The Beauty of Salvation (10)
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5.13-16
Jesus’ metaphors are always so striking, so full of sensation and latent power. Salt can improve flavor and defer decay. Light fills dark spaces and warms cold souls. Salt and light are like good works that bring the goodness of salvation to a dark and unsavory world.
But just because these images are so familiar, we may fail to appreciate both the feeling of these metaphors—taste, warmth—and thus the power of them to accomplish change. The pronouns here are plural—“you all”. The power of good works expressed as a community compounds the power of those works as expressed by individuals. Together our lives as salt and light can bring glory to God in our community.
David Bentley Hart invites us to consider a further metaphor of a church’s witness, that of music: “The church is a real unfolding of Christ’s presence, a melismatic extension (so to speak) of the theme he imparts, an epiktasis toward the fullness of his form; but while the church’s every utterance, gift, or response, every act of worship, charity, or art (however poor) may belong to the fullness of that music, a certain accompanying discord—an apostasy from the form of Christ—undeniably burdens each hour. Still, the music remains audible.”
Music employs melisma when it stretches a single word or syllable over several notes. That is, we don’t need much music, but we need some. And epiktasis means something like progress or unfolding or even improvement. Our music gets better the more we sing and play it. And how do we do that? Through our worship, good works, love for our neighbors, even our art. In other words, through our total witness as a community to our surrounding community. And though none of these chords and songs will be perfect—we recall that Chesterton wrote that anything worth doing is worth doing poorly—they must continue. We must persevere at breaking out in song and music wherever we can in our communities, bringing the Good News of Jesus in ways that reach the ears and souls of those around us with a distinct and consistent—albeit imperfect—melody of the love of Jesus.
Being disciples and making disciples
When you hear the word, “disciples”, what comes to mind? We need to have a clear picture of discipleship before we start trying to make disciples. This is Dr. Mike McQueen’s starting-point for disciple-making. Listen in to my conversations with Mike by clicking the tool bar or the link at the top of this issue of Pastor to Pastor.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we begin a new series on the Church—what it is and why we need it.. Our Read Moore podcast continues excerpts from our booklet, If Men Will Pray. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we begin a series looking at the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our Scriptorium column we focus on Matthew 4.1-11, the temptation of Jesus. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: Speaking of music, you can learn to sing all the psalms by using The Ailbe Psalter as part of your daily devotions. Order your copy by clicking here. Our newest free PDF book can help you learn to make the most of your time as a sweet melody of the Lord. Order your free copy of The Disciplined Life by clicking here.
Resources for Shepherds: Ailbe Brother Stuart Kellogg reviews an important book about ten books that have been too importantover the past two centuries. It’s not too late to get involved with Ailbe Brother Rusty Rabon’s online Advent calendar. For more information and a link, click here.
From the Celtic Revival
Coemgen (498-618)
[T]his is one of the four chief pilgrimages of Erin henceforth; to wit, the Cave of Patrick in Ulster, Croagh Patrick in Connaught, Inis ne m-Béo (the Lake of the Living) in Munster, and Glendalough in Leinster, where is Coemgen’s church.
– The Monk Solomon, Life of Coemgen (III)
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
– Romans 15.4
Christians in the ancient world could not read about Church history. There were no books, and most of those early believers were barely literate at any rate.
But they harbored a deep appreciation for those saints and places which had been instrumental in their coming to faith in Jesus. So, since they couldn’t read about the history of Patrick and Coemgen and others, they did the next best thing.
They re-lived it by going on pilgrimage.
Their desire to preserve the memories of great saints and places should encourage us to a greater appreciation of church history. We have much to learn and much of comfort to gain from our forebears in the faith.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
What was the Celtic Revival? One of the greatest and most enduring revivals in the history of the Christian movement. Also, one of the least remembered. Would you like to learn more about this four-centuries-long period? Our free PDF book, The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction, provides a concise overview, from Patrick to the Synod of Whitby and beyond.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
