We are looking at being “Salt” and “Light” at the February 6th worship service, Matthew 5: 13-16. One thing I realized is that to be in a community as a Christian you need to be part of that community. In order for us to be able to make a difference in a community we need to be connected to that community. I haven’t done so well at that, yet; though our cat “Rusty” has done a wonderful job.
Recently Joan noticed he was trotting across the road heading toward our house. She went to the front door to see if he wanted to come in, but he wasn’t there. She called him, thinking perhaps he got distracted, but still wanted to come in, but he was no where to be found. She noticed a couple of houses down people carrying suitcases back into their house, probably after a trip. Sometimes Rusty will crawl into other people’s cars when the car door is open, he just loves to explore other people’s houses and cars. So she walked down the block to make sure he hadn’t climbed into their car.
As she continued to call him suddenly he appeared over the fence of the house where people were transporting their things. As they came out Joan explained what she was doing and they commented, “Oh, we know Rusty, he is a frequent visitor.” I should say, they commented he was a frequent “welcome” visitor.
Later that day Joan also saw a man walking a beautifully colored husky. She remarked to the man what a nice looking dog, he thanked her, and just then Rusty showed up with his usual friendliness towards the man and the dog. Rusty thinks at times he is a dog. Joan started to explain to the man why Rusty was so friendly, he said, “Oh, we know Rusty.”
It is amazing it seems our cat knows our community better than we and yet we are the ones with the ability to speak “human” and know how to communicate with welcoming words. Yet Rusty puts us to shame for he is known better in the neighborhood than we.
I need to spend more time in our neighborhood and try to get to know the people who live near us. How can I be salt and light if I don’t know the food I am to season or the room to which I need to bring light?
This morning while washing the car I did have neighbor give me a friendly toot on his horn as he drove by, but there are a lot more people around me to get to know. Perhaps we all could try to get to know another neighbor or two in this next month, I mean it is the month we celebrate love, be it for our spouse, a good friend, or perhaps showing a neighbor that God’s representative cares for them. We may not be as friendly as Rusty, but we can at least seek to be the salt and light God created us to be in one corner of the universe.
Seeking to be more “salty” and “lighty” with you,
Pastor Randy
