Saturday Night Live has been on television for 48 years as a comedy sketch and variety show on the NBC/Peacock network. It is amazing that a show that came out my junior year of high school is still on the air. I remember that for years it was a Saturday regular feature in my life . . . but then I got older, became a parent, and started working on Sunday mornings. Giving up precious sleep to catch a few laughs for a show that comes on at 10:30PM on Saturday evening with church in the morning . . . well it did not become a priority. As I have gotten older I seem to lean more towards sleep.
Occasionally I do catch a few of the skits on the show. One of my favorite comes from 2008 and starred actor Christopher Walken playing the fictional character of Bruce Dickinson, record producer for the rock group Blue Oyster Cult. In the skit the group is getting ready to record what was Blue Oyster Cult’s biggest hit, “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”. Comedian/Actor Will Ferrell plays one of the members of the band who plays the cow bell. The producer tells the band that the song “needs more cowbell” . . . to which Will Ferrell exuberantly provides at the annoyance of his band mates . . . he is a royal pain. Despite the band’s annoyance and pleading to “tone down” the cowbell, the producer insists that it needs “more cowbell”. In the end the “cowbell” wins out and Blue Oyster Cult has their biggest hit. (See the skit here.)
A verbal description of the skits does it no justice. It is something that you just need to see to appreciate the humor. But it is that phrase I want us to remember. It was a phrase in the American idiom that did not exist prior to this skit but has entrenched itself into our society. In the dictionary it is referred to as a “idiom informal” and what it means is “an extra quality that will make something or someone better.”
“More cowbell . . . an extra quality that will make something or someone better.”
That is what Jesus is telling his listeners this morning in our scripture . . . “more cowbell!” When Jesus is talking about salt and light, he is encouraging his listeners to be salty . . . to let their lights shine in their lives. When he is talking about the law and the prophets he is telling the people to live them . . . to live them to their fullest and fullness. Let their lives reflect God’s desire . . . God’s will . . . God’s purpose. This is the salt and light Jesus speaks of. It is the living of one’s faith in such a way that God’s love and grace is shown to all. What one’s faith needs, according to Jesus, is “more cowbell!” Not less, but more.
Jesus does not believe in his followers doing the bare minimum to get by. That won’t get you into heaven, he says. Thus, he gives his listeners an example: “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
In the example of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus points out that they pick and choose which of God’s laws and desires that they want to follow . . . they nitpick them apart . . . follow some to the letter while completely ignoring others . . . or they interpret them in ways that God never intended. In doing this they are “throwing out and trampling” the saltiness out of faith . . . they are hiding the “light” under a bushel so that no one can see. They are watering down and ignoring God’s will and desire. To them Jesus says, “More cowbell!”
Jesus invites us to be salty in our lives. He invites us to let our lights shine in our lives. Jesus tells us to crank it up, let it rip, and throw in more cowbell. Jesus wants his followers to do more than go through the motions or doing the bare minimum. That is not good enough and apparently it won’t get you into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says, without more cowbell . . . “you will certainty not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
At the university where I work, my other job we have an annual job review in which the administration wants to know whether or not their employees are doing their jobs and how well they are doing their jobs. In that review the employee discovers strengths and weaknesses . . . is given suggestions and resources for improvement. It is a good practice that allows the employee to know where he or she stands in their job. It lets me know if I need a little more cowbell.
Each year I have a physical appointment scheduled with my doctor to rate my health. She will run blood tests, weigh me, check my blood pressure . . . all the things that need to determine whether or not I am healthy. Then she sits down with me and gives me all the results before telling me the usual litany of lose a little weight, exercise more, and yada, yada, yada. It lets me know if I need a little more cowbell.
As we do the jobs we work, health, or any other things in which results are expected in our lives, we should probably have an annual check-up for our faith. We should take some time each year to discern our faith and how it is doing and going in our lives . . . to ask questions about whether or not we are giving it our all or doing the bare minimum to keep our place in the heavenly race. We need to assess whether or not we need to add a little salt . . . uncover our lights . . . or add a little more cowbell.
As the followers of Jesus we are to do more than the bare minimum . . . to do more than get by. For example it has become quite standard in our society in a time of crisis or misfortune to tell those touched by such things that they are in our “thoughts and prayers”. It has become an easy out that produces an illusion of care . . . but it does not begin to change anything. It does not make anything better. It needs more cowbell! And that is what Jesus wants from his followers.
Jesus wants his followers to live their faith with saltiness . . . with floodlights and not flashlights. Jesus wants his followers to go the extra mile . . . to put in the extra effort . . . to make a difference and to bring about change. Where there are those who are hungry . . . Jesus doesn’t only want them to be fed but to seek a solution to why there is hunger in the first place. That is “more cowbell” . . . that is saltiness . . . more light.
Jesus believes that we can all do better . . . that we can be saltier . . . shine brighter . . . add some more cowbell. At the same time Jesus knows that it is up to us as individuals to do that. Heavens knows the world we live in today could use a little more cowbell. It is up to us as the followers to provide it. Amen.
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