Sunday Link – The Surprising Light of God’s Kindness – Matthew 5:13-16 | SL20260208

SERMON

The Surprising Light of God’s Kindness    

Matthew 5:13-16 (NRSVUE)   

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?  It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.  

“You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory  to your Father in heaven.”  

Introduction: The Unexpected Gift of Kindness  

Have you ever had someone surprise you with a small act of kindness that completely changed your day?  Maybe a stranger paid for your coffee when you forgot your wallet.  Maybe a friend showed up on your doorstep just when you needed company.  

I once experienced it when… I saw a WhatsApp notification of a photo from my sister … I wasn’t sure what it was about … but you can imagine how surprised (pleasantly) I was when I saw that the “photo” was actually a screen shot of a $5,000 deposit into my bank account. 

It wasn’t grand.  It didn’t make headlines.  But it carried weight.  It felt like the world had brightened, even if only for a moment.  

Kindness does that.  It opens a small window into another reality — a glimpse of God’s goodness shining through ordinary life.  Let’s talk about the surprising light of God’s kindness.  

The Ripple Effect of Kindness   

There’s a day on the calendar for celebrating this very thing: Random Acts of Kindness Day, observed every February 17.   Its origins are traced back to a Californian writer Anne Herbert.  In 1982, she scribbled a phrase on a placemat that would eventually circle the globe: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” 

Those few words sparked a movement and even inspired a children’s book years later.  In 1995, a foundation was established to encourage Random Acts of Kindness activists to spread kindness wherever they go.  

Science now confirms what faith has long proclaimed: kindness is powerful.  It’s good for the world and good for our souls.  When we practice kindness, something happens in our very bodies.  Hormones like oxytocin and endorphins are released — we feel happier, calmer, healthier.  Stress decreases; even blood pressure drops.  People who practice kindness regularly tend to live longer, healthier lives.  

It’s as though our Creator built our bodies and our souls to thrive on love.  So, if kindness is so beneficial — physically, emotionally, spiritually — why limit it to random, occasional acts?  

God has always known what the research is only now catching up to: that kindness is not just a good habit; it’s a way of being.  It’s a reflection of who God is.  

And nowhere is this truth clearer than in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.  

The Sermon on the Mount: Blessing Before Command  

The verses we heard today come from what we call Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount — one of the most beloved and yet most challenging passages in Scripture.  

Before Jesus ever says, “You are the salt of the earth” or “You are the light of the world,” he blesses his listeners. He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit … blessed are the merciful … blessed are the peacemakers.”  

Jesus doesn’t begin with demands.  He begins with blessings.  He names who we already are in him before he tells us how to live.  

So, when Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world,” he isn’t laying a burden on us. He’s revealing an identity.

Jesus describes what happens when divine life — the life of the triune God — takes root in human hearts. (And “triune” simply means consisting of three in one.)  

Salt and Light: Ordinary, Necessary, Transformative  

Jesus could have chosen almost any image to describe his followers.  He didn’t say, “You are the gold of the earth” or “the jewels of the world.”  He said, “You are salt” and “You are light.”  

Two ordinary things — but both are essential for life.

Salt preserves and enhances.  In the ancient world, before refrigeration, salt was the only way to keep food from decay.  It was also used in temple sacrifices — a sign of purity and covenant.  Salt was precious.  Salt was also used in ancient times as a form of currency or money.  

To be salt, then, is to carry the preserving power of God’s goodness into the world’s corruption — to bring out the true flavor of life as God intended it. 

Light, on the other hand, reveals and gives direction.  Without light, we can’t see what’s real.  Throughout Scripture, light is one of the most consistent metaphors for God’s presence:  

• The Lord is my light and my salvation. Psalm 27:1 NRSVUE
• Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 NRSVUE

In Jesus, that metaphor becomes reality. “I am the light of the world,” he says in John 8:12.  

And then — astonishingly — he turns to his disciples and says, “You are the light of the world.”

Do you see what’s happening here?  The light that belongs to God now shines through human lives.  The divine radiance reflected in creation, revealed in the Incarnate Son, now continues in those who are united to him by the Spirit.  

