Risk and Reward

I’ll be honest with you; I’ve never been a big risk taker.  Whether it is my own insecurities or a fear of looking foolish and failing, I don’t know, but more often than not I play it safe, but looking back, many of the times I did take a risk – the rewards were huge.  I took a risk my senior year of high school and auditioned for the CT all-state band.  They choose 9 tuba players and I was #9.  I took a risk and chose to go to MSU when I didn’t know anyone in the state of MI let alone at MS – but the risk was rewarded with more than 4 great years of learning and growth both in life and in faith.  I also took a risk and got on a bus to go spend a summer in Yellowstone National Park and the reward was many mountain top experiences, both literally and figuratively.

Not all risks I took in life were rewarded with success.  Twice I moved to California thinking that was where I needed to be and both times were a failure, but I did grow because of those experiences so maybe that was the reward.  As I have been thinking this week about risk and reward, what I have realized is that not all risk is rewarded with success but there is never a reward without some risk.  

We take a risk and go out on that first date, which leads to a second and then engagement and marriage.  We take a risk and apply for a job we would love and that risk opens doors of opportunity and growth.  The rewards that come with family and jobs only come by taking risks.  There is risk taking in our participation in sports, art, music, drama and other hobbies but the rewards in those activities is often worth it.  There is also an element of risk when it comes to our faith.  Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to play it safe, the call for all of us is to take some risks.

When Peter, James and John were on the mountain top with Jesus and saw the glory of God transfigure Jesus into dazzling white and when they saw Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus in all of God’s glory, they were not only overcome with awe and fear, but they wanted to play it safe.  Peter said, Lord it is good for us to be here.  If you wish, I will put up three shelters, one of you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.  We aren’t exactly sure what Peter is talking about when he makes this offer, but what we do know is that by making it Peter wants to stay in this moment of glory.

The shelters Peter is talking about might just be a shelter to protect Jesus, Moses and Elijah because they are on the top of a mountain and exposed to the elements but he could also be talking about a type of shelter or tabernacle used during times of worship, either way, Peter wants to do something to stay in this moment.  Peter wants to stay on the mountain top and in God’s glory.  Peter wants to play it safe, but what we see here is that the reward of God’s life and glory only comes with risk.

Just looking at who is meeting with Jesus tells us that reward only come with risk.  Moses and Elijah only found reward by taking risks.  Moses had to risk everything in order to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt.  It was risky for Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for him to let God’s people go.  He could have been cut down each time he went, but Moses took the risk.  It was risky for Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and it was risky to lead the people through the wilderness for a generation, but Moses took that risk.   There were many times the people wanted to play it safe and go back to the comfort of Egypt and Moses had to continually remind them that the reward of the Promised Land was only going to come by taking some risks to get there.

Elijah also knew something about risk and reward.  Elijah took a huge risk when he went up against all the false prophets in the land of Israel and asked God to send fire down upon an altar.  It was a risk to step out in faith and trust God to provide for him again and again, but Elijah took that risk and was rewarded for it.  Moses, Elijah and Jesus all show us that the glory of God they are experiencing only comes by being willing to take a risk and trust God.  None of them played it safe.  None of them opted for the easy way out and a comfortable life, they all took risks and found their reward.  

Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus in the glory of God tell us that risk and reward go hand in hand, but so does the message of God spoken in this moment.  Look at what God says while Peter is making his offer of building shelters.  Matthew 17:5.  While Peter is still speaking – God gets his attention and gives the final word.  God not only once again identifies Jesus as his one and only beloved son, but he gives Peter this command, Listen to him.  If the story were to end here, this command might lead us to ask, what has Jesus just said that is so important?  If we go back to the last words of Jesus, this is what we find.  Matthew 16:24-28.

So the reward of God’s glory comes for those who are willing to deny themselves and take up a cross.  The reward of life comes to those who are willing to take a risk and deny themselves and start living for God first.  The reward of God’s life and glory isn’t for those who play it safe but for those who risk it all.  So when Peter says, let’s build shelters and stay on the mountain – when Peter wants to play it safe – God says, rewards are found by those willing to take a risk.  Risk and reward.  What risk is God asking you to take so you can experience the reward of life?  What risk do we need to take in order to see and experience the fullness of God’s glory?  What risk do we need to take in order to experience the reward of deeper faith and to feel the power of God at work in our lives?

