Daily Devotion

Matthew 5:13-15

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

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I was looking forward to this once a year (for us) trip. Last year’s trip was so meaningful. It was great to connect up with brothers and sisters, especially some who were from MPCC! I was also assigned to the “konseling” station. It was the last station in the chain and I can recall that Hanne was so busy making sure that every patient visit and talk with me.

Initially I did think, “Poor Indonesians. They came for medical help but force to talk with me. Me with my broken Bahasa.” Indeed there were an initially a few who made me think that the time with me is the only cost they have to pay for what is otherwise a free treatment. But more and more began to open up and I realised that this “konseling” station is just an important as the station which my wife was busy in.

I can recall the station for parents with autistic children. They shared. They cried. Some quietly said that they are believers. As a pastor, I do get to listen to members’ problems once in a while. But to listen to a chain of heart-breaking stories in one seating was very overwhelming emotionally. I also learned that I only need to listen and then ask, “Mari kita berdoa.” I may be clueless about medical terms and names of medicine, which often sound like a different language altogether – which Jen rattles of very easily of course. But in this station, I felt I was making a difference.

That spoke, they cried, we prayed and they went back to their world of 24/7 suffering. It was a brief encounter between strangers. I have to believe that even these brief “salt and light” moments, can make a difference.

Salt and light are two everyday objects found “anywhere and everywhere” in life. It is true for first century Israel and still true in our world today.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”

Salt does not function by itself. It always accompanies something else. Its purpose is to enhance and influence another substance. This I can say as a cook: Salt does more than adding saltiness to food. It enhances every other flavour. Without salt, your kaffir limes leaves, galangal, lemon grass is wasting their time in your food. So when Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, He is saying that our role is inseparably linked to the world—we are meant to enhance and shape it.

Interpreting Scripture with Scripture, Jesus also says in Luke 14:34–35:

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away.”

Salt was used on soil as a fertilizer, and on manure as a disinfectant.

So, salt both fertilizes and sanitizes—it encourages what is good and restrains what is harmful.

In the same way, we as the Church are called to nurture what is good and hinder what is evil.

Likewise, Jesus calls us the light of the world.

In ancient Jewish homes, small oil lamps were filled with oil, fitted with a wick, lit, and placed on a lampstand to raise the light to eye level so it could illuminate the room. One would not hide a lamp under a basket or in a cellar. Light is meant to be seen, to guide and to reveal.

Think about this: darkness is not an entity by itself. Darkness is simply a space where light is absent. So Jesus is saying that our presence will bring light to what will otherwise be a spiritually dark world.

As we shine, we show the world where to walk and help keep them from danger.

Salt of the earth. Light of the world.

Both images teach our calling: to reveal what is good and to expose what is not.

This is exactly what Hands International is seeking to do.

You may just be here for a week or so, but you are helping Hand to fulfill their mission. And remember, just a little bit of salt and light can make a lot of difference.

Brothers and sister, keep up the good work of savouring and illuminating the world.