Citius, Altius, Fortius

"Citius, Altius, Fortius"

"Faster, Higher, Stronger"

Matthew 5:13-16   |   2/9/2014

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

          The 22nd Winter Olympics has begun.

          Wasn’t the opening ceremony amazing as it portrayed the history of Russia?

          The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius,"

                   which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

         

          The five interlocking rings represent the five main regions of the world brought together by the Olympic Movement:

                   Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

          The "ring" motif  suggests what the Olympics are all about.

                    The ring of justice.

                   The ring of mercy.

                   The ring of faithfulness.

                   The ring of truth.

                   The ring of love.

       

    

          As I think about the Olympics I think of our scripture today with its two simple metaphors:

Salt and Light

          In our scripture Jesus said,

                    “You are the salt of the earth.

                   You are the light of the world.”

          Salt.

          My favorite candy in the whole world is Lula’s sea salt caramels.  I just thought you would like to know. By the way there is a Lula’s store up the street!

There is something about just a little bit of salt on top of the caramel that makes all the difference.

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

          That is why when we wish to stress someone’s solid worth and usefulness, we say, “People like that are the salt of the earth.”

         

          In Jesus day,

                   Salt was connected with purity.

                   Salt was the commonest of all preservatives.

                   Salt was used to lend flavor to food.

          Boston had its Tea Party.

          India had its Salt March.
          In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led over 100,000 people on a walk of over 200 miles. The reason for the march was to avoid a costly salt "tax" imposed by the British colonial authorities.

          Gandhi shrewdly realized that salt symbolized the unity of all Indians, from Brahmins to Untouchables, because everyone needs it.

          Jesus used it in his parable for much the same reason.

          I believe that the ideals of the Olympic Games are like the salt of the Christian Life—Justice, mercy, faithfulness, truth and love.

          These are the ideals that Jesus lifted up in the Sermon on the Mount.

          This is the second in a series of four messages based on Matthew Chapter 5 which is the first part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  

          Those who seek to follow the spiritual life of Jesus are like salt in the world.

          Salt crystals cannot give flavor to food unless they dissolve.

          If we dissolve the salt in a pot, it disappears but it does not cease to exist. It can then give flavor to thousands of grains of rice.

          It is the same with us.

          If we are not melted with justice, mercy, faithfulness, truth and love we cannot be effective as spiritual salt and light in our world.

          Today it's getting easier and easier to transform salt water into fresh water—that we need so badly.

          The process is called "desalination," and it's being used locally and around the world.

          Take Singapore, for example.

          Just a few years ago the country opened a desalination plant that can produce more than 10 percent of the country's supply of fresh water. Desalination is a good thing when it comes to water, Jesus tells us that it's a really bad thing when it comes to his people.

          In the middle of his Sermon on the Mount Jesus looks out over his followers and proclaims, "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.”

          Those are tough words, but in order to understand them, we need to grasp them from a first-century perspective. While salt in water is largely a pain salt minus the water has long been a blessing.

          It's proved so valuable because of its many uses. Salt could be used to cure and store meats, disinfect wounds and make food, pottery and more.

          That's why salt caravans—hauling sacks of the stuff from mine to marketplace—were among the earliest commercial enterprises. Armies have marched to secure supplies of it for their countries. Sometimes it has even been used as an alternate currency.

          From Jesus’ perspective, "You are the salt of the earth" refers to a valuable commodity indeed.

          Salt, in general, was loved because it had so many uses.

          Jesus' point is that those who belong to him, those who live under his reign and rule in this world, are just like salt.

          When it's out of the water, it's incredibly useful and surprisingly valuable.

          We have the ability to be the salt of the earth—to bring flavor to our world.          

          We are the salt of for the world

                   through the way we admit our faults,

                             the way we cling to Christ,

                                      the way we love our enemies,

                                                the way we feed the needy,

                                                         the way we strive to keep our promises

                                                                   and so much more—

          which Jesus goes on to outline later in his "sermon on the mount."

          Members of God's world, God’s Kingdom, have an amazing usefulness in this hurting world when we respond by living in love.

          We can cheer the process of "desalination" for seawater but we should fight against that same process when it comes to us, God's "salty" people.

          Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth.

          We do not want to be de-salted Christians.

          How can salt lose its saltiness?
          There are three things that can make salt lose its saltines.

          First, be careful with the chemicals.

          The first step in becoming salt-less is a brush with some nasty chemicals that latch on to the salty minerals.