That is Trinitarian life in motion:

• The Father sends the Son.  
• The Son shines with divine love.  
• The Spirit fills the Church to radiate that love to the world.  

So, our being “salt” and “light” is not about self-improvement. It’s about participation — sharing in the very life of the triune God.  It’s about the surprising light of God’s kindness.  

God’s Agency: The Light Within Us Is Not Our Own   

It’s crucial to see that Jesus does not command his followers to become salt or to work harder at shining.  He declares, “You are.”  

That’s not wishful thinking; that’s divine pronouncement.  

Just as “Let there be light” brought illumination to the universe, “You are the light of the world” brings illumination to the human soul. 

The light is not self-generated.  It’s not our niceness, our effort, or our willpower.  It is the presence of Christ himself — the Light of the world — living in us  through  the Spirit.  

God doesn’t say, “Try harder to be good.”  He says, “I am making my goodness visible in you and through you.”  

Then Jesus adds, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Our kindness, our compassion, our acts of service are meant to point beyond ourselves.  When we love generously, people catch a glimpse of the Source.  

They see something of the Father’s heart.  

The Missional heart of Kindness    

Kindness is not a small, sentimental virtue.  It’s mission.  It’s one of the ways God communicates his presence to the world.  

In 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Every believer — not just pastors or missionaries — becomes a vessel of divine generosity.  And what is that generosity for?  The common good.   

That means kindness, compassion, and mercy are not private virtues; they are public signs of the Kingdom.  

When we show mercy, we’re announcing that the God who reigns is merciful.  When we forgive, we’re revealing that heaven’s economy runs on grace, not revenge.  When we serve others, we embody the Son who came “not to be served but to serve.”  

Our lives become parables of divine love.  

Isaiah’s Lesson: When Religion Forgets Kindness   

The people of Judah once forgot this.  In Isaiah 58, they were fasting and praying, performing their rituals with precision.  Yet their society was full of strife and injustice.  

God’s response is startling:  

“Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight…
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the homeless poor into your house.” Isaiah 58:4, 6–7

God isn’t rejecting spiritual disciplines; he’s restoring their purpose.
Fasting, prayer, worship — they’re meant to open our eyes to others, not close us off from them.

Isaiah goes on to describe something incredible:

“Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.” (Isaiah 58:8)

When we show kindness, when we engage in justice and compassion, God’s light shines through us — and healing comes, both to others and to ourselves.  

Even modern science, again, confirms it: the giver of kindness experiences renewal too.   Altruism (or what we might call being other-centered) is associated with greater well-being, health, and longevity.

Kindness: The Overflow of the Trinity   

Why does kindness heal? 

• Because it aligns us with the reality of who God is.

The Father, Son, and Spirit are an eternal communion of self-giving love. 
From all eternity, they have poured themselves into one another — not out of need, but out of joy.  

When God created the world, he wasn’t lonely; he was generous.  Creation itself is an act of divine kindness — the overflow of love.  

The Incarnation continues that same generosity.  In Jesus Christ, the eternal Word takes on flesh, entering our brokenness not to condemn but to heal.  He touches people with leprosy, welcomes outcasts, eats with sinners, and blesses children.  

Every act of Jesus in the Gospels — every healing, every meal, every word of compassion — is a window into the heart of the Trinity.  

When we show kindness, we’re not just being nice. We’re joining the dance of divine love — participating in the life of the God who gives himself for the world.   

Righteousness Reimagined  

Many people hear the word righteousness and think of moral perfection or religious performance.  But Jesus redefines righteousness as right relationship — living in tune with God’s love.   

When he calls us salt and light, he’s describing a righteousness that tastes and shines.  It’s not about appearing holy; it’s about revealing holiness through relationship.   

Isaiah tells God’s people: holiness that ignores the hungry or the oppressed is hollow.

When the Church lives this way as enabled by the Spirit — when we love our neighbors, serve our enemies, and practice mercy — we become a living testimony to God’s goodness.  

Let’s gather these threads into two lessons from our passages today:

1. Righteous living brings attention to God, not us.   
   Jesus says, “Let your light shine … that they may give glory to your Father” (verse 16).  When people experience our kindness, they see God more clearly.  
2. Righteous living is relational.   
   It’s not about isolating ourselves for self-improvement; it’s about engaging the world with love.  Isaiah shows us that true spirituality always moves toward others, especially those in need.  