Too often we think that the kind of risk God is asking for is to drop everything and head off into the mission field in Africa or to give away all our possessions and serve the poor or preach in the streets, but what we see from the rest of this story of the Transfiguration is that risk often means just returning to our lives and living with faith and purpose.  As Peter, James and John come down off the mountain, they aren’t told to go off in a new direction and do something out of the ordinary, they simply return to the ministry they left just a few hours or days before.  They return to the rest of the disciples who were trying to continue the work of Jesus.

As Peter, James, John and Jesus come down the mountain they meet a man whose son is possessed by a demon and while Jesus’ disciples had tried to drive out this particular demon, they had not been successful.  Jesus had the boy brought to him and drove out the demon himself and then said to his disciples that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed they will be able to move mountains.  Nothing will be impossible for you, Jesus said.

Sometimes the risk we need to take is to return to our lives and live each moment of each day with faith the size of a mustard seed.  What does it look like for us to live with faith in our families?  How might we reorder or schedules, reprioritize our activities and restructure our lives if we took a risk and put our faith in God first?  It’s risky to change our habits or restructure our finances to make room for God’s presence and power.  It’s risky to say that as a family we are going to pray together, worship together and serve together.  It’s risky to say that as a family we are going to set aside time to talk about what it means to live for God.  Is this a risk God is asking you to take today?  Is this a risk you are willing to discuss when you sit down at the table for lunch or dinner today?

It’s also risky to live with real faith in our jobs.  Denying ourselves and following Jesus might change how we speak to others at work.  Living out our faith with real intentionality might mean that our work ethic will have to change.  Our goals and priorities in our jobs might have to change.  It is risky to bring the fullness of our faith into our workplace but maybe that is the risk God is asking of us today.  What would it look like if we took Jesus to work with us on Monday?  For many, the changes might not be significant, but even the most subtle changes comes with risk.  Is this a risk God is asking us to take this week?

I often think what about what risk God might be asking us to take as a church.  God has blessed us in so many ways during the past 10 years and the temptation is to get comfortable and play it safe.  The temptation for us as a church is to be like Peter and say, hey God, things are going really well in this moment so let’s set up some shelters and just hang out here with you and be happy –but God says, listen to Jesus.  God says, take a risk and deny yourself that comfort and security and give away your life.

What risk do we need to take in order to be faithful and live with faith?  What risk are we taking as a church to connect with God and one another, to serve Christ and our community and grow deeper in our faith?  What risks are we taking to share the grace and love and power of God with others?   62% of our community doesn’t know Jesus – what risks are we taking to reach them and share Jesus with them?  What risks are we taking to support the work of God around the world?  God has not blessed us so we can become comfortable and take it easy, God has blessed us so we can take greater risks and help more people find the rewards of life of faith.

There are risks every one of us can take today to live with more faith.  There are risks we can take as students in school and as members of sports teams and clubs.  There are risks we take at our jobs and in our homes.  There are risks we take here in the life of the church to grow deeper in our faith and to help the church grow wider through the sharing of our faith.  There are risks we can take in our community and world to serve and help and love those around us.  Where has God placed us in this moment and what risk can we take to simply live with faith the size of a mustard seed?

In Mark’s gospel, when the disciples asked Jesus privately why they had not able to drive out the demon, Jesus replied, This kind can come out only by prayer.  Sometimes the greatest risk we can take is to pray.  Prayer which asks God to move in others or in our world is risky because God may want to work by moving in and through us.  Prayer brings us into the presence of God which opens ourselves up to the power of God and God’s presence and power always changes things.  Are we ready for that change?  Are we ready to take that risk?

This coming week begins the 6 week season of Lent which has traditionally been a time to take a risk and grow deeper in our faith.  It is a time to start some new routines in our life and faith and familu and a time to deny ourselves and take up a cross.  I want to encourage us to all think about what risk we might want to take during these next six weeks.  That risk might be to join one of the small groups or Bible Studies that we offer.  The risk might be to join the choir preparing for the Easter Cantata or maybe stepping out to serve our children and youth.  Maybe the risk is to just pray and ask God to start leading your life in new ways and showing you how to follow Jesus in the ever day routine of your life and family.  The risks of this Lenten season can lead to the reward of a deeper faith and the experience of God’s glory as we make our way to Easter.

