More on The Sermon on the Mount
 

Last month, I wrote to you about online devotionals that I use, including Fr. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation. I mentioned that the devotions are not always written by Fr. Rohr, due to his declining health and that I don’t always have time to read them when they arrive in the morning. I was delighted on the afternoon of Sunday, June 22, when I read the following from Rev. Brian McLaren on the Sermon on the Mount. It’s very much in harmony with what I’ve been (and will be) preaching. Hope you find it meaningful!

Pastor Chris

Jesus advocates an identity characterized by solidarity, sensitivity, and nonviolence. He celebrates those who long for justice, embody compassion, and manifest integrity and nonduplicity. He creates a new kind of hero: not warriors, corporate executives, or politicians, but brave and determined activists for preemptive peace, willing to suffer with him in the prophetic tradition of justice.

Our choice is clear from the start: If we want to be his disciples, we won’t be able to simply coast along and conform to the norms of our society. We must choose a different definition of well-being, a different model of success, a new identity with a new set of values….

If we seek the kind of unconventional blessedness he proposes, we will experience the true aliveness of God’s

kingdom, the warmth of God’s comfort, the enjoyment of the gift of this Earth, the satisfaction at seeing God’s

restorative justice come more fully, the joy of receiving mercy, the direct experience of God’s presence, the honor of association with God and of being in league with the prophets of old. That is the identity he invites us to seek.

That identity will give us a very important role in the world. As creative nonconformists, we will be difference makers, aliveness activists, catalysts for change. Like salt that brings out the best flavors in food, we will bring out the best in our community and society. Also like salt, we will have a preservative function—opposing corruption and decay…. Simply by being who we are—living boldly and freely in this new identity as salt and light—we will make a difference, as long as we don’t lose our “saltiness” or try to hide our light.

We’ll be tempted, no doubt, to let ourselves be tamed, toned down, shut up, and glossed over.  But Jesus means for us to stand apart from the status quo, to stand up for what matters, and to stand out as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. He means for our lives to overcome the blandness and darkness of evil with the salt and light of good works. Instead of drawing attention to ourselves, those good works will point toward God. “Wow,” people will say, “when I see the goodness and kindness of your lives, I can believe there’s a good and kind God out there, too.”

The way Jesus phrases these memorable lines tells us something important about him. Like all

great leaders, he isn’t preoccupied with himself. He puts others—us—in the spotlight when he says, “You are the salt of the Earth. You are the light of the world.” Yes, there’s a place and time for him to declare who he is, but he begins by declaring who we are.