"Salted for Service"

“Salted for Service”¹

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus says, “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Salt is necessary to every living thing on this planet, and it serves very specific functions. But if it loses its character, it is of no value. But how can salt lose its saltiness?

You are Christians. You have been baptized into Christ's death and resurrection, and He has marked you as a redeemed child of God. In this way, you could say that Jesus has salted you. And what happens when salt is present? It flavors everything around it. Just a little bit in a recipe changes the whole composition of the dish. It only takes a little handful of salt to melt a whole sidewalk full of ice. And there is no way salt can be anything but salty. When Jesus asks how you can make salt salty again, He is indicating that salt cannot lose its flavor. Salt is by nature salty, and nothing can change that. Likewise, you are a child of God, and nothing can change that fact. You cannot become un-baptized. God will never un-love you.

Jesus died to cancel the record of guilt against you, to wash away your sins. And He died that death over 2,000 years ago, 8,000 miles away. It is an accomplished fact. “It is finished.” There is no more you can do or need to do to earn God's grace and favor. In Christ, God has reconciled the world to Himself. And now He comes to His people and hands out the grace so hard-won all those years ago.

For God has taken hold of you, drowned you in the water, and made His death and resurrection yours. Why? Because He loves you, because He desires that you “may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”

But why does Jesus talk about salt in today's lesson? Well, think about what salt does. Salt adds flavor. Salt heals wounds. Salt preserves food from spoilage. In the Old Testament, salt purified the sacrifices of the people and indicated peace with God. Salt was an offering of kinship and hospitality between neighbors and relations. Salt effected reconciliation.

Today, you are salted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You are flavored with the flavor of Christ, wrapped in the aroma of His sacrifice for you. Your wounds in body and soul are healed by that salting. You are purified by the washing of rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit. You are reconciled and set at peace with God and man.

And you are salted in all these ways not to live in sin and long for it. Rather, you are salted for the future. God has purified you and preserves you for His use, and He uses you to serve your neighbor.

In Luther's day, the greatest service was to leave all earthly concerns and go hide from the world within the confines of a monastery. It was lowly and menial to serve other people in need, but God would regard the great sacrifice of the monks in the monastery. The Mass was a sacrifice performed for the sake of gaining brownie points in heaven, and for the sake of making money for the Church.

But Luther turned this whole scheme on its head. Church is first and foremost about God serving you! You stand afar off, like the tax collector, hoping and pleading for mercy. And God gives it to you. Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.

In his Catechism hymn, Luther explains the Third Commandment as instructing you to “put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you!” (LSB 581.4). God works in you first, forgiving your sins, feeding you with the Bread of Life, and strengthening you for daily living in His kingdom. And in so doing, He salts you for service to your neighbor. God does not need your service or your good works. But your neighbor does.

On this LWML Sunday, we reflect on the work of faithful women in bearing witness to Christ our Lord. Remember the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well in John 4? Jesus confronted her about her several husbands and her live-in boyfriend. He called her to repentance and faith. And she believed and was saved. Then, John records, she went away into the town and told many people about Jesus. And as a result, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's witness.”

The Church bears witness to her Head. You bear witness to Jesus. The Bible has many characters, and you are in all of them – the good, the bad, and the ugly. You are the woman at the well. Your life does not meet the requirements of the Law. You deserve death and hell. You are the one Jesus calls to repentance. You are also the one forgiven through Jesus' death and resurrection. You are the light of the world who bear witness to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. You are servants of the King of Kings. You are called to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

And where does this service take place? In your individual vocations, just as in the work of the LWML, your service to God takes place wherever He has called you. You proclaim His work to your family, to your friends. You are the witness to the gifts you have been given.

Your service takes place wherever the mites of the LWML are given and received. Throughout the world, the Church is flourishing and growing because of your giving and service.

And you are salted for service as instruments of God's mercy. The work of showing mercy is one of the Church's primary callings in this world. Jesus came to have mercy on the poor, the weak, the suffering, and the lowly. And His Bride is likewise called into that same loving service to her fellow man. Repeatedly, the writers of the New Testament emphasize that the Church is about showing mercy, just as God in Christ has poured out His mercy upon you.

As you serve and as you support the LWML and the many other service organizations of the Church, you are extending Christ's merciful hands around the globe, to touch the hearts and lives of many people who might not have otherwise experienced the love of God.

Jesus says, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Being salted by Christ, being salt for the world brings with it a life together in the Church. As you bear witness to Jesus Christ, life together happens, and as your witness expands and unfolds in service, your life together in the one Body of Christ deepens and grows. The Church, and the LWML in her, helps the members of the Body of Christ to share each other's burdens, to build one another up in faith, to encourage one another in hope and love, to find great joy in service.

You are all “salted for service.” How do you serve? You bear witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ throughout your daily lives. You care for those in need. You live together in love and forgiveness for one another. And in this gracious service, there is great joy. Let us serve the Lord with gladness!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

1Sermon outline taken from LWML Sunday sermon prepared by Rev. Pres. Matthew Harrison for this day.