Risk and reward go hand in hand when it comes to our faith.  We can’t play it safe, we can’t build a shelter and stay on the mountain top – we have to head out into the world with faith the size of a mustard seed and take a risk.  Let’s take a risk now and come together to pray.



Next Steps
Risk and Reward

What risks have you taken in life?
• How did they turn out?  Success?  Failure?

What risks have you been afraid to take?
• What have you missed out on because of it?

Read the story of Jesus Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8 and the words of Jesus leading up to this in Matthew 16:24-28.  Identify the risk and reward in these passages

Where might you be playing it safe?
• Family
• Job
• School
• Church
• Community

What risk is God asking you to take in one or in all of these areas?

Sometimes the greatest risk we can take is to pray.
• What prayer would be the riskiest for you this week?
• Write it out.
• Pray it this week and invite others to pray it with you.

Take a risk and grow your faith during the season of Lent.
• Join a class, study or small group.
• Commit to serving Christ during Lent through ministries in the church or community.
• Adopt spiritual disciplines of reading scripture, prayer, fasting, tithing and service for the next 6 weeks.
• Begin the Lenten journey by worshipping with us on Ash Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

Happy are those who keep God's word

Let me share some Bible trivia with you this morning.

What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 117  

What is the longest chapter in the bible?
Psalm 119  

Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?
Psalm 118  

What verse is in the center of the Bible?
Psalm 118:8  

What does this verse say?
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

If we want to make this verse the center of our faith and lives, then we need to learn what it means to take refuge in God and trust in God and the answer to this can be found in Psalm 119.

Psalm 119 is not only the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses, it was also written in Hebrew as an acrostic, which means that each stanza followed the Hebrew alphabet from Aleph – Taw or as we might say from A-Z.  Each stanza is 8 verses long and each verse begins with a word that begins with the letter of that stanza.  We don’t really see this in our English translations, but look at what part of Psalm 119 looks like in Hebrew.  

So the first stanza is letter aleph  and each of the 8 verses begins with a word that starts with that letter.  Why all of this is important is because the structure of the psalm would have made it easier for people to learn and remember.  People didn’t learn God’s word by reading as much by hearing and repeating it so this type of writing would have helped people remember and learn God’s word.

From beginning to end, Psalm 119 is all about the word of God.  The psalm talks about how good God’s word, how true and holy and perfect and powerful God’s word is.  The psalm shows us that taking refuge in God means trusting in, listening to and living out God’s word.  So the center of God’s word is Psalm 118:8,  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man and the answer of how we take refuge in God is found in the following chapter which is all about how God’s word needs to be the light and foundation of our lives.  Today we are going to look at the first stanza which would have probably been the most familiar to the people and contains for us the key to taking refuge in God – Psalm 119:1-8.

Taking refuge in the Lord means this – keeping God’s word.  Not only will this bring us God’s protection and power, it will also make us happy.  Our lives will be blessed and full of joy if we will keep God’s word.  Keeping God’s word means more than reading it – it means following it and living it out.  In every stanza of this psalm we are told in some way or another to obey God’s word:  walk according to the law, keep God’s statutes, walk in God’s way, fully obey, consider God’s commands, learn God’s law, obey decrees.

God doesn’t want us to just read and listen to it, God wants us to follow it and the reason God wants us to follow isn’t because God is demanding and wants His own way.  God wants us to follow his word because God knows that when we do we will experience the most lasting peace and joy.  When we follow God’s word our lives our better and blessed.  When we keep God’s word we will be happy because we will be living the way God intended us to live.  Look at  Psalm 119:73- Your hands made me and formed me, give me understand to learn your commands.  Because God is the one who made us God knows how we should live and how we can find the greatest joy and peace in life.  If we follow God’s word – we will be happy.

We see this principle at work in the 10 Commandments.  Some people have said that the 10 Commandments are really just boundaries on our behavior that protect the bonds of relationships.  We will have the strongest relationships with God, our family, friends and neighbors when we live within the boundaries God has set for us – or when we keep God’s word.  When we worship God alone – our relationship with God is strengthened and we feel God’s love and power.  When we honor our father and mother we experience the fulfillment of family and the blessing of a long and joyful life.  When we do not murder, lie or steal we experience the power of living in community.

