Fill in the blank: I am _____________
If you listen to the beer commercials you might say I Am
Canadian.
Or you might respond I am Carla or I am Ruth.
I picked those names because it covers a majority of the
congregation
But in our world who we are is mostly based on what we do.
This seems best reflected in that first question we ask when we
meet someone.
What do you do?
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As some of you know my brother is an artist.
But before he was an artist he flitted from one thing to another and
at one point was on welfare.
In other words he had no job.
He soon found out this was a serious problem beyond the finances.
When he went to parties or was introduced to someone new, there
was always the question what do you do.
Of course the answer for him was “Nothing.”
Invariably the response would be “Well you must do something.
What do you do for work?”
“I don’t have a job, I’m on welfare. I do nothing.”
It was as if the arms on the clock stopped.
Time stood still as the person grasped for some sort of response to
the answer “Nothing.”
People didn’t know how to respond to the comment “Nothing.”
It seemed impossible.
Who was this person if they did nothing?
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How could you do nothing?
So he began to make up things.
“I’m going to university,” he would say.
“Oh really,” they said with delight. “What are you taking?”
Or he would make up something more mundane like “I’m a pizza
delivery driver,” which would never elicit the same enthusiasm as
the student response but had some potential for conversation,
however limited.
As long as he mentioned that he was doing something he was OK.
The wrong response to “What do you do?” is “Nothing.”
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Who we are and what we do is a tangled web.
How often do we see ourselves and others as what we/they do?
Jesus has something to say about this dynamic.
You are salt of the earth he says.
You are the light of the world.
So we are salt and light.
We are.
Now I was an English major and I have to admit I always struggled
with grammar, especially tenses but from what I understand when
someone says you are something it’s more than just a passing part
of you like your job or what you do at a certain moment.
It’s a part of your very essence; it’s what you’re made up of.
It’s not something you can change; it simply is.
But then standing in front of that massive crowd in his famous the
Sermon on the Mount he looks at his disciples and say something
that totally contradicts this:
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“Therefor whoever ignores one of the least of these commands and
teaches others to do the same be called least in the kingdom of
God.”
In other words “Are you doing what I command you to do?” he
asks.
“No not really,” we reply.
Well that’s it your at the bottom of the list.
We’ve got nothing more to talk about.
Jesus turns to the crowd again and says:
“But whoever keeps these commands and teaches others to do the
same will be called great in the kingdom of God.”
In other words “Are you doing what I command you to do?” he
asks.
“Yep I’ve got it all checked off,” we reply.
Good, then you are at the top of the list.
Sounds like we will get along just fine.
Jesus is connecting who we are to what we do.
Not doing what is commanded means you are the least.
Doing what is commanded means you are the greatest.
What you do is who you are.
And then with everyone comfortably situated in the spectrum,
some last, some first and many in between Jesus says one more
thing:
“I say to you unless your righteousness is greater than the
righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.”
“What?” the crowd cries. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Nope,” Jesus says calmly. “Unless you’re perfect you won’t enter
the Kingdom of heaven.”
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“So no matter if I’m last on the list or first, no matter if I’ve
ignored the commands or kept them, taught them or discouraged
them, I won’t enter the kingdom of God.”
“Yep,” Jesus responds.
“So nothing I ever do will measure up?”
“Right on,” Jesus replies. “You’ve finally got it. What you do is
secondary but you are making it the most important thing. And if
doing is the most important thing then you will never meet the bar.
What is far more central, what is far more important is who you
are. That will shape everything.”
So who am I?
Who are we?
Who are you?
If who you are is based on what you do, what job you have,
whether you’ve lived up to the standard or not then welcome to the
identity roller coaster ride.
But if who you are is who Jesus, who God, says you are then there
are some other options besides good, bad or somewhere in
between.
Jesus says to the crowd:
You are the salt of the earth.
OK, that’s interesting.
He also says:
You are the light of the world.
Well then, not bad.
You are the salt of the earth.
It’s a statement about who you were yesterday, who you are today
and who you will be tomorrow.
In other words what you do is not the indicator of who you are.
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Who you are is who God says you are.
In a world where who we are changes as we switch jobs, update
our facebook page, fail to impress or receive recognition for our
work, the fact that we are salt of the earth doesn’t.
We simply are.
Because we are salt and light we are salty and bright. Catchy huh?
Salt and light do what they do because of what they are not the
other way around.
“You don’t have to worry about doing anymore,” Jesus is saying.
“You’re free to be salt of the earth and light to the world.”
“You’re free to be. The doing will happen.”
So one more time, who are you?
You are something extremely important just as salt is an extremely
important preservative and way to enhance the flavor of life and
light is essential in helping others see in a world of darkness.
You are each an important part of God’s plan in the world both in
this moment and forevermore.
That doesn’t change because God has the final word about who
you are, not anybody else.
Don’t let anybody tell you who you are.
Leave that for God.
You are God’s salt and light in this world.
Amen
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