“What Just Happened?” February 26, 2017 Transfiguration A sermon based on Ex. 24:12-18, Matt. 17:1-9. Mono Mills United Church

God said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for instruction." So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. To the elders he said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them." Then Moses went up on the mountain, and it was covered in cloud. The glory of God settled on Mount Sinai, and cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day God called to Moses out of the cloud. The appearance of God’s glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain, in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, went up on the mountain, and was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
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Jesus took with him Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." When they looked up, no one was there except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

TRANSFIGURATION

The path narrows, takes a forgotten turn as it disappears over a wooded hill
and into a deeper forest. We travel this road by heart.
The twisted trees, untended and overgrown, obscure our view,
grasp at us as we pass.
We will be wearied by the persistent wind and the gritty light,
wishing for some better company than our own twisted and untended selves.
Though some great-winged creature lurks at the edges of our sight,
still we shall push on. What is good in us will keep us from turning back.
This journey will try us, teach us, take us the long way home.

Today there is time for one more 'Alleluia' before we enter these Lenten lands.
Perhaps it will be when a crocus purples the morning,
or an early peeper rises from the mud to sing us a sign,
or when we look up to see our reflection in another pair of eyes,
then step back to marvel at that shining face which bids us go.
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Near the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, after the long and wearying journey to Mount Doom, almost dying more than once along the way, often lost and dispirited, Sam tells Frodo he understands why they go on, through the mires and swamps, the dead lands – He says “because there is still some good in the world, something worth holding onto.” So together they climb to the very heart of Mount Doom, and there the One Ring of power finally finds its way into the fires and is destroyed. As they lie on a huge boulder poking up out of swirling lava waiting for death, Frodo says to Sam, “I’m glad you’re here with me, Sam, here at the end of all things.

But they were not at the end, as it turned out. They went back down the mountain and had to go on living in the world of the Shire. There is no question that their particular experience was horrendous to body and soul, and they were forever changed by it. Sam is able to make the adjustment, Frodo never does. I think partly because after all they have been through, to call it a’transcendent moment’ might not fit. And yet it was.

Have you ever experienced a transcendent moment, when time and reality are suspended, and you see and know everything, become a part of everything. I am going to describe a personal experience - and this is a big risk, because ever I am afraid to speak of it, other than with trusted people. Five years ago, I was awakened by a presence - the only way I can describe it - and felt rather than heard ‘Don’t be afraid.’ In a flash, the whole of the universe, the connection of everything became real. I was nothing more than a tiny mote - in fact, there was no “I” any more at all. For several days I was convinced I was losing my mind, and got on the computer to  research mental illness. I racked my brains for someone to whom I could talk in safety, finally going to a friend who is both an ordained Methodist and a Buddhist priest. He understood my reluctance to talk, since he noted many Buddhists spend their whole lives trying to have a transcendent experience, and it never happens. He left me with these words: “Don’t try to hold on to it, don’t try to grasp it, don’t try to stay in that place or recreate the experience. Hold it lightly.”

To the Celtic peoples, thin places are incredibly real. One has to differentiate between a physical perspective and a spiritual one. In simple terms a ‘thin place’ is a place where the veil between this world and the Other world is thin - and the two can meet. This meaning assumes the perceiver senses the existence of a world beyond what we know through our five senses.

Truth abides in thin places; naked, raw, hard to face truth. Yet the comfort, safety and strength to face that truth also abides there. Thin places captivate our imagination, yet diminish our existence. We become very small, yet we gain connection and become part of something larger than we can perceive. The human spirit is awakened and will grow if the body and mind allow it. Simply put, a thin place is a place where one experiences that mysterious power.

Moses goes up a mountain to speak to God, and if you read further on in Exodus, he returns with his face shining like the sun. And after that experience he covers his face with a veil, removing it only in those times when he goes alone before God.

Jesus and his three closest friends go up the highest mountain in the area. They stop near the summit, and sit down for a rest. The three begin to nod off, but then notice Jesus’ face radiating light; his clothes become glistening white. Could this have been what the Israelites saw when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Sinai and his face shone so that he had to cover it?

In both cases, I believe, Moses and Jesus have a transcendent experience which changes them right at the very heart of their spiritual core - and the experience is so profound it shines out of them. So do the three disciples, although they don’t quite know it yet.