So God doesn’t tell us to keep his word out of some arbitrary desire to have us obey him – he tells us to keep his word because it is these guidelines and decrees that will bring a happy and full life.  The more we follow God’s word, the more we are walking with God which means experiencing God’s presence,  power and live which makes us happy.

This all sounds good and we want to do this, but let’s be honest, we are not able to fully obey God’s word – we will struggle and fail.  God’s word even tells us that we will fail. Look at Romans 3:10-12 and  1 John 1:8   Since we are all going to fail, keeping God’s word and finding the happiness that comes with it must be something more than complete obedience and Psalm 119 tells us that it is.  Look at some of the words God uses in the first 8 verses we read.  .
• Walk according to the law
• Seek him with all their heart
• Consider all your commands
• Learn your righteous laws

What if keeping God’s word had more to do with walking, seeking, considering and learning God’s word and not just obeying it?  What these words reflect is a growth and process in being open to, understanding and then following God’s word.  Happiness and blessing doesn’t come when we have mastered every part of God’s word; it comes as we enter into a life of learning God’s word and learning how to make God’s word our own word and striving to follow it in our lives.  

As we walk with God, God helps us see the truth of His word.  God helps us understand why the word is important, why it is truth and needs to be followed.  Walking with God does mean we will fall behind at times, or even fall down, but God waits for us and helps us  and invites us to get up and keep walking with him.

To seek God means always knowing that there is more to read and learn and experience.  Seeking God means knowing that we haven’t gotten it all down perfectly but that there is more of God for us.  To seek God means knowing that doors of new insight and truth are always available and that these doors lead to need ideas and new ways of living.  To seek God means knowing that God’s word is somehow active and alive and can always speak to our world and to our lives.  To seek God implies that we are on a journey and not that we have arrived at our destination.  So happiness is not found when we get it all right but as we seek out what is right.

The word consider means thinking carefully about something before we make a decision so the word itself implies that we aren’t living it all out yet because we are stilling learning and making decisions on how to make God’s word our own.  To consider God’s word means we are giving God time to speak to our lives and allowing that word to help shape our choices and actions.  The same is true of the word learn.  Learning God’s word means we are still hearing new truth and deciding how, when and where to live out these principles.

While the idea of obeying God’s word is clear throughout this psalm, we need to understand that the happiness and blessing that God promises isn’t found when we perfectly follow God’s word as much as it is found in the process of learning, seeking and considering God’s word for our lives.  The journey of walking with God is what needs to be our focus, not the end result.  It is our life with God and the process of walking with God that brings happiness.  It is the process that brings peace and joy and blessing.

Many people say that the happiest time of their lives has been when they first become a follower of Jesus because everything was new and fresh and they were walking with God and seeking God in all things.  I know this was true for me.  Learning and considering all of God’s ways was a joy and blessing and while I didn’t have it all figured out and I certainly wasn’t obeying it all, keeping God’s word was a joy and it brought real happiness into my life.  

So let me give close with 5 words which will remind us of what it means to keep God’s word and find happiness.  Since Psalm 119 used an acrostic to help people remember, I decide to use something similar.  Happiness is found in keeping God’s word and keeping God’s word means
• Seeking
• Reading
• Questioning
• Praying
• Obeying 

Happiness comes when we begin seeking the truth of God in His word.  Happiness comes in reading God’s word and allowing this living word to speak to our lives.  Reading leads to questions, so questioning God’s word helps us find truth and meaning.  But before we can start living out the word, we need to pray, because on our own we will fail.  On our own, we will not be able to fully obey God’s word so we need to pray for wisdom and strength.  It has never been easy to follow God’s word because it often goes against the ways of the world which means praying for courage and strength is important  And then there is obedience.  We have to get to that place in life where we will step out and follow God’s word in our lives.  

The happiness that comes with keeping God’s word is found by seeking, reading, questioning, praying and finally obeying God’s word.  Did you noticed something about those particular words?  It is part of our alphabet in reverse.  S-R-Q-P-O / O-P-Q-R-S

Maybe just a helpful reminder of what it means to keep God’s word.  It’s not living out the word of God to perfection, it is a journey and process of seeking, reading, questioning, praying and obeying.  This is the life God honors and blesses and this is the life that brings happiness.  Keep God’s word and be happy.


