How appropriate that our gospel reading today
talks about salt! Where would we be without
salt these days? In our driveways, most
likely. Or, on our bums on the sidewalks.
Salt makes it possible to survive winter.
Actually, you would be amazed at all that
salt can do. This chemical combination
of sodium and chlorine has quite a history.
The need for salt led animals to natural deposits and early hunters to
animals. Ancient Britons set up a small
city near the Thames to wait out the tides as they carried salt from the north
to the south of their island nation.
That city is now London.
Salt was used as money in many cultures. You could purchase slaves or pay soldiers
with it. If someone wasn’t worth their
salt, you knew exactly what that meant. The word salary comes from the same
root word as salt. So, does salad…as
long ago, people used to salt their green veggies. Ranch dressing hadn’t been invented yet.
Spilling salt means bad luck to superstitious
folks. This stems from that famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of the Last
Supper, wherein Judas overturns the salt container. However, throwing salt
seems to counteract this bad luck. If
you pitch the salt over your shoulder, you hit the devil in the eye and chase
him away. Sumo wrestlers still throw
salt in the ring to purify it before a match.
Battles have been fought over salt! The French Revolution grew from the people
being forced to purchase salt from royal providers only. Lord Howe of England stole George
Washington’s salt reserves during the Revolutionary War in America. The salt factories in the Confederate south
were of the first to be captured by Northern armies. Gandhi led a march, in protest of British
salt taxes, to the sea, where he made his own salt. That action began India’s journey to
independence.
The Brits are slow learners.
Salt is an absolute necessity for life
itself. Our nerves wouldn’t know how to
synapse without salt. The electrical systems that keep us breathing and keep
our hearts beating both need salt to work.
Of course, the amount of salt needs to be in perfect balance. Too much salt gives us high blood
pressure. Too little, and we just shut
down.
So, when Jesus calls his disciples “the salt
of the earth” – he wasn’t messing around!
This was one serious metaphor. There were three attributes that I
believe Jesus was trying to get his disciples to think about with this salty
metaphor:
Number One: Salt is a preservative. Jesus’
disciples were called to preserve his message.
But, this isn’t a call to let the good news settle in, dry things up,
and keep them the way they are. This
preservation is about keeping the essence of Jesus’ message of God’s love
throughout the ages. The good news is
for all times and all peoples.
This is kind way to say “this isn’t about you.” Being a disciple wasn’t about how far you
could go or how famous you could become.
Being a disciple was about learning the message and sharing it. Like anyone using salt, you have to be aware
of how much to use. The good news, while
refreshing and hopeful to some, may be somewhat of an acquired taste to
others. There are times to hold back as
well as times to just let it pour. To do
that means to pay attention, to get to know the people around you. Share what
you can, when you can. Know when to stop
so that you don’t turn people off.
We’re also salty in a preservative way when
we embody the love of God through acts of mercy and kindness. Keeping a child fed or a family housed or a
prisoner visited helps preserve their dignity as human beings. This is a great segue to the next attribute.
Number Two: Salt is used to purify. Jesus’ disciples were called to be purifying
agents. Now, there’s an impossible task if I ever heard one.
But then, who would think that tiny little
crystals would turn dark pavement white as snow or turn slippery ice into
evaporating water.
Made aware of God’s love, we are to go about
our world making it a better place.
Thankfully, there are lots of us out there charged with this task. I think one of the most important sentences I
ever heard during one of my Cursillo experiences was “Jesus has already saved
the world. You don’t have to do
that.” It was a sentence that reminded
me that while I did have responsibility to discern what I could do in my sphere
of influence, the entire planet wasn’t on my to-do list.
Discernment, though, is as multifaceted as a
salt crystal. It requires education,
prayer, listening, patience…and that’s just on your end! It also takes community. Rarely does it happen that God knocks on the
door of your heart with a message like “Go be a teacher” or “See that kid over
there, go read to her.” No, usually we
find out what God has in store for us because other people have seen talents
inside of us that should be shared in specific ways. Or, it is the conversation between friends
that ideas come forth or needs get discovered.
Once we’ve discovered our calling we do move
about this world making it a little brighter.
Individually and collectively, as we share the love of Christ, we melt
the iciest hearts and make the darkest of perspectives as clean as new-fallen
snow. How amazing is that! Which brings me to…
Number Three:
Salt was/is valuable. We call
veterans of the sea “old salts” because their experience and wisdom is to be
honored and respected. Jesus’ disciples
were of infinite value to him when he walked this earth and we are of infinite
value now. Each and every one of us has
experience and knowledge that are needed: each and every one of us. I was
reminded of this just a few weeks ago when a young person asked me why
grown-ups make everything so complicated.
“It’s easy,” she said. “Love God, don’t judge, be nice to people.” I needed that. I needed her fresh, untainted
perspective. I didn’t need a Master’s
degree to figure that out – I just needed her.
Wisdom comes from all people. We just need to value each other the way God
values us in order to discover that.
So, my friends, be salty. Preserve the good news of Christ within
yourselves and share it with those you know.
Make the world a little brighter.
Remember that you are of infinite value.
Amen.
(c) 2014 C. B. Park, all rights reserved
