2002.5.19. Whitsunday - Rev. Sang Keun Kim

The Salt and The Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Church is 'the community of faith' consisting of holy people. We call those who confess Jesus Christ as their savior, 'Holy ones or Saints'. Actually, you and I are that holy people. There is one important thing about living as holy people and that is, we received the calling 'together'. We received the Lord's calling 'together' as the community of faith. Confessing Jesus Christ as our own savior is a personal decision of faith and at the same time, the work of the God's grace an individual experiences. An existential encounter between the God and myself alone, without this one-on-one encounter, no one can confess Jesus as savior. Making this personal commitment is important. We have to always remember, however, that we have been called all 'together' as the community of faith. We altogether have a mission given to us as a community, as an organization, through the faith community called the KUMC of Greater Washington area. We call this type of faith community, "church". Today, to learn about the meaning of this church, as a faith community called together, in order to know what mission we have, we looked up the Bible. They are the verses from the gospel of Matthew 5:13.

These verses are well known to us. "You are the salt of the earth." "You are the light of the earth." Here once again, we get to hear the voice of Jesus asking us all, as the community of faith, collectively. The expression, "you" in the Korean Bible can be used as singular or plural. So sometimes, the deep meaning of the original Bible can be lost. Here, the original Greek word, "you", indicates plural 'you'. It's not, "You are the salt of the earth." or "You are the light of the world." but "You all are the salt of the earth, you all are the light of the world." Jesus is calling us all together as a group, community, and church. He tells us all together to become the light and salt of the world.

Then, how are doing? You and I, our church, are we fully carrying out this mission of the salt and light of the earth as the community of faith together? What roles of the earth's salt and light is our church, the KUMC, undertaking as the community of faith called together? I believe firmly that the KUMC established 50 years ago received the God's calling to carry out the mission of the light and the salt of the earth. "First, we will gather to have a worship service and then have an administrative meeting to discuss more specifically about building church. We request for your presence sincerely, putting all other matters aside." This is the content of the invitation card mailed to the Washington area Koreans in October of 1951. Whenever I read this invitation card hung in the Soonwon fellowship hall, I get choked. This is how the first Korean church was founded in Washington and already 50 years passed by. During the last half a century, God did great and amazing things through our church. We must be thankful. One thing for us to remember now is how we will carry out the ministries to become the salt and the light of the world for the next 50 years to come. We are faced with this important Biblical challenge to become "the salt and light of the earth".

Before coming here, I've served several other churches on the east and south regions. I've once ministered in Cornell University church. All churches I've served were the ones struggling to survive. The church members barely went over 100 and with insufficient budget, the minister and the wife sometimes had to mow the church lawn themselves. Because the church was located in a rough neighborhood, we had a lot of difficulty. Once a bullet came into the pastor's house and petty thieves were breaking into the church just about everyday. Many immigrant churches are experiencing this kind of hardship. These were the churches running from morning till night to survive, let alone taking care of church mission. In fact, this is the reality of many immigrant churches.

However, our church is different. God has shown tremendous grace through the 50years of history already. We, the forefathers of faith, are now beyond the survival stage. Now is the time to discern the reasons why God called us all as "the faith community" and to do our best to carry out the church mission the Lord charged us to do. We should become the salt of the earth and the church that lights up this dark world.

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When Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." and called us as a group, the first thing we have to remember is that we should become the salt that does not lose "saltiness". Once the saltiness is gone, "it is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.", recorded in the Bible. We should become salty collectively. We should all become Salty John and Salty Mary.

By the way, do you know how salt gives salty flavor? What we call salt is 61% of Chlorine (Cl) and 39% of Natrium (Na) combined into 100 percent of NaCl. Then why does salt give salty flavor? Simple. The reason why salt is salty is because salt is produced from sea water. Let's look at the reason from a slightly different angle. Why is seawater blue? If you scoop it up with hands, seawater has no color. But if you look at it from a distance, it appears always blue. Why is that?

My interpretation is this. The reason why seawater appears to be blue is because seawater is bruised in deep blue. Take a look at the waves hitting rocks tirelessly. Without ceasing, it crashes, breaks apart, and shatters against those hard rocks. Because of such crashing, breaking, and shattering, seawater became so bruised. That's why seawater looks so bruised and so blue..

I can tell nobody agrees with me so I need to supplement with additional explanation. During my innocent high school days, I've had one-sided love toward a girl who was smart and pretty. She was a youth member of the church I was attending. As you know me now, I was rather shy so I just kept my feelings to myself. Several months passed by without having opportunities to even talk to her to my heart's content. She lived in Dongsam Dong, a village near the seashore of Busan city. One day, I rounded up all my courage and decided to wait for her at a bus stop about the time she was due to come back from school. I don't remember how many hours I waited but waited and waited for long time. I was there until almost 10 o'clock at night but she never came. So, I gave up and walked through an alley to go over to the shore side to sooth my blue heart. I looked at the night sea. Strong waves came rolling in and breaking away, hitting against rocks. I watched waves crashing, breaking, and shattering for a quite a while. Watching the waves crashing into rocks and shattering into pieces, I remembered a short poem, "Waves" by Chungma (meaning blue horse), Yoo Chi Hwan. The content of that poem goes like this.

Waves, what do you want me to do?
Waves, what do you want me to do?
She is like the earth, not even budging
Waves, what do you want me to do?