The disciples had seen this glorious event in dumbstruck silence. Dear impulsive Peter wanted to remain *in* this mountain-top experience and stop the clock. He had seen “Paree”; he didn't want to return to the farm. When he found his voice, he said to Jesus, "Master, it's a good thing that we are here; let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Let’s stay here, where we've seen how glorious life can be. Let's preserve this glorious moment and not worry about going back from this light."

Jesus, you will note, tells them not even to talk about it when they get back down the mountain. He had no words himself, and likely Peter’s stammering sounded like gibberish. It was a transforming experience which probably left him speechless. It might even have caused him to doubt his sanity a little. While he believed in the power of God, this was the real thing.

My friend Anna Murdock is a lay person in the United Methodist Church who finds her voice through writing and leading worship workshops.  “I think this is true. There are no words to give name to such a time when the Divine Veil has been lifted in one’s presence. The radiance, the glory, God’s Presence and our deep desire to put a time such as this into immediate words all cause some stammering on our part - even confusion as to what has taken place.” Anna says “I feel as if I have the word “PETER” written across my forehead, as my heart wants to blurt out words that will only prove themselves to be a jumbled-up mess. It is then that a holy finger presses against my lips and we hear “Shhhh - this is my son, my chosen. Listen to him.” and the Divine Veil is lifted if only for a moment.”

And yet, Jesus still comes to the others and says “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” And then he says “Don’t speak to anyone about this vision, until the Son of Man returns.”

Moses, having been to one of those thin places and encountering the radiant presence of God, then has to come back down and try to explain to the Israelites. How mundane, to return from communing with God to explaining to this “stubborn and stiff-necked people” what God’s intent was. What a drag!

So Jesus and the three come back down with their eyes bugging out, Peter gabbling away, and Jesus not really listening, probably wanting some quiet and reflective time; they get to the bottom of the mountain, find a crowd waiting. There’s a man with an epileptic son, who says he asked the other disciples to heal his son, but they could not. And Jesus says probably one of the most human things which ever came out his mouth, something like “Does it never end? How long do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy to me.” Can you hear the utter exasperation in his voice? After such a transcendent mountaintop experience, isn’t this the last thing one would want to deal with? I can almost guarantee Jesus is still mentally and spiritually back there. How mundane and small it must have seemed. I can see him asking himself “Is this all there is? Is this what it’s about?” Was this experience to become only a dimly remembered high moment in a never-ending sea of need? Because after awhile the memory still is real, but distorted and faded – all we know is that somehow we are irrevocably changed..

Rev. Thomas Hall says that relating to this experience is most difficult, because it could never be repeated. Some Christians go to the Bible stories to try to replicate what they read. In the process, the Scriptures are turned into rigid formulae that dictate what our experiences can be. We reduce the stories to rules, truths, and doctrines; and when we think we've got the truth we become intolerant of others who understand the same truth in a different way. Yet even the gospel writers place different interpretations on the Transfiguration experience. Mark sees it as a mountain top experience, Matthew sees it as a vision, Luke as a prayer meeting.

So we let the experience of transfiguration stand as it is - one brief moment of clarity and revelation - a stepping into a thin place; we catch a glimpse of radiant and transcendent glory. Then we come back to earth, to the people around us who hurt and need healing, to the ordinary and everyday, things which look drab and mundane, colorless and unexciting. The trick is to look at those ordinary, everyday things, remove the veil, and see the glory in them as well.

It’s here that I want to lead in to the next three weeks of sermons. Almost right before this experience, Jesus had been asked how we should pray, and he responded with a prayer which we now call the Lord’s Prayer. On the surface, it seems simply enough - and yet it is a profound call to living, down here at the bottom of the mountain - and to find a transforming experience within it. It seems significant that Jesus offers this prayer to them, then has a transforming experience himself - and then all of them, Jesus included, have to go back to the real world, and live that prayer.

To be People of the Way, to be willing to be transformed, and then to carry on with the work of the church in a new way, not holding on, is our calling as we begin the walk of Lent.

Amen.


