On a Better Way for Humanity
February 8, 2026
Rev. Traceymay Kalvaitis
Isaiah 58:9-12
“Is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. a Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.”
Matthew 5:13-20
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
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Today’s sermon is titled On a Better Way for Humanity.
I am glad to be home after spending last weekend in New York city. I came back with something unexpected…I came back with a renewed sense of hope in humanity. Some of the most meaningful insights I had were on the subway. There is one particular instance I hope to never forget. Entering the subway car, I could see a young man asleep in the two seats in one corner of the subway car. He looked to be in his early 20s and it seemed like he might have been up all night. No one else was sitting near him until, a few stops later, a woman about my age entered the car and took a seat directly across from him. Not long after, the young man shifted awkwardly in his sleep and his cell phone fell out of his pocket and on to the floor of the subway car. He was oblivious. The older woman saw what happened, got out of her seat, picked up his phone and then carefully tucked it in between his back and the subway seat so that he would be able to find it again. She quietly took her seat once more.
On our last morning, as we were leaving the city, a man and his dog entered the subway car. The dog was in a red sweater as the temperature was in the single digits. Both man and dog were smiling. A young mother with a baby moved closer so the baby could see the dog. The man began to pass out dog treats to folks so they could lure the dog close enough to be able to pet him. I watched as people began to make eye contact with one another and I began to notice that everyone around us was smiling. I looked around the car to see how far the smiles were spreading. People were looking up from their phones. People were looking at one another. And everyone was smiling. I said to myself, “The world is going to be just fine.” Like Jesus proclaims in our reading for today, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the
world.”
I’m not saying that there aren’t big changes we need to keep pushing for. We have a long way to go to bring about what Jesus describes in our reading today as “the kingdom of heaven.” We
have learned before that a more accurate translation of the word “kingdom” would be “reign.” So kingdom of heaven would be translated as “the reign of heaven” or the “reign of God” where the common good is considered first and foremost, where justice is the norm, where all can prosper because there is no one greater than and no one less than.
Prophets down through the ages have called humanity to a higher way of being. We heard from the prophet Isaiah this morning. Isaiah lived 800 years before Jesus. Isaiah, along with Moses and Abraham, is among the most revered. In the passage we heard this morning, Isaiah is writing to a Jewish community that has recently returned from exile in Babylonia. Isaiah, like many prophets before and after, was seeking to impress upon the Jewish people that in the observance of the law, fasting and ritual were important, to be sure, but far too many were observing the laws and rituals without fully living into the spirit of the law. Isaiah is calling his people to live into the spirit of the law. Isaiah is calling his people to a higher way of being, inviting them to essentially become living examples of the law, to “loosen the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, and let the oppressed go free.” Isaiah gets very specific in how people should be living examples of the law, saying, “Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin.” “Then,” he says, “your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’”
Friends, there are powers at work in our world that are strengthened when we turn against one another. They are strengthened when we live in fear. They are strengthened when we focus on scarcity instead of abundance. They are strengthened when we think only about our own well being and ignore the common good. Isaiah is calling us to “loosen the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, and let the oppressed go free.” Jesus is reminding us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world; it is up to us to pick up the work and do our part to bring about the reign of heaven. We may not live to see it realized, but we must work for it nonetheless. Listen to this closing line of a poem titled Romero’s Prayer. It was written in honor of Father Romero who was assassinated in 1980 as he performed mass in his home church in El Salvador. The closing line reads, “We are prophets of a future not our own.” The poem begins as follows:
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise
that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something and to do it well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
In closing, I want to encourage us to be prophets of a future not our own. I encourage us to look for the goodness in humanity that is all around us. We will not likely find it in the news headlines, but it is alive and well on the city subways and in small villages like our own. People care about one another. There are people willing to risk their lives to protect their neighbors. There are churches everywhere, like us, who are feeding the hungry and supporting programs that benefit the common good. We are the salt of the earth; we are the light of the world. Now more than ever it is important for us to remember our own worth, so we may see the inherent worth in others. So be it. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
God of all the seasons of our lives, I thank you for being with us in all we face. Help us to remember to look for the light of your guidance in every situation that challenges us. If we are in need of help, may we be just as gracious in our receiving as we are in our giving. In ways we seek healing, guide us to what heals; in ways we seek knowledge, guide us to sources of wisdom; in ways we seek meaning, guide us, Lord, to the people and the things that will bless us so that we, in turn may be a blessing to others. For our families, our town, our nation and all of
humanity we pray for needs to be met, we pray for prosperity, and we pray for peace. This we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
Benediction
I leave you with the following words from Ephesians chapter 5:
“Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth.”