          A similar, chemical onslaught happens for Christians, coming in the form of cultural distractions that cloud our minds and confuse our focus.

          Second, watch for osmosis.

          The second step in the desalination process is osmosis, a stage in which water is run through a series of membranes and filters and the minerals are now easily trapped.

          For the follower of Jesus Christ, this is what we'd call temptation. With our mind clouded and our heart divided, we're much more susceptible to getting snagged by something stupid.
         
          Third, don't lose your cool.

          The one-step, thermal process of removing salt involves bringing the salty water to a boil. The boiling water produces steam, which condenses as pure water.

          A very common way for followers of Jesus Christ to lose their salt is by quickly losing their cool. When the pressure mounts in life, when the crises emerge out of nowhere or tempers flare, it's far too easy to flip out.

          Blindsided by brokenness, we react with brokenness, and before we know it, rather than being the people of God's world—we're just like everyone else.

          Desalination happens.      
          Jesus knew that.
          And what's good for the water is bad for us Christians.

         

          Let's answer the question at the heart of Jesus' when he asks, "... if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?"  

          The truth is that none of us ever truly stays salty.

          The point of the Sermon on the Mount—

                   with its high call to be salt and light,

                   to be a blessed peacemaker,

                   to be slow to anger—

          was twofold.

          It was to show us the pattern for living in God's world

                   and to demonstrate how to live in Christ Jesus.

          It is the Faster, Higher, Stronger—

                   Justice, mercy, faithfulness, truth and love of the Olympics.

          So, what is the re-salination process?

          For those who are feeling particularly un-salty today, the good news is that there is a "re-salination process.”

          Through Christ we can be restored into someone who can beautifully bring the kingdom to a world that is in short supply of salt.  
         
          Personal transformation can happen.

          No one is too old to change.

          Sometimes the solution to moral and spiritual improvement is not all that complicated. For example:

          An auto mechanic received a repair order that said to check a clunking noise when going around corners.
          So he took the car out for a test drive and made two right turns, and each time - sure enough - he heard a loud clunking noise.
          Back at the shop, he returned the car to the service manager with this note: "Removed bowling ball from trunk."

          Light

          Jesus said that we are the salt but he also said that we are the light of the world. Think of it! YOU are the light of the world.

          A light is meant to be seen.

          A light is a guide.

          A light can be a warning light.

          The light which can be seen,

                   the light which warns,

                             the light which guides,

                                      these are the lights which the Christian must be.

          About once a month on my day off I volunteer as a docent at the Point Sur Light Station. I love it. It is a magical place for me. I love to tell the stories to the tourists of how four families lived on that isolated ‘rock’ for one reason. That was to keep the light burning so that lives of sailors can be saved.

          That is my mission as a pastor.

          That is our purpose as a church.

          Once there was a young reporter who was writing an article about President Lyndon Johnson. He traveled around the hill country of Texas interviewing the rural residents of Texas that Johnson represented as a young congressman.

          Over and over people said about Johnson that, “He brought the light.”

          Finally one day the reporter inquired, “What do you mean, ‘He brought the light?’”

          An old rural farmer responded, “When Johnson was a congressman he fought to have electricity brought to the hill country of Texas—he brought the light!”

          I hope that that can be said of us!

          Let’s be the salt and bring the light.
         

     "Citius, Altius, Fortius,"

     "Faster, Higher, Stronger"

     Justice, mercy, faithfulness, truth and love.

Children's Sermon

          Sprinkle a little salt on your hand, and say that salt is small but powerful, just like everyone who follows Jesus as a Christian.

John and Ulli Carley

Ursula Meidenbauer

Lucy Fillmore

Safety at the Olympics 

                                                          Prayer
          Gracious God, we thank you for the high calling in Christ Jesus to be your people.

          We praise you for the privilege of embodying your life of love, forgiveness and justice to the world.

          We gladly receive the responsibility to be salt and light, knowing that we will often fail to live up to who you have called us to be, but thankful nonetheless for the opportunity to respond to your mercy in our lives.

          Arouse within us, we pray, such joy in serving you and others, such compassion for the friendless and downcast, and such empathic indignation at the plight of the abused, exploited and stigmatized that we cannot remain silent, will not remain uninvolved and will not accept life as usual.

          Convict us in our comfort, and inspire us to a new vision of what it means to bear witness to your kingdom and to salt this world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

          Amen.