Sources:

1. Poem “Transfiguration”, by Rev. Tim Haut, Deep River Pastoral Charge, 2011.

2. Sermon “A Mountaintop Experience”, by Dr. David Rogne, retired pastor United Methodist Church USA

3. Sermon “Prayer Mountain” by Rev. Thomas Hall, Mayflower UCC, Billings, MT.

"Choose Life!" Based on Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-37 Mono Mills United Churchm February 12, 2017

Deuteronomy
I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love God, to walk in obedience to God, and to keep the commandments; then you will live and increase, and God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love, listen, and hold fast to God. For God is your life, and will give you many years in the land promised to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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Matthew
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ (idiot) is answerable to the court. Anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

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Yesterday as I sat thinking about pulling the different parts of this sermon together, one of the Harry Potter movies, the “Half-Blood Prince” came to mind. At the end of the movie the headmaster of Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Dumbledore, is killed. But it’s more than just killed - he willingly offers himself, in order to save a student from becoming a murderer.  The whole of this even has been anticipated, and Professor Dumbledore knows he will die, and arranges who will do it so the young man is saved. There above the school, in the sky, is the face of the Dark Lord, gloating over the death. One by one, students and teachers raise their wands, light coming from the tip of each, until the shadows of the Dark Lord are forced to retreat, and the light wins.

Another favourite movie is called “Whale Rider”. This is a New Zealand movie, about a Maori village where the old ways are dying. The village leader is busy training his sons to step in. He has a daughter, but he refuses to see that she might be called into that role. He believes strongly in the traditional ways and traditional roles, and doesn’t wish to look beyond that. Until one day, his daughter rides a beached whale back into the ocean, and almost loses her life. Maori folklore says that the saviour of the people will be the one who rides the whale. This is a moving story of a village caught between two cultures and two ways of living - and a people dying - until a twelve-year-old girl shows them how to choose to live.

In the reading from Deuteronomy today, Moses is giving his final speech to the people of Israel. Shortly after he speaks these words, he will die. Moses knows he will not see the land promised by God, but will die before they set foot over the border. He says to the people  “Today I have set before you blessings and curses, life and death. Choose life!

The Israelite people were on the boundary of the Promised Land. They had been brought on a long wilderness journey, out of slavery in Egypt, and Moses had not only led but provided for them miraculously there, disciplined the unfaithful ones who wanted to return to Egypt, taught the people God’s will and God’s ways, repeated the ancient promise of the new land, and brought them to the boundary.

They are at the boundary. They are leaving the wilderness, and will enter a new land under their new leader, Joshua. They will be tempted by things they cannot anticipate. They are excited that their journey is at an end, but anxious about what it will really be like.

And when they cross over and arrive in the Promised Land, the people are at yet another boundary. They have been conquered by the Babylonians, their leading citizens taken, no land, no temple. Are they still God’s people? Will they ever go home? Can they trust God? They hear the message again, at this new boundary. The times have changed, but the message does not: “Choose life.”

Perhaps it’s fair to say people are always at some kind of a boundary and always need to make choices - for life or death.

A colleague of mine, Rev. Paula Morse, who recently passed away, said in her sermon - “God’s promises! Even when it seems you must wait and wait, trust that God is with you in your waiting. And even that is a blessing, my people! God is with you, and that is blessing enough. So choose God. Choose life!”

Today I decided to include the reading from Matthew, continuing the Sermon on the Mount. Rev. Stew Clarke in Nova Scotia suggested looking for Jesus’ sense of humour in this text. If you listen and look closely, and put this piece of writing into its context, you will find the humanness that we all are.
Picture Jesus, on this particular day sitting with the disciples as they begin to expound to one
another about the theology of ‘at least I am better than that guy’. We all do that, don’t we? Well, there they are sitting with their morning cuppa and bread. One nudges another as they see a man in the crowd moving in on a young woman. “Look,” he whispers loud enough to be heard by several, “those two will be grinding corn together before this night is over.” “What a fool she is
if she lets him in.” There are several not so lovely chuckles that ensue. “Doesn’t he already have a wife?” “Yes!” “He’s had several.” “Chucks them aside when they can’t seem to satisfy his appetites.” “Has several brats running about looking like starvelings.” “It is a pity.” “I bet Jesus will bring out the fire and brimstone for this morning’s teaching.”

