The Amish Forgive the Murderer of their Children 2

Just as much as I want to commend the light that the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania have shone out since the tragedy struck their school house I cannot help thinking that we see in their engagement or lack of it with the world the reason that Jesus mentioned both light of the world and salt of the earth in the Sermon on The Mount. If they were both the same thing he would not have had to waste his breath. They were two sides of one coin. Influencing society is our commission but we need to do it in both ways.

Where our Amish brothers and sisters became a beacon to us, I wonder would they have not have needed to have been had they shaken the salt of their faith over our society. A light can shine from a distance, like a Lighthouse or the landing light of an aeroplane. Salt though is useless from a distance; impotent. To be salt we need to be right there in the heart of society, flavouring, keeping fresh, healing. David Gray puts it well when he sings “into lies, ruin, disease/Into wounds like these/Let the truth sting.” The call is to be light and salt. Both!

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