October 27 | Matthew 5:43-48 | Salt and Light Loves Enemies “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecutor you . . . For if you love this who love you, what rewards you have?” Christians who claim to be salt and light in the world must show the world what it means to love beyond reward. Learning this lesson is not easy.

October 20 | Matthew 5:21-37 | Salt and Light Reconciles What good is our offering if it’s tainted? This is Jesus’ message for those of us who worship pretending we are reconciled with our enemies or our families. People of salt and light understand the importance of reconciliation and take seriously Jesus’ pronunciation, “Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

One could argue that the Kingdom of Heaven is the primary objective of Matthew’s Gospel. All the characters, the narrators, and even Jesus’ teachings, all deal with the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus has strong words on what it means for us to “enter” into that kingdom, and it has a lot to do with how we understand and follow the law.

Our faith doesn’t end after we’re baptized; it begins. We have so much more to do and become after we believe. Jesus addresses this very concern in the Sermon on the Mount and calls us all to be two things: Salt and Light. Thinking about how we are both metaphors may be some of the most powerful and helpful images in all the Bible. In short, the work is not done. We can always shine more light.