Next Steps
Happy are those who keep God’s word

Bible Trivia
The shortest chapter of the Bible
The longest chapter of the Bible
The center chapter of the Bible
The center verse of the Bible
Write out this verse and memorize it this week:



Keeping God’s word means:
• Seeking the truth of God in God’s word
• Reading the Bible alone and with others
• Questioning God’s word to find answers
• Praying for strength to live out God’s word
• Obeying God’s word and following God’s will

Identify one thing you can do this week to “keep” God’s word.
Seeking
Reading
Questioning
Praying
Obeying

Write out Psalm 119:33-40 and use it as a prayer this week

you are the light of the world

Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world.  In both instances Jesus is telling us that our lives need to be a source of inspiration, hope, joy, peace and life to the people around us.  Our lives need to make a positive difference in the world because both salt and light make a positive difference.  Salt is essential for life and it was and still is used as a preservative and flavoring.  So like salt, we are to help preserve life or keep life good and Godly but we are also to make it pleasant and enjoyable – our presence should add joy and love to the lives of others.  A light brings hope in the darkness and it provides guidance and direction, but light is also essential for life and so again as a light to the world our lives need to bring hope but we also need to bring life to the lives of those around us and to the culture in which we live.

To be salt and light we have to be both present and visible.  The only way we can make a difference and improve our world is if we are willing to stand up and stand out to be seen.  Jesus says this in Matthew 5:16.  It is our good deeds that people need to see and when they do we need to make sure that they aren’t seeing us but God.  We don’t live lives of faith to make ourselves look good; we do it to improve the lives of others and to give glory to God.  While at times our words and actions need to be visible so people can glorify God, there are also times when our words and actions need to be private, anonymous and silent.  One of the important things about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is to make sure we always look at the larger context to understand more fully what Jesus is saying.

For example, here Jesus says that people need to see our good deeds so they can see God but later on in the sermon Jesus says, when you give, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.  There are times when we need to act and work quietly and remain unseen and there are times when we need to allow our deeds and actions to be seen and celebrated so God is visible and the only way we will know when to be seen or unseen, heard or silent is to remain so close to God that God’s will gives shape to our actions.

So if being salt and light in our world means bringing hope, joy, peace and life, what, specifically, does this look like?  What should we be saying and doing?  I went back to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to try and find some answers and here is what I found.  After Jesus called his followers to stand up and be salt and light he did not give them marching orders as to what social or political rules or regulations to support or change – he told them what kind of people to be.  Jesus didn’t make statements about the law - he gave people direction on how to live and how to love.

For example, Jesus didn’t make comments on social laws pertaining to murder, adultery, divorce or entering into contracts with people and he didn’t speak about the regulations surrounding religious practices like prayer, giving and fasting – what Jesus did was tell people that how they lived and the attitudes they had was what really mattered.  So in our divisive world today where social and political issues seem to overwhelm us and sides are being drawn and judgments are being made, what it means to be salt and light is having the right attitude and spirit as we live in this mix and mess.

So regardless of what side of the social or political aisle we are on, here is part of what it means to be salt and light – we need to watch our words and our attitudes toward those with whom we disagree.  If we allow our disagreements with others to fill us with anger and cause us devalue the other side and call them names – we will be condemned – Matthew 5:22.

“Raca” was a term of contempt and “you fool” was saying that those people had no value or worth.  We cannot be salt and light if we are filled with fear and anger.  We cannot be salt and light if our words and rhetoric put others down.  We cannot be salt and light and call people names or make judgments about people’s motives and attitudes.  While it is important to work for whatever cause we feel is important, we lose our ability to bring peace, hope and life if our words, actions and attitudes are filled with judgment.  On all sides of the political spectrum, we provide the most light when we speak words of truth with grace and work for peace and reconciliation.
Jesus shows us that our words and attitudes are important but then he goes on to show us that our actions need to back them up.  Being salt and light means working for reconciliation and peace.  Matthew 5:23-24.  To be salt and light we need to strive to reconcile with one another.  This doesn’t mean we just post more of our views or opinions on social media hoping to convince people that we are right and they are wrong, it means talking with those who may disagree with us.  It means building relationships of mutual love and respect so we can listen and learn how to live in peace with one another.  In a world that only seems to be able to yell at the other side and make assumptions and judgments about others – we are salt and light when we strive for relationship and understanding.

