You are salt and light. Here Jesus reminds his listeners, and Matthew reminds his community, of who they are. As salt they preserve and enhance. Salt doesn’t exist for itself but for others. Light is needed for safety and the simple ability to move about. As they are reminded who they are, so are we.

So, how are we salt and light? How have we made the world and the lives of others better? That’s being salt. How have we shown the way for others or helped them see the world around them? That’s being light.

The second paragraph seems to have a different tone, but if we live out what our identity, salt and light, what Jesus talks about in that second paragraph simply becomes a byproduct because we are living out who our faith calls us to be.