"You Are...”
- Dr. Todd R. Wright
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Just, you are salt and light!
Matthew 5:13-20
February 8, 2026
Dr. Todd R. Wright
Who are you?
We could all answer that question in a multitude of ways.
I’m a …
son, husband, father, and now, grandfather;
pastor and part-time lifeguard;
Rotarian, PWV committee chair, and occasional volunteer at Habitat and Common Grounds;
Appalachian Trail and Camino de Santiago hiker, swimmer, kayaker, juggler;
an introvert, an optimist, a dreamer, a creative type, an adapter, a catalyst, a coach;
also, and perhaps most importantly, a child of God and a forgiven sinner.
What about you? What would you list in your self-description?
I ask because Matthew wants to make sure that we add a couple of elemental things. He remembers Jesus telling a crowd of people, y’all are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.
Not, you should be salt and light.
Not, strive to be tasty and lit up.
Not, I’ll love you if only you become salt and light.
Just, you are salt and light!
On the surface, it was a puzzling thing to declare.
After all, the crowd that had gathered within earshot had a whole different list of self-titles.
They would have called themselves Galileans or Judeans, city folks from the Decapolis or Jerusalem, travelers from beyond the Jordan. They were labeled the sick – the diseased, paralytics, demoniacs – as well as the people who cared for them. Some identified as the stubbornly hopeful; others as the wildly desperate and the serially disappointed.
Jesus looked them all in the eye and called out other descriptors in what we call the Beatitudes. He said that while they were the poor in spirit, the grieving, the meek, and the hungry, they were also God-blessed! Despite the burdens and black-eyes the world had given them, he recognized among them the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. He said that in the crazy economy of God, the ones who were persecuted and reviled would receive a great reward!
And he summed it all up by calling them … salt and light.
They must have had their doubts.
Salt was valuable. (The occupying Roman soldiers were paid in it.) But they were worthless.
Light can chase away the shadows. But not if you can’t afford lamp oil.
Salt makes the whole dish taste better. But their presence felt like a burden to most.
Light shines a spotlight on injustice and unfairness. But they are the oppressed.
Salt can transform things – like melting ice off steps and roads. But they feel powerless.
Light comes as regularly as the dawn. But they feel like they are stuck in permanent darkness.
Salt acts as a preservative. It can clean and heal wounds. But they are the wounded ones.
Light cheers the soul and warms the room. But it’s a tough role to pull off amidst chilly gloom!
How could Jesus see them that way?
One clue is his use of the plural – y’all. He’s talking to the crowd, not singling out individuals.
The implication is that we can best be salty when we are part of a community. We can best shine with God’s light when we join with others. Because some days we need to lean on others to bring the salt or the light … and some days they will lean on us.
Jay Withey would have understood.[2]
His list of self-descriptors might have included mechanic, and good friend, and religious. But almost certainly not criminal … or hero.
All that changed just over 3 years ago when a blizzard near Buffalo stranded people in their cars with a dwindling gas supply and the police unable to come to their rescue.
Withey had ventured out to help a trapped friend but got stuck himself. When he couldn’t dig himself out, he went to ten nearby households asking for help and was turned away at every single one of them. When an elderly lady who had been stuck for hours knocked on his window, he knew he needed to take drastic steps. He broke into a school and invited 20 people to shelter with him. He scavenged food from the cafeteria and mats from the gym for them to sleep on.
You might think that he would have faced charges for his actions – it was breaking and entering after all, stealing too, but the local police chief called Withey’s actions heroic! Imagine that!
Jesus would have called him salt and light!
Jesus’ words shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Both metaphors have a long history.
You may remember what Isaiah told Israel in their darkest hour,
“Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out …who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord … I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in darkness.”[3]
And scholars say that being salt also has an older history. Richard Swanson writes:
“The earliest place I have seen it is in reference to the Jews who were forced into exile in 722 B.C.E. They were scattered throughout the vast Assyrian Empire and they never returned. They [lived] incognito in every culture and on every continent. Jewish faith understands these hidden Jews to have [practiced] the basic moral practices of Torah, and as such they are a preserving force in the world [like salt].”[4]
Swanson continues,
[So,] “when Jesus addresses his audience as ‘the salt of the earth,’ he is reminding them that Torah observance is not just a ‘religious thing,’ not a set of odd Jewish practices involving seafood and pork. Torah observance is [also keeping the Sabbath and loving your neighbor and caring for widows and orphans and aliens in the land; it is] good for the world. It makes communities gentler and more orderly. It makes human beings kinder and more tolerant.”
All this makes me wonder, what do we do that shows that we are salt and light?
How do we spice things up or preserve what is good?
How do we light up a room or help guide a lost traveler home?
I ask, because Matthew seems to be setting the tone for the whole gospel.
I ask, because our book of Order says one of the main purposes for the church is to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.[5]
And I ask, because, as Jesus reminds his audience, if salt is not acting like salt, it ought to be thrown out; and light hidden under a basket cannot light the way for anyone.
So be salty and shine. That’s who you were created to be.
Be salt and light and others will taste and see God! Amen
[1] “Circle of Light” by Carol Aust
[3] See Isaiah 42: 5-7
[4] From “A Provocation” 2/5/17
[5] See F-1.0304
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