If we keep going through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we see that we are salt and light when we forgive, when are willing to give generously and we are willing to be humble and consider our own problems and sin before we point out the problems and sin of others.  Jesus doesn’t call his followers to go out and make public statements about the issues of the day as much as Jesus calls his people to live in such a way that in a divided and hostile world his followers would be seen as being holy.  Jesus wants us to sound and look different.  This is the kind of salt and light our world still needs.

It doesn’t matter what our views are, what matters is how we share them, how we live with grace and peace and how we strive to love and care for others.  We can hold a variety of political, social and economic views but how we share those views matters and how we see those with whom we disagree matters.  What is in our heart is what matters and a heart of love is the salt and light the world needs.

Since today is Scout Sunday, let me use the scout law as an example of how we can be salt and light today.  The scout law says: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Let me just pull out half of those characters for us to consider:
courteous, friendly, kind, cheerful, reverent.
Think how different our world would be right now if we all embraced these values and allowed these characteristics to shape our thoughts, words and deeds.  If we were courteous and friendly with those we meet and if we were kind and cheerful in our words spoken and shared on social media our world would be different.  We would look different.  What a light we would be if we were truly reverent or Godly in our attitude toward one another.  God finds value and worth in all people and God treats people with dignity and respect and we need to have those same eyes and that same heart when it comes to how we view others.  We cannot allow our political views to shape our hearts when it comes to seeing the value and worth of those on the other side.  We cannot allow the divisive and destructive culture in which we live to shape our words and actions because if we do we lose our saltiness and our light goes out.

Let me close with an example of what this salt and light looks like today.  On the weekend of the inauguration there were thousands or people in DC who held very different social and political views and much of what we saw in the media was divisive – crowds shouting at one another and making judgments about the other side.  On Monday morning, a group of men from Texas, in town for the inauguration, stopped to eat at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC.  While the restaurant’s clientele leans left, these men were treated with respect and seated at a table.

Their waitress had just taken part in the women’s march and said she was a little apprehensive about serving the men when she found out they were in town for the inauguration.  While she said her prejudices made her reluctant – she didn’t refuse them service.  She didn’t ask for them to be seated at another table or go to another restaurant - she served them and the group talked and shared.

One of the men was a dentist who commented about the beautiful smile that the woman had. They were courteous, kind, friendly, cheerful and reverent.  After the men left, the waitress picked up the bill and found they had left her a $450 tip on a $72 bill with a message that said,
We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people.

The woman served these men with dignity and the men offered respect.  They were courteous and kind.  Cheerful and helpful.  On both sides, this is the kind of salt and light our world needs.  Her act of service and kindness is the salt that will preserve and heal our nation and their words of thanks and gift of generosity is the light that brings us hope that our community and nation can be a better place for everyone.

The days to come are not going to be easy.  We have heard that the political battles we see now may just be the beginning, so today we need to take seriously Jesus call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  How we live and speak and how we think of and treat others does matter.  Be the salt that preserves and the light that brings hope.  If we will do this, we will stand out, we will be different, holy, and we will bring glory to God and life to the world.

A member of Faith Church shared this TED talk with me since it relates well to being salt and light in our world today.  I would encourage you to take the time to watch and listen.


Next Steps
You are the Light of the world

1. Read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.  List all the specific ways Jesus shows us how to be salt and light.

2. Choose one area from above to focus on this week.  What specifically will you do to make a difference?

3. Evaluate your overall attitudes – words – actions.  In which area do you need to reflect more of God’s light and love?  What changes can you make this week?  

4. Focus this week on being: courteous, friendly, kind, cheerful and reverent.  Identify one activity where you can add this kind of salt to your life.

5. Look for opportunities to build a stronger relationship with someone with whom you disagree.  How can your conversations bring peace and not division?

6. Look for positive and inspiring stories to share with others.  Be a voice of hope and peace when it comes to posts on social media.  Think twice before liking or sharing a comment to make sure it brings light and not darkness into the world.


Prayer for the week:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:  where there is hatred, let me sow love;  where there is injury, pardon;  where there is doubt, faith;  where there is despair, hope;  where there is darkness, light;  where there is sadness, joy. 
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive,  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,  and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen.     
(St. Francis of Asis)