Musical Prelude and Service.

Psalm 112:1-9 & Matthew 5:13-20
We are often encouraged to embrace doubt. We are constantly told that skepticism is healthy.
I agree with this, but I also find myself concerned when we face the threat of having everything in
front of us thrown into doubt. When we are told to doubt the very things our eyes have shown us to
be true. At some point we need something tangible; something rooted in truth to guide us, to give us
purpose and to articulate our values.
I find myself viewing the season of Epiphany as encouraging us to recognize Jesus as that signpost,
or that guiding light we as Christians seek out to point us to the truth, or the destination of our faith.
As Christians, our faith; our understanding of God, is centered around the person of Jesus. We are told
that Jesus is God’s son. That Jesus is God in human form. We hold up the image of Jesus as the
revelation of God’s love. We use a variety of terms to describe Jesus and that relationship to God.
The son of God, the Good Shepherd, the bread of life, the prince of peace and the Word of God.
God’s word made flesh.
It is in the season of Epiphany that we articulate that Jesus points us to God’s love and justice.
It is this epiphany that establishes that Jesus is our North Star so to speak. He is the guiding star,
the light of the world that moves us and inspire us.
In the reading from Matthew this morning, we hear Jesus relate his message and his life to the
scriptures that guided his life. Quite often we will hear people argue that Jesus ended or tore up the
Law that is found in Hebrew scripture. That’s why there is a New Testament. That idea does not hold
up when we take a serious look at scripture. Today’s scripture itself challenges that position.
“I do not come to end the Law and the prophets but to fulfill them.”
This can be a challenging statement. It is a challenging statement. What does Jesus mean when he
says he comes to fulfill the law. Is he talking about the 10 commandments or what we find in
Leviticus and Numbers and Exodus? Well in part. But The Law refers to all of the first Five books of
scripture. The Prophets refers to the writing of all the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Micah,
Amos and all the rest. This is the story and the heart of Judaism. It is their journey from creation to
this point. A journey out of slavery and through exile. It is a struggle to live in relationship with God
and with one another and the rest of the world.
How do you live those relationships with love, compassion and justice?
It is a struggle. The people of Israel; the inheritors of Abraham’s covenant, of Jacob’s blessing, do
struggle. They stumble, lose their way and then return. And through it all God keeps faith with them.
God makes another covenant. That is the law. Jesus states he is the fulfilment of that struggle.
He says all this to faithful Jews who gather to hear him teach, to preach. Jews who come to him for
healing and to hear a word of comfort. Jesus is not telling them to turn their back on their tradition
and their faith, but to explore it deeply. To commit themselves fully to that covenantal faith. To truly
be who are they and what it is that God desires of and for them.
So, who are we and what does God desire for us?
You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Don’t lose who you are. Don’t hide your
light. Be who God made you and let the world see you for who you are and how you make this world
more bearable; more palatable for everyone. This is not about weaponizing a set of rules to keep
some in and others out.
This is not about creating a set of punitive points to set some among us over others. It is about
figuring out how we can live together in peace so that all are liberated from an empire committed to
exploiting the masses for its own profit.
Jesus is the light of the world. The fulfilment of God’s covenant with God’s people. Jesus comes to be
the embodiment of God’s liberating love. To guide us to freedom and to remind us of our
commitment to living in right relationship, in justice with one another and the rest of creation.
To love one another, to welcome the stranger, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor.
The law speaks of Israel’s covenantal relationship with God. The rules, or commandments that can
seem so burdensome, are a gift; they are a reminder of their relationship to a loving and ever present God. Psalm 112 speaks of keeping God’s commands with joy.
“Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.”
We know what God asks of us. To love kindness, to seek justice, to walk humbly with God.
Jesus tells us we are to stay true to who we are. To whom God created us to be. We are called to
work with Jesus. To keep Jesus in our focus. Wea re called to work with God to create the world God
envisions for us. Jesus tells us to keep our flavour, to be the salt of the earth and to make this world
palatable for our neighbours.
At some point as we reflect on our faith and our vision of God at work in this world, Jesus is, for
Christians, more than simply a wise teacher or healer. His teaching, his commitment to a movement
of love and peace is vital, but he was far from alone in those actions. We see Jesus as the living
embodiment of God’s love, God’s peace, God’s work in the world. And as God’s word, Jesus
overcomes death and walks out of a tomb to continue his work and his teaching.
Jesus is our guiding light, but we too, along with him are also light. And we are called to shine our
light along with him. To shine with the love of God for all to see. Even as we are meek, as we are
poor in spirit. As we hunger for righteousness, Jesus urges us to shine our light. To not hide who we
are. To hold ourselves to a standard that goes beyond what The Law tells us to do.
May we embrace that love. May we let our light shine. May we remember who we are. Whose we
are. May we keep our saltiness and shine God’s light of love, of welcome, of justice. May we find
comfort in knowing God has not forgotten us, even in times of doubt, in times of darkness and
heartbreak. May we shine for those struggling to see the light and may our light help point the way
once again, to our guiding light. Jesus the Christ.
Thanks be to God. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789