In Matt. 8-9 we do not merely find Jesus telling lost, lonely, and hurting people the good news of the kingdom. Instead, we also find Jesus showing that good news. Jesus actually becomes good news by healing, forgiving, and restoring people in these two chapters. His simple practice of compassion opens hearts to the verbal message of the kingdom.
This practice allows us to reflect on our own salt and light efforts in a changing culture. Congregations which were established in Modern and Christian America tended to focus on telling good news, on verbalizing the story of Scripture to non Christians. But in a Postmodern and non Christian America many may not care what we tell them. They will, however, be impacted by what we do for them. What is needed is a ministry approach which focuses as much on “showing” as telling—living out the Gospel in addition to merely verbalizing the Gospel.
Such a call is doubly important given the fact that there are few moral and ethical differences anymore between those within the American church and those without the American church. What this culture needs more than anything is a Christian community which truly practices what it preaches.