Then, watching the waves crashing and breaking away rocks, I learned why seawater appears blue. Crashing after crashing, breaking after breaking, and shattering after shattering, it became bruised in deep blue. Those people who know why seawater looks so blue are the people whose hearts have been bruised because of love. Because salt comes from that bruised seawater, salt has salty flavor. It's the same reason why tears taste salty. Only those who have cried because of people they love, knows the taste of tears. Have you ever tasted tears, that somewhat of salty flavor? Those whose hearts have been bruised from their neighbors' pain can become the salt of the earth. Those who have shed tears and have experienced bruised hearts together for other's sorrow can become the salt of the earth.

Last Monday, our church exhorter, Lee Dong Woo, and elder Hahm Doo Chan held a news conference after coming back from a meeting in North Korea that discussed the Comfort Women issues in Asian countries. Listening to exhorter Lee's report and talking to Elder Hahm, I was so proud of and grateful for them. For the former Comfort Women who spent their entire lives in pain and tears, the two have been working so hard to look after their sorrow and suffering deep in their bruised hearts. Their effort to recover the human dignity of these women and to heal their wounds with agonizing love is a good example of what Jesus meant by "You are the salt of the earth."

We, the KUMC, as the faith community have been called to become the salt of the earth. You and I received this calling as the salt of the earth. The church that can embrace neighbors' heart bruised in deep blue and can be in sorrow together, the church that can cry with our neighbors' hurt, all of us in the KUMC were called to be like that.

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Jesus also told us. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Jesus calls us again collectively as "the community of faith" and tells us all together to become the 'light' that brightens up the darkness of the world. For us to be the light to brighten the darkness of the world as the faith community, we should be able to first see the darkness of this world. Light stands out only in dark place. Try lighting up candles in broad daylight. It's of no use. Before the brightness of the Sun, the brightness of candles doesn't do any good. Only in dark and black nights, a stick of candle can light up its surrounding. When people of this world lose their ways in darkness and wonder, we should be like a church to illuminate their ways ahead.

I served in military for 3 years in Pochun county of Kyungkee Province, the place where the Korean rice wine called 'Mahkgullee' and short rib barbecues are famous for. I worked in the fifth unit of the army air force. I am not saying that I was piloting the army helicopter but my job was to clean the aircraft window or to pump the gas before takeoff. One experience I had working in the army air force department. One day, an order came down to do an emergency night flight. The helicopters were supposed to fly to an unknown location for several hours of mission and to come back. Since it was too suddenly arranged, we were not ready for the returning helicopters to land at the base. On top of that, it was a pitch black dark night with the lights on the runway out of order. Because it's dangerous for helicopters to land without guiding lights, an emergency plan had to be taken. A message was sent through a wireless radio that they would be notified of the place to land by turning up headlights of all cars in the base. But the pilots' response back was that there is no need for that and that they know the exact directions and location of the base to return to, and the spot for the helicopters to land. So an air traffic controller asked them how they would locate the base in this darkness and find the place to land. The pilots' answer was brief. That they can figure out their location when they spot the red cross neon sign on top of the bell tower of Pochun Yeedong Presbytarian church right next to our base and can tell where about to land using that as their reference point. Finding the red cross neon sign on top of the church bell tower, the pilots were able to identify the place to return to in the darkness.

You are the light of the world. Yes. We are living in dark world. The power of darkness seems to be controlling this world. But we, the KUMC, should become a church that shines a light in this dark world. Just as the pilots found their way back in the darkness looking at the cross on the church bell tower, our church should become a place where people in despair, pain, hurt, and suffering can look up to as a refuge. So people can think "Yes, let's go to that church. If I go to that church, my helpless, mistreated, and wounded heart, they say, will be comforted and recovered. I'd like to try that church." Our church should be like this. People in darkness and despair can look at the church with hope in their hearts.

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By the way, there is one thing to be careful about and to remember as people who received the mission of the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That is, the order of these two. The Lord called us as the faith community, to become the salt and the light, but there is an order to observe. The salt comes before the light. Let's look at today's scripture verses. The salt is recorded first. Before becoming the light, we should become the salt first. That is the proper order. Among the Christian magazines published in Korea, there is a magazine called 'The Light and the Salt". That magazine title is very unbiblical in my mind. According to the Bible, the Salt comes first. Becoming the light comes after becoming the salt. Therefore, the magazine title should be 'The Salt and the Light', not the other way around.

People like becoming the light better than becoming the salt. Salt, when it's dissolved in water, is invisible, so we don't know salt is dissolved in water. Salt doesn't receive people's attention. When dissolved in water, salt disappears leaving no trace behind. Nobody even recognizes them. On the other hand, the light gathers all people's attention. It has glittering look. Other people seem to recognize me well. That's why many people strive to become the light first rather than the salt first. They want to show themselves off.

But following the order in the Bible, we should become the salt first. That is the correct order. We should be people serving the church quietly with no name, no light, and no one's recognition. Holy people who pray, holding onto a corner column of sanctuary kneeling at the dawn prayer service, such people like the salt should grow in number. The 'Sok' (small group) leaders who pray for the Sok members and visit them, leading the Sok meetings faithfully, should continue to grow in number. How can we, the KUMC be the light of the world? That is a simple task. When the church members who want to become the salt first, fill up our church, it's possible. I sincerely hope to become the church that dutifully carries out the mission of being the salt of the earth first and the light of the world by doing that.

Jesus, who was the origin of the light came to this earth and led us, the children of darkness, to the path to the light. John 8:12 says, When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." This road to light and path to life is the road for all of us to walk on. Holding our hands together, we should walk the road to the light that is fit to His calling for us as "the community of faith". Following the light of the world, Jesus, you and I should never walk in darkness but in the light of the life. Let us become a church like that. In order for that, I hope you'll become the Salt first.