Matthew 5:13-20
The 5th Sunday after Epiphany | 08-02-2026 | Matthew 5:13-20 | Beth A. Schlegel |
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles (or other version)
“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.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all i s accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
To Make Disciples is to Be Light for the World
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have you ever been afraid of the dark?
I remember having a nightlight in my bedroom when I was a child.
We never went camping without a Coleman lantern or hiking without a flashlight.
Without light, we stumble and bump into things. We get hurt. We take the wrong path or lose our way altogether.
Light is important. It is the first thing God created.
God does not want us to stumble about or be afraid.
Light is a gift of God’s love for people.
When we lose electric power, we light candles – and there is something about candlelight that connects us to creation.
Maybe it is the flickering, the way the radiance and flame interact in a dance.
Candles in our churches remind us of the living and dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit, the life of God in our midst.
The largest candle is the Paschal Candle, signifying the risen Lord Jesus. It is the new light of the resurrection blessed at the Easter Vigil and used throughout the Easter season, as well as at baptisms and funerals.
The Paschal candle will soon be absent from our worship spaces, as we enter Lent.
It disappears during Lent, since that is a season of preparation for baptism at Easter.
The newly baptized Christian is given a candle that is lighted from the resurrection flame of the Paschal candle with these words of Jesus spoken to them:
“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
When we are baptized, God sets us in the world as lamps on a lampstand.
We are light for the world as the living Body of Christ.
We live as people with the Holy Spirit shaping our thoughts and actions.
And this is not of our own doing, but God’s.
We have light to shine because Jesus is the Light of the world and makes us sharers of his light.
Jesus said: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
To follow Jesus is to live his life, suffer with him, die with him, and rise with him.
This is why being Christian is more than simply being a good person.
Jesus calls us to be His light, to act in his name, and to reflect the relationship with the Triune God into which we were baptized.
Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
How do we know what are “good works”?
The good works we are to do are those commanded by God:
- To worship God alone
- To call on God in prayer and praise
- To spend time learning God’s word in the fellowship of the church
- To respect God-given authority
- To uphold the sanctity of human life
- To keep marriage vows
- To protect the property of others and not cheat people or steal from them
- To speak the truth and avoid gossip and rumors
- To be content with what we have
- To respect relationships
Jesus reminds us that the Law and the Prophets still apply to us who follow him.
“I will tell you the kind of fast I want:
Free the people you have put in prison unfairly
and undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair
and stop their hard labor.
7 Share your food with the hungry
and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours,
and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
8 Then your light will shine like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal. Isaiah 58:6-8 NCV
To follow Jesus, to let your light shine before others, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.
And Jesus says we must be better at it than the most self-righteous people we know.
Now, some people may wonder if Jesus is promoting that Lutheran taboo of works-righteousness.
Let’s listen again to what the Lord says:
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (emphasis mine)
When we obey God in order to get the praise, then we are being works-righteous and walk in darkness.
When we obey God and do the good works commanded of us because doing so expresses God’s love for us and the world, then our light shines and causes others to come into the light of Jesus Christ and to glorify God the Father.
There is an element of unselfconsciousness about what Jesus says to us today.
When I am driving at night, I cannot see my own headlights. I can only see what the beams of light illuminate.
So, too, we are not to try to look into the headlights of our own good works, but rather, simply follow the beam of light that Jesus shines on our path and share that light with others, so that they can follow him, too.
Jesus said: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
©Beth A. Schlegel
pastorschlegel@live.com
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, York, Pennsylvania, USA
Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester, Pennsylvania, USA