ON DUCKS AND SALT

The Danish philosopher and theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, was often critical of the church. He was critical of the clergy who watered down Jesus’ message as to make it a whole other gospel, and he was critical of the people, whose everyday lives lacked passion and commitment. To illustrate this, he told the story of a land inhabited only by ducks. And of duck church. One fine Lord’s Day, he wrote, all of the ducks waddled to duck church, where the pastor duck stood to deliver his homily. He opened his duck Bible and spoke of God’s great gift to ducks—wings. “With wings”, said the duck preacher, “we ducks can fly! We can mount up like eagles and soar! We can escape the confinement of pens and fences and know the euphoria of unfettered freedom! We must give God thanks for such a great gift!” To which all of the ducks in duck church stood to their feet with a hearty “Amen!” And then they waddled home.

There are a lot of things that Christ said that his followers don’t seem to take seriously. They seem to think he was exaggerating to make a point, or that someone misunderstood him or took his words out of context, but surely he didn’t mean it when he said… we must love our enemies and our neighbors every bit as much as we love ourselves. Who among us loves our neighbors quite as much as we love ourself? He couldn’t have been serious when he told us that we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless we serve the poor, no matter how well we behave ourselves, and who can take his admonition to forgive "70 times 7" as the gospel, when we have trouble forgiving at all. When we hear these passages, we tune them out. We are “artful dodgers,” to use another phrase from Kierkegaard, pretending that we can’t quite understand Scripture, when in truth, we often just don’t want to live it out in our own lives.

This is certainly true with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which many Christians don’t really know- it goes on for three chapters- and don’t even consider putting into practice. It seems that Jesus must have speaking poetically or abstractly when he gave this sermon. Blessed are the meek, he said- try being meek down at my office, we say. Blessed are the merciful he said- blessed are those who are demanding and uncompromising, we say. Blessed are those who are passionate about doing the right thing, he said; blessed are those who hunger for power, pleasure, and possessions, we say. It’s hard for us to take some of the things Jesus said seriously, as if he really meant them. He might as well ask us to fly.

It’s not easy to be a practicing Christian, but I don’t think Jesus was kidding or given to hyperbole when he delivered his Sermon of the Mount. You are the salt of the world, he said! Look, Jesus said- in a statement that will either amuse us or shock us because it is so big- you are the salt of the earth. Not your government, not some agency, not your neighbor, but you! Salt keeps things alive. It makes them useful and sometimes flavorable. Without you, without your ministries and without your witness to my love, the world will continue to decay. You are the life-sustaining salt that will preserve hope and joy in a world that desperately needs both. It’s up to you, but if you lose your flavor, your will, your zest… if you settle for waddling, if you won’t love one another in ways that no one can miss, you will be worth little more than the salt we throw on our paths, for people to walk on.

You, Jesus said, you uneducated fishermen, you born-again sinners, you high tech sophisticates, you mothers and fathers who are at wit’s end, you who have been burdened and disoriented by loss, and you who were in the hands of demons… all of you who call me Lord… YOU are the light of the world! You have discovered the fullness and purpose of life. You have claimed a joy that knows no end- so let your love shine like a beacon to the world. Let it shine, especially in the dark places, and people will come to see what’s going on for themselves. Don’t hide the confidence that you have in your hearts. Don’t hide the joy that burns in your spirit. Let others see your works, show them mercy, startle them with the love you have for one another… and they will respond because their hearts are burdened with trials and fears, and because they, too, hunger to be accepted and loved. Show that you love me by loving them, show that you have been forgiven by forgiving them, show them that there really is a place where people walk hand-in-hand and praise God as they walk along. 

You know the truth and the way, so let your light shine! Let them see that your love is genuine, your hearts are pure and that your joy runs deep… and they will be blessed by the light that shines through you. They will see that you are different and when they ask how did this happen to you, tell them to “come and see” what I can do for them. All of you who have answered his call… who have gathered around to hear this sermon- are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. No kidding. Really. We have life-preserving, light-giving work to do. So let’s get to work and put the Sermon on the Mount into action! Amen.