Below you can read today's sermon I gave at Burks UMC. Since I added something to what was already written, I did go add it to the script. Not everything I said today is in the written portion. I mentioned a special lady named Maxine during the section about "hope and encouragement". Maxine always speaks hope and encouragement. She works the cash register at Food City and recently earned employee of the month. We can all learn from Maxine. Another person I mentioned was Mitch. He and I talked about tie-dye a few weeks ago and he challenged me to wear a tie-dye stole the next time I preached. I happen to have one. Today, I wore my "joy" stole to start with and then changed out the stole, mentioning the story behind both of them.
Glow sticks were given out as part of the sermon, thus the photo of my glow sticks. :)
All the music today, from Roy Treiyer, the choir, Bradley Bee, and the praise band, added to the service. It always does. But, today, there was a particular sense that I can't name.
Matthew 5:13-20 (CEB)
February 8, 2026
Burks UMC
5th Sunday after the Epiphany
Good morning! Before we jump into the sermon this morning, will you pray with me?
"God, open our hearts and minds so we can fully receive the Truth we need to hear today. Kindle your Truth in our hearts so others would see it revealed through our lives. Following Christ we pray. AMEN." (Prayer for Illumination)
In the first part of today's passage, Jesus teaches on salt and light. As followers, disciples, of Christ, we are salt and light, we are salty and bright.... Or at least we are supposed to be. What does that mean for us?
Anytime we hear or read Jesus’ teachings, we are challenged to live into the teachings. It can be overwhelming for us to consider all the ways we are to grow, to change, to be the difference, to be the salt and light, to be salty and bright.
However, if we consider just a few practical action steps, maybe one of them will resonate with us and we can go from there.
PRACTICAL ACTION STEPS:
1.
Show
unconditional love and grace to ourselves and others. How? Spend more time
listening. Listen to God. Listen to others, ask questions. Allow wonder and
curiosity to guide your conversations. The phrase: “Tell me more.”, 3 simple
words, allow the other person to share. People desire to be heard, to be seen,
to belong. By listening to others, asking questions and having a genuine desire
to learn, we get to know others. That is one way to show love and grace.
2.
Speak
hope and encouragement. Whether it is a spoken word or word through text,
email, a card or letter…. Speak hope and encouragement. Everyone can use hope
and encouragement. Speak it to yourself and to others. Be intentional in
seeking opportunities that allow you to offer hope and encouragement. Think
through your daily routine… where can you insert hope and encouragement? Think
through your friends and family… the people you see at the grocery store
checkout, your pharmacist, your hairdresser, ETC. Who might benefit from a word
of hope and encouragement? Write the name down. Reach out this week.
3. Live out the Micah passage (Micah 6:8) we heard last week from Amanda: act justly/do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God. What are practical ways to do this? When you see or hear something that is unjust, speak up. Allow yourself the space to grow in your relationship with God, Creator, Divine Mystery. Our lights will burn out if we don’t make time to refill, refresh, restore… we do that through rest, study, worship, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines/practices. Amanda mentioned the labyrinth here at Burks last week. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s at the back of the parking lot. Praying the labyrinth is one of my spiritual practices that helps me grow as a follower of Christ.
I invite you to start with these three or at least one of them.
If you want to go beyond these three practical steps to live into being salt and light, I won’t discourage that. If you’re not sure what a next step would be, let’s chat. Or have a chat with Pastor Amanda.
[I shared writing by a colleague here, titled “Reflection”. Sharon Kay Cochran gave permission for any of us to use what she wrote. To me, her words spoke to how the church can be salt and light. I invited the congregation to hear her words and think about how it connected.]
Her words:
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Reflection
By Sharon Kay Cochran
“I don’t go to church
because it’s not meeting my needs.” That sentence fascinates me—not because
it’s wrong, but because it reveals what we think church is for.
Some people come to church expecting it to function like a spiritual customer service desk:
• meet my social needs
• meet my family’s needs
• meet my entertainment needs
• meet my preferences
• meet my expectations
And when those needs aren’t met, they assume the church has failed.
But here’s the truth
I’ve lived:
There was a season when I did go to church because I was in abject poverty and needed help. I needed food, dignity, and a place where someone would look me in the eye and see a human being. And the church did that for me. That was grace.
Now I go to church to see what I can give, not what I can get.
I don’t expect my church to fill every emotional gap or solve every problem. I expect it to be a place where I can worship, wrestle with theology, and feel safe in my faith. That’s enough.
If you’re looking for a church to magically supply what you refuse to cultivate, you will always be disappointed.
It’s a body.
And bodies only function when every part shows up ready to contribute.
If you want a church that feels welcoming, bring your welcome.
If you want a church that feels loving, bring your love.
If you want a church that feels like home, bring your presence, your work, your willingness to be part of something bigger than yourself.
The church can hold
you, teach you, and walk with you.
But it cannot become what you refuse to offer."
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I don’t know about you, but music has a way of reaching deeper into my being, teaching me, and helping me grow.
In talking about light today, I wonder how many of you thought about the song “This Little Light of Mine”? We consider that to be a children’s song, but the lyrics really can relate to any of us a children of God, right?
There is a song by Jason Gray that came out in 2015. It resonated with me. The title is “Glow in the Dark”. I invite you to look it up and listen to it. Here is one of the verses from the song:
“Don't be ashamed of your past
If you're shattered like a piece of glass
The more broke you are the more the light gets
through
Show your wounds and your flaws
Show them why you still need the cross
Let them see the work He's doing in you”
Shining a light doesn’t always mean things are cheery and bright. Even
through the difficult times, even through the pain and mess, we can still shine
the light within us. I know this from personal experience. But I also know this
from glowsticks. Yes, that’s correct. You know what I like most about them? You
have to bend and break the gel inside them in order to get the light to shine,
to glow.
As the band makes their way, I want to mention that the glowsticks today are to remind us that we can be bright and shine our lights. If you don’t want it for yourself, maybe there’s a kid or grandkid in your life. You can take a stick and a connector and make a bracelet out of it.
If we are honest with ourselves and God and others, we have all experienced broken places within us. I want you to be encouraged. The light can and will shine in you and through you, through those places.
May
your light shine in and through the darkness. May your light join with the
light of others to shine more brightly. Remember, as followers of Christ, be salty and
bright.
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Here is the song by Jason Gray, "Glow in the Dark":
Here is the song that the praise band led us in at the end of the service: "Fresh Wind":
Some of the lyrics from it that resonated with me:
"Breath of God, fan us into flame"
verses 3 and 4:
3
With holy fear
Purified in faith and deed
Refiner's fire
Strengthen what remains
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It was a good morning for me. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. It felt good to live into who I am and my calling.
Peace on this day,
Rev. Deb
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