So Jesus, listening in, decides to give a short lecture - a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth."You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder'; and "whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' I say that if you are angry with a brother or
sister, you will be liable to judgment; if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, "Idiot,” “Raka” you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Can you hear the sound of breath being sucked in? Can you see reddening faces? Then he goes on to the subject of divorce. "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, (in the original Greek, prostitution) causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”

The women hear and understand that Jesus knows their plight. A woman can be stoned to death for such an offence, but a man would not even be held accountable in practice. A man, in Jesus’ time, could have several wives, either individually or at the same time. A man could become ‘one flesh’ – with any number of women. A woman could only become ‘one flesh’ with one man. A woman was a piece of property owned by her husband, with no rights. As Jesus speaks of removing a straying eye, the men hear that they need to divorce not wives, but the very straying of their eyes. Even among the disciples, maybe there was one. It’s a given that Jewish men of the age of the disciples would be married.  Jesus looks and smiles, knowing that these men too are only human. And so it goes, on this morning. The brimstone bit is tied to both personal accountability and Jesus’ acknowledgement that even his closest followers are human, fallible, and imperfect. He uses the word “judgment” - but not the way we think of it. Usage has changed over time. In the Hebrew language and culture, a judge was someone who righted wrongs - not by physical or moral punishment, but by wisdom and love.

It seems to me that Jesus is echoing Moses, pointing out that every single day, choices of death or life are set before us. He isn’t saying that if you divorce, or murder, you’re going to be sent to hell and God will abandon you. He is saying it goes deeper than those things, to the wagging of tongues and making judgments of others instead of reflecting on ourselves. He is pointing out what it means to choose abundant life, and to celebrate that life. He says don’t swear an oath on the throne, or the earth, or your sainted mother, or anything else - he’s saying you have the choice set before you. You have the power to choose, yes or no - choose life.

What about today’s world? The world of relationships, of politics, of daily dilemmas. Why is the rate of divorce, abuse, child prostitution so high? Why are people elected to represent the best interests of their country, and then become dictators? How can we live well, and make choices for life, in the world of today? And how can we live out those choices in such a way as to make a difference?

There are so many examples which could be listed, but I will take one from today’s world. Paula Morse writes in her sermon “I look at Egypt and rejoice with them. This is their response to the teaching of Jesus. This predominantly Muslim country has heard the voice of Jesus and responded in a non-violent, spiritual way.” Joining with the minority Christian brothers and sisters, they have brought low the mighty, and begun the process of exalting the lowly. They have made a choice for life.”

The people following Moses were given the choice. Moses is clear that the choice is theirs. Jesus points out to his followers that the law was meant to guide the people into choosing life. The people in the Harry Potter stories had set before them blessings and curses, death and life. Some chose the death of the soul, others chose clearly - without saying a word - life. The Maori people of in the story had a choice of death or life, and were able to see, finally - the choice for life.

We have to remember that God understands far more than we do, and that God wishes always abundant life for us. We have the choices. God will go to almost any lengths to help us make the right choice, but God will not choose for us and make us do something. God has given us brains, hearts, and wills. God has set before us this day, and every day, blessings and curses, death and life. The choice is ours. May it be so.


Sources:
1. “Thanks for Grace” a sermon by Rev. Paula Morse, Barefoot Pastor of Lovell and Deaver in the almost wilds of Wyoming. Paula died in 2016n but her memory is with many.

"Salt and Light" A sermon based on Matthew 5:13-16

 “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. People don’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see you clearly and glorify the Spirit which infuses you.”

I love to cook when I have time, and because of that I tend to buy all kinds of salt to use depending on the dish. We saw some of those this morning. We tend to think of salt as just white stuff – if we stretch a little we might use the ‘fleur de sel’, the first harvest of salt which is not the heavy crystals, but lighter and flakier. My favourite cooking salt is the oregano salt from Portugal – light fleur de sel mixed with chopped oregano. My son now uses only that for cooking.

Have you ever tried cooking without salt? Yes, some have, some must for health reasons – but then we have to stretch ourselves to find other ways to flavour things. Somehow, though, the food remains bland. Something is missing.

And in fact salt can lose its saltiness. The white table salt is simple sodium chloride, which remains salty. But this pink rock salt from the Himalayas is sodium chloride and other compounds. It’s a cruder salt, so to speak, containing not only sodium chloride but other substances as well. So if it were exposed to condensation, for example, the sodium chloride would be removed, and the remainder would not be salty at all.

The reading this morning is a continuation of the “Sermon on the Mount”. In fact, the whole sermon is about three and a half chapters. Which is why we get it in pieces, week by week – there’s just too much in the whole of the teaching to get into one Sunday. Jesus is teaching the people who followed him, who came to listen to the teaching and to learn. So he’s speaking directly to those followers; if they follow him, if they follow his way, then part of the calling is to take that ‘flavour’ into the relationships they have with others. It isn’t a suggestion to proselytise or convert others, it’s a direction for how to live.

