The Isolation Story: Us Away From Them

The Isolation Story: Us Away From Them

January 26, 2025
Proverbs 18:1-2 (NRSV), Matthew 5:13-16

Series based on The Seventh Story, by Brian McLaren & Gareth Higgins

Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 

Genesis 2:18

You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

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The Isolation Story is one of separation, often driven by the belief that the world is too corrupt to engage with.  It is a form of escapism, where we simply want to disconnect from the evils of the world and isolate ourselves in a perfect little “Christian” community.

The Essenes were a Jewish sect in the first century who embodied this story, retreating from society to form isolated communities in the wilderness.  John the Baptizer is among the most well known of this group.  They believed that the world had become so impure that the only way to maintain faithfulness was through complete withdrawal.

Jesus, however, rejected this path of isolation. He declared, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden... let your light shine before others”. Rather than retreating from the world, Jesus calls His followers to transform it through their presence. He modeled a life of engagement, healing, and teaching, calling His disciples to be agents of change in the world, not isolated from it.

Our times are filled with escapist theology that treats the earth as dispensable because we are just biding our time until we get to some other worldly heaven. While we await this final destination somewhere else, many seek to live out the Isolation Story by creating “Christian” subcultures that choose separation from the world in the name of purity or faithfulness.  We want our own music, our own movies, our own coffee shops, our own schools, our own neighborhoods, and on and on it goes.  It’s ironic that we seem to want all the things the world offers, but just in a uniquely “Christian” version so we can pretend we are separate from it all. 

We are to be in the world, not of it.  Too often, however, we live as people of the world, but not in it.  Studies show that the everyday lives of self-proclaimed Christians don’t look that much different than any other group, but our determination to separate ourselves allows us to turn a blind eye to the needs around us.  Jesus' call challenges us to step into the world, bringing His light into even the darkest corners.  Our light does no good in a well lit isolated room.  If we are to be agents of transformation, bringing God’s kingdom to earth, we must be fully engaged in this broken world God so dearly loves.

•  Are there areas of your life where you withdraw from the world to maintain purity?

• How can you engage more fully with your community, bringing God’s light into dark places?

Salt & Light

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Salt and Light
Series: Called - Part 4
Matthew 5:13-16

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth…

 … Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.”

- Matthew 5:13a, 14a (MSG)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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In Jesus’ day salt was a precious commodity necessary for life, but not nearly as accessible to everyone as the salt shakers on our own kitchen tables.  Light, also, was crucial, especially in an agricultural society, but was of course limited primarily to set hours of natural daylight which changed throughout the year.

I wonder if something has been lost in Jesus’ metaphor in today’s culture where we are oversaturated with both salt and light.  An abundance of artificial light disrupts our circadian rhythms and can suppress our natural melatonin levels by up to 50%, causing trouble with sleep and a number of related health disorders.  Similarly, the CDC reports that nearly 90% of Americans 2 years old or older consume far too much sodium, with 70% of our salt intake coming from processed and restaurant foods often beyond our control.  Given the increase of high blood pressure and risk of heart attacks, strokes and other issues, doctors would rarely suggest that someone should consume more salt. 

Jesus says we are salt and light in a metaphorical sense, but cultural realities shape and change the way we understand such metaphors.  Could it be that in our world, people are craving a bit more darkness, an escape from light pollution, and a place to rest their eyes and their bodies?  Could it be that there is a movement to turn away from processed foods and lower salt intake to lower our blood pressure and increase our overall health?  If this is true, what implications might such a cultural oversaturation of salt and light have on our role as Jesus’ followers to be salt and light in the world?

I suggest that one of the biggest problems is that salt and light are found in overabundance in some places while lacking in others.  As Christians we tend to stay close to our own kind.  We gather all of our lights together in brightly lit sanctuaries, Christian concert venues, and other places those outside the faith would rarely come.  Perhaps these places have become so “bright” that most people simply avert their eyes as they would from a solar eclipse.  Instead of the welcoming light of a warm fire or candlelit space, they turn away squinting their eyes as we shine the spotlight on their differences or their “sin.” 

In the same way, we must remember that there is a big difference between being “salt” and being “salty.”  Too often the world finds Christians “salty.”  Rather than bringing out the natural beautiful flavors in this world God created and loves, we over salt and over season to the point where the feast of love and grace we have to offer becomes unrecognizable and unpalatable. 

Salt is valuable where the food is bland or where something needs to be preserved, but it does little good in the middle of the ocean when someone is dying of thirst.  Light is necessary to guide someone through the dark, but it does no good to shine a flashlight at the sun to help someone find their way. 

If we are to be useful as salt and light, perhaps we need to spend more time in the places it is most lacking.