One of the critical pieces of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is the idea of purposeful living. Jesus’ ethical teaching is more than a simple intellectual framework, even though generations of the church have reflected Jesus’ teaching as if that is all it was. The modern church, in some of its iterations has lost its urgency to live salty and lighted filled lives. Jesus’ teaching is transformative for people’s lives. It reframes and restores our relationship with God and our relationships with our neighbors. This transformed life, however, is intended to be liberated from the shackles of an individualized, overly spiritualized inertia. The transformed life that Jesus brings is meant to propel us out into the world. We are to live intentional lives that reflect the love, grace, and mercy of God to a world in need.

The Gospel call to live salty and lit lives today comes to us in a particularly fraught time. In a time when the effects of hate and division are increasingly intractable, doubling down on our call to live purposefully is critical.