Practicing the Presence of Kindness

So how do we live this way? How do we remain aware of God’s light within us and let it shine?

Here are a few practical invitations — not rules, but rhythms of grace. They are rhythms that can point others to the surprising light of God’s kindness.   

1. Ask God to help you see as he sees.   

Kindness often begins with vision.  We rush through life so fast that we miss the faces right in front of us.  Ask the Spirit to help you see the co-worker who’s lonely, the cashier who’s weary, the neighbor who just needs someone to listen.  

Pray, “Lord, help me see others the way You see them.”  When we start seeing people as image-bearers, kindness becomes second nature.  

2. Build margin into your schedule.   

Busyness is one of kindness’s greatest enemies.  If every minute of your day is planned, you’ll never have time to stop for someone in need.  Try leaving a few minutes unscheduled — on your commute, between meetings, at the grocery store.  You might be surprised how often God fills that space with divine appointments.  

3. Practice kindness that preserves dignity.   

True kindness never humiliates.  It restores worth.  There’s a story from a Random Acts of Kindness collection about a young girl who qualified for free lunches at school.  Each day, when the teacher collected lunch money, students who couldn’t pay had to call out “Free!” in front of everyone — a daily indignity.  As you can imagine, some students skipped lunch rather than face that embarrassment.  

The bus driver noticed.  Instead of handing her money, he said he needed her help each morning checking that all the kids got off safely, and he paid her for her “work.”  She never missed lunch again. That’s what divine kindness looks like — thoughtful, creative, and preserving dignity.  

4. Let your kindness point beyond you.  

Remember, Jesus said the purpose of shining is so others “may glorify your Father in heaven.”  When we practice kindness, we’re not trying to look good; we’re helping others glimpse the goodness of God.  

Kindness as Mission  

In a world that prizes outrage and competition, kindness is countercultural.  It’s not random at all — it’s revolutionary.  Every act of compassion becomes an act of resistance against evil and despair.  Every gesture of grace pushes back the darkness.  

Jesus says we are the light of the world — not because we’re perfect, but because the world is dark and God is shining through us.  This is the heart of mission.  

Mission isn’t just traveling overseas or preaching sermons.  It’s living in such a way that God’s love becomes visible in everyday spaces — workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, dinner tables.  It’s living as citizens of God’s kingdom.  

Incarnation Continued  

The Incarnation — God becoming human in Jesus — didn’t end at Bethlehem or the Ascension.  It continues in us, the Body of Christ.   

Through the Spirit, God still takes on flesh in every generation.  
When we offer a meal, a prayer, a word of encouragement, it is Christ himself who acts in us.  

Saint Teresa of Ávila captured this truth beautifully:  

Christ has no body now on earth but yours;  
no hands but yours, no feet but yours.  
Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out on the world.  

That is the mystery of the gospel.  The Incarnate Christ continues to live through his people, shining the light of the Father’s love into every corner of creation.  

A Radiant Community  

Jesus doesn’t just call individuals salt and light; he speaks to the whole community.  “A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.”  We shine brightest together.  

The Church is meant to be a city of light — a community so full of grace and generosity that the world looks on and sees the reflection of heaven.   When we gather in worship, when we pray, serve, forgive, and rejoice together, we embody a new kind of humanity — one that tastes like hope and shines like love.  

The early Church was known for how much they loved one another!   The same can be true of us.  

Conclusion: The Light Still Shines  

The world doesn’t need more noise or more cleverness.  It needs light.  
And the good news is the light is already here. 

The Father has sent the Son.  
The Son has poured out his Spirit.  
The Spirit is shining through the Church.  

You are the salt of the earth.  
You are the light of the world.  

Not because of your effort, but because God lives in you.  
Not for your glory, but for his glory and for his kingdom.  

So, this week, let your kindness shine.  
Ask the Spirit to show you those small, holy moments where God’s love can break through — at the grocery line, in an email, in your home, in a conversation.  

Because in the end, what Jesus told his disciples is still true for us: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  

Thank you, God, for the surprising light of your kindness. Amen.   

Discussion Questions