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Tsaddaqim? What is that babbling? It's the Hebrew word for the "Righteous Ones." The next part of Jesus' teaching is all about the righteous ones. Who are the righteous ones? According to Jesus it wasn't the pharisees and the scribes (the proffesionally religious people). In this episode we'll unpack it with a look back at Isaiah's description of the righteous ones. Stuff like: Your light will break forth (sound familiar) and your gloom will be as bright as the noonday. When you call God will answer. He'll satisfy your deepest desires. In fact your life will be like a well-watered garden!

Isaiah's words are spoken to broken people. But when God shows up, it's good news for broken people. It's good news because His love is amazing and He calls us to love like that. It's a whole different perspective on righteousness and it makes me want to be able to answer "YES!" to the question, "Are you a Tsaddaqim?"

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You are the light of the world. And God has no other plan for the darkness. That's it. No other plan. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit fills us up, we will have the power to become his witnesses. In other words, we will shine, and that's the plan; the only plan, no back-up plan b. There are people in your neighborhood who are living in darkness. Paul said in Acts in 17:26-27, that God has set the times and the boundaries of where we live. Why? In the hope that when people seek God, that when they grope for God in the darkness, they will find him.

And how do we let our light shine? By doing good deeds that reflect well on our Father in Heaven. Are you a do-gooder?

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You are the light of the world. Isn't that amazing? Do you understand? We're here to shine. To be generous with our lives and do good deeds which shine the light on Jesus. You've heard this phrase before, but you may be the only Jesus that people ever see. What do they see when they see you? Think about the last few days, the last week, when people saw you, what did they see? How about in your home; or at church? What does your boss see at work? How about our neighbors, that one that's struggling with cancer, or the elderly wife caring for her husband with alzheimer's and her kids live out of state and sometimes she sits at night, wondering if she can make it through one more day without help.

What did they see in us? Did we bring light to their darkness? I think Jesus' words are a call, a reminder that it's time to shine!