sermon on the mount

salt, light and holiness

    ¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the 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.

   ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people 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. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 
Matthew 5:13-16

"Everyone thinks of changing humanity, and no one thinks of changing himself."
Leo Tolstoy

At our Bible study last night we talked about Jesus' command to His disciples to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And what holiness means.

ho·ly

adjective

1. specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.

2. dedicated or devoted to the service of god, the church, or religion: a holy man.

3. saintly; godly; pious; devout: a holy life.

4.having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.

5. entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred: a holy relic.

6. religious: holy rites.

7. inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress: The director, when angry, is a holy terror

holy
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	religious, sacred
Synonyms:	consecrated, dedicated, devoted

Growing up Catholic, I can't shake that feeling that holy means perfect...God is perfect and holy and we are to be holy because He is Holy (1 Peter 1:16). Saints get canonized for sainthood because of their piety and holiness...but aren't we all, I mean the Body of Christ, His church, called saints? I know that I am not perfect, nor anywhere near up to the task. Just yesterday I had to eat crow and go apologize for something wrong that I did. I can try to be holy, but that lasts about a day...if we define holiness as perfectly good. What if the proper definition is set apart or consecrated or devoted? Were God's chosen people, the Israelites, perfect? Obviously not, but they were different, special, set apart. Not because they were cooler, but because they followed a different path and chose to do things God's way, to honour God with the way they lived their life. How do I reflect that in my daily life here in the Czech Republic? Am I just trying to be good, or am I truly keeping holy the things God has called holy? And I can't believe this means that everyone who wants to follow God must go live in a monastery. Jesus said we are salt. Salt is a preservative...it keeps meat from spoiling...but it must first be rubbed into the meat to have any effect. Salt is a flavour enhancer. But it does no good if it isn't sprinkled on the food. It serves no purpose in its shaker. It must be poured out to be useful. Just like the light. It must first be lit and then put on a lampstand for all to see.

During my study of this subject I happened upon this...
"This is the definition of G-d's Holiness: He is not bound by the world, yet he fills the entire world with no place void of his presence - even the lowliest places. Never the less, he is not affected by the world. All that we do can not cause a change in G-d, to G-d, the world is nothing and has no effect upon Him. Yet He is immediately present in every aspect of the world in a manner that He can not be separated from the world.
This is our holiness also.
As Jews, we must occupy ourselves in the betterment of the world through carrying out His directives. This means living in this world, marrying, procreating, working and at the same time not to be affected by the daily worldly occurrences.
That is the holiness of the Jew in this world. We do not separate ourselves from the world! We must involve ourselves in the betterment of the world. Yet through this entanglement in the mundane we will see the hand of G-d effecting the changes that we strive to achieve."
 Avi Lazerson