Plus - the "you" he spoke to were the disciples who had just heard him, "Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you because of me." Remembering who is in the audience throws a particular light upon the message we're hearing. The first six “beatitudes” were in the third person  - ‘blessed are they’, ‘blessed are those who’; he only made it personal when he came to this one – blessed are you who suffer for my sake. Then goeson to talk about salt and light. He is saying that the message is so provocative that those who truly are committed to compassion and love may be ridiculed and persecuted, but they will have made a difference,  and there's no way to undo the influence they've had.

It’s important to recognise that Jesus often makes references which the listeners of his time would know right away. Jesus talks about light, and notes that people don’t enter the house, light a lamp, and then immediately cover it so they cannot see. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to us, because our lights are mostly electric. To his listeners, who might have only one light in a house, given their poverty, it makes all kinds of sense. He speaks of a city on a hill. About five miles from Nazareth was the city of Sepphoris, a city built on a hill. It was a multi-cultural city attracting people from all over the Middle Eastern world. Every religion would be represented, every culture, every language. Joseph, and possibly Jesus, would have worked there as carpenters. Sepphoris was big enough and high enough that the light could be seen for miles around. Again Jesus says this is how his listeners, those who follow him need to be – light like that from a city on a hill, a beacon for others around.

Tertullian, an early Christian author, wrote in the late second century ‘Apologeticus’, Chapter 50, addressing Constantine: "No cruelty of yours, though each were to exceed the last in its exquisite refinement, profits you in the least; but forms rather an attraction to our sect. We spring up in greater numbers as often as we are mown down by you: the blood of the Christians is a source of new life"  Eventually, Constantine understood that message and stopped the persecutions. His tolerance allowed Christianity to become mainstream. Once it became mainstream, and was organised into denominations, the saltiness of the faith was diluted, especially over the centuries, until the concept of “our church” has taken precedence over Jesus’ teaching.

The absolute *last* thing Jesus was talking about in the Sermon on the Mount was a mainstream faith. An anonymous Christian, in writing to a pagan named Diognetus, said: "Christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of the human race by country or language or customs … they do not follow an eccentric manner of life." The early Christians were people who seemed ordinary; but they became salt and light in a world described as ‘dark’, under Roman oppression and oppression from their own religious leaders.

Jesus teachings make sense to people who live in a communal culture. Our individualism values independence, personal achievement and success; it thrives on competition, sometimes at any cost. Individual rights take precedence over group rights. A communal culture values family or community over individual rights, focuses on unity, and cooperation. As people who value individualism, we might interpret Jesus' words about salt and light as calls to us as individuals. But it is extremely important to note that Jesus' hearers more likely interpreted this as a light-bearing, salty community.

Jesus addressed a group of followers, a community. It was a call to actively bring about God’s realm right in their midst. It had to be done as a community, together. One grain of salt doesn't flavour anything, and one light, even if it's well-placed, won't make the city on the hill visible in the dark. Living and following in loving community was their witness.

Mary McGlone, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in the US writes: “No matter our cultural background, we need to be aware that Jesus invites us into a communal movement. He doesn't offer a methodology for individual salvation any more than we can light the world by ourselves. ………. (followers) enlighten the world because in them the hungry are fed, the homeless are taken in and everybody watches out for one another. They won't dilute their message, and they don't worry about what it costs because they don't believe they can afford to live in the darkness of another kind of world.”

So what does it mean to be a ‘salty’ follower of Jesus, one who shines light everywhere? 

Someone who will speak for what is right and just, not just stand idly by; not afraid to speak out against those who oppress or discriminate against others – even if it means personal risk, loss of a job, or criticism, or even attack. Someone who is compassionate toward those who suffer, who shows kindness to all, who provides a beacon of light in a dark place.

Jesus doesn’t *call*, in this part of his sermon – he says *to be* full of zest and flavor; to flavour the world with spirit and love. That’s part of how we have watered down our commitment as disciples. Jesus does not call, he says “Be”. Because we believe we cannot afford to live in the darkness of another kind of world. It is in our hands, beginning in our community  - spicing and lighting the world. May it be so.

Sources:

1.      “Salt and Light”, a sermon based on Matthew 5:13-20 by Fran Ota, 2014.

2.      Zesty Christians a sermon based on Matthew 5:13-20 by Rev. Frank Schaefer

3.      Essay by Mary M. McGlone, Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She is currently writing the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the U.S.