a matter of intellectual assent to
a prescribed doctrine, but an adherence to a standard of living that
exemplifies, and demonstrates, and puts into vigorous action the good news of the gospel, a life that brings peace and freedom
to everyone around. That city on a hill is a city of light, and peace, and freedom.
In addition to comparing his disciples to a city on a hill, he also said that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world. “You are the light of the world,” he said to them. When Jesus said this to his disciples, and when Matthew recorded it in his gospel, for his Jewish audience, they would have remembered the words of the prophet Isaiah:
In addition to comparing his disciples to a city on a hill, he also said that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world. “You are the light of the world,” he said to them. When Jesus said this to his disciples, and when Matthew recorded it in his gospel, for his Jewish audience, they would have remembered the words of the prophet Isaiah:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
(Isaiah 42:6)
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
(Isaiah 42:6)
and from the second of the Servant Songs (that we read just a couple of weeks ago)
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
(Isaiah 49:6)
The people of Israel, God’s chosen people, were to be a guiding light to the nations of the world. And on that mountain side, Jesus repeated the pledge to his disciples. They would be the light of the world. And now, we here this morning take the words as well: we are, or can and should be the light of the world.
We live in the midst of darkness. The darkness surrounds us, envelops us, threatens to overtake us. These are dark and desperate times, filled with the tremors and rumors of war and many, countless troubles – political, economic, racial – both foreign and domestic, far abroad and close at home. There are many who feel that the light has gone out, the candle has been extinguished and they are ready to curse the darkness (to invert the quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt). But we are the light of the world and our light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overtaken us. (John 1: 5)
Yes. The world seems dark. Yes the world seems broken. Yes, we might even affirm with singer Leonard Cohen, that “there is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.” (Cohen “Anthem”) We are, like the Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, going to “kick at the darkness ‘till it bleeds daylight” (Cockburn “Lovers”). We’re going to “Storm the Forts of Darkness and bring them down” (Johnson “Storm the Forts") because we are the light of the world.
There is a Jewish tradition originating in the Kabbalah of the 16th century that said when God created the universe he put part of himself into vessels of light – something happened and these vessels of light were shattered, trapping the light of God within the material of creation. The tradition also says that it’s up to us to restore that light. This is called tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” (Karesh 520) It’s a late tradition, yes, that has gnostic affinities, but I rather like the idea that we, each one of us, created in the image and likeness of God, have a splinter – a shard of God’s eternal light hidden within us, and that we can do something to fan the flame of that light in others.
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
(Isaiah 49:6)
The people of Israel, God’s chosen people, were to be a guiding light to the nations of the world. And on that mountain side, Jesus repeated the pledge to his disciples. They would be the light of the world. And now, we here this morning take the words as well: we are, or can and should be the light of the world.
We live in the midst of darkness. The darkness surrounds us, envelops us, threatens to overtake us. These are dark and desperate times, filled with the tremors and rumors of war and many, countless troubles – political, economic, racial – both foreign and domestic, far abroad and close at home. There are many who feel that the light has gone out, the candle has been extinguished and they are ready to curse the darkness (to invert the quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt). But we are the light of the world and our light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overtaken us. (John 1: 5)
Yes. The world seems dark. Yes the world seems broken. Yes, we might even affirm with singer Leonard Cohen, that “there is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.” (Cohen “Anthem”) We are, like the Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, going to “kick at the darkness ‘till it bleeds daylight” (Cockburn “Lovers”). We’re going to “Storm the Forts of Darkness and bring them down” (Johnson “Storm the Forts") because we are the light of the world.
There is a Jewish tradition originating in the Kabbalah of the 16th century that said when God created the universe he put part of himself into vessels of light – something happened and these vessels of light were shattered, trapping the light of God within the material of creation. The tradition also says that it’s up to us to restore that light. This is called tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” (Karesh 520) It’s a late tradition, yes, that has gnostic affinities, but I rather like the idea that we, each one of us, created in the image and likeness of God, have a splinter – a shard of God’s eternal light hidden within us, and that we can do something to fan the flame of that light in others.
To be the light of the world is to repair the world, it is
to restore justice, and to protect those who are powerless. With our prayers
and our good works, our acts of righteous justice we can release those sparks
of the divine light into this world of darkness. We bring light to the dark
world by standing with and alongside the poor and marginalized. We pierce the
darkness of the world by rescuing the perishing and by caring for the dying (Crosby
“Rescue the Perishing”). We shatter the darkness by sharing of ourselves with
those in need, by feeding the hungry, by sheltering the homeless, and caring
for the sick. We repair the world and restore light to the darkness by letting
the oppressed go free, sharing our bread with the hungry, bringing the homeless
into our house, and covering the naked. Then our light will shine – will break
forth like the dawn of a glorious new day. (Isaiah 58: 6 – 8) We are the light
of the world; this is how we will shine.
The Roman naturalist and philosopher, Pliny the Elder said, “Nothing
is more useful than salt and sunshine” (Pliny). If we are that city on the hill
– the example to the world – then we are to be salt and sunshine to a dark
world, the light of the world.
"Jesus bids us shine," (Warner) so let your light shine. Let your light shine so that the people around you might know some kindness again (Schwartz) . Share. Give. Help. Care. This is how our light shines, and how we enliven the spark of that divine light in others.We are the light of the world; this is how we will shine.
"Jesus bids us shine," (Warner) so let your light shine. Let your light shine so that the people around you might know some kindness again (Schwartz) . Share. Give. Help. Care. This is how our light shines, and how we enliven the spark of that divine light in others.We are the light of the world; this is how we will shine.
Cockburn, Bruce. “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” Stealing
Fire. True North Records. 1984.
Cohen, Leonard. “Anthem” The Future. Columbia Records.
1992.
Crosby, Fanny. “Rescue the Perishing.” The Song Book of
The Salvation Army. London, England. The Salvation Army. 2015. Print.
Johnson, Robert. “Storm the Forts of Darkness” The Song
Book of The Salvation Army. London, England. The Salvation Army. 2015.
Print.
Karesh, Sarah E. & Mitchell M. Hurvitz. Encyclopedia
of Judaism. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. 2006. Print.
Kennedy, John F. “City upon a Hill” Boston, MA. January 9,
1961.
Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Xxxi, 102.
Reagan, Ronald. “Farewell Address” Washington D.C.: The White
House. 1989.
Schwartz, Stephen, "Light of the World," Godspell. 1971.
Warner, Susan Bogert, "Jesus Bids Us Shine." The Song Book of The Salvation Army, London, England. The Salvation Army. 2015 Print.
Schwartz, Stephen, "Light of the World," Godspell. 1971.
Warner, Susan Bogert, "Jesus Bids Us Shine." The Song Book of The Salvation Army, London, England. The Salvation Army. 2015 Print.
Winthrop, John. “A Model of Christian Charity” 1630.
No comments:
Post a Comment