AS THE RAYS OF the morning sun swept across the pews and faces of the congregation at St David’s Anglican Church last Sunday, it seemed to be indicative of the enlightening message that Reverend Canon Noel Burke would later preach on the fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
The warm welcome of the ministerial team and the wider congregation was heartening. As accustomed, the highlight of the 8 a.m. service was the message delivered by Canon Burke, as he urged his listeners to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
His text came from Matthew 5:13 to 20, part of the Sermon On The Mount. It was the same chapter which fellow minister Reverend DeVere Murrell had used the previous Sunday at St Matthias Anglican Church.
Canon Burke put the spotlight on Verse 20, which reads: “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (King James Version) Burke sought to show the various uses and importance of salt, as he noted its ability to savour. Light, he said, must be clearly seen, and “the eternal validity of God’s commandments were memorable criteria for Christian living”.
However, it was the reference to salt and the Christian’s life which took up much of his attention.
“Salt from the Dead Sea, together with its many by-products, remains one of Israel’s main exports. In biblical times it had liturgical significance, as well as being a condiment giving food a palatable taste,” he explained.
“The cereal offering, the burnt offering and incense were all seasoned with salt. Salt was also considered to have had medicinal purposes, and Dead Sea Salt was a main ingredient of lotions and ointments.
“New-born babies were rubbed with salt . . . . And diseases of the mouth [and] skin, and open flesh wounds may also have been treated with salt,” Burke added.
As he looked at the essence of light, Burke said John the evangelist reflected Jesus “as the light that shines in the darkness”.
He said that, like the prophets before Him, Jesus did not seek to destroy the Torah (five books of Moses), but sought to enrich and fulfil it. Burke added that while righteousness was the fulfilment of the law, exclusive self-righteousness was unjust.
“We may argue that there is justice and righteousness. The problem is that it does not go far enough. It is only superficial, as in Jesus’ time.
“How often does Jesus tell his disciples to launch out into the deep?” he asked.
He said this command “is a tremendous symbol of the way in which Christians should launch out into the depth of a relationship with Jesus and others”.
Burke further stressed that Christians must allow the light of God to shine wherever they go.
“There are times when the decisions we make may affect others. There are times when hard decisions must be made to ensure the viability of our institutions.
“Our Christianity must move beyond the surface,” he re-emphasised.
Burke preached that it was not that the scribes and Pharisees were not righteous – but they were so on their own terms. He told his congregation that while at times people would dislike them for being the salt of the earth and light of the world, they had to be shining lights where people preferred darkness.