Let us pray. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
I love watching
the Food Network. Especially the food competitions. Shows like Iron Chef, Hell’s
Kitchen, Worst Cook in America. They are quite entertaining, and I happened to
have learned a cooking trick or two from them over the years. One of the most
common phrases you hear from judges on these shows, including the baking ones, is
“this needs more salt”.
I was never one
to add much salt to my food, if any. I’ve always thought that it wasn’t good
for you and that it should be avoided. But salt is such an important ingredient
in cooking. First and foremost, salt is used as a seasoning to enhance the
taste of food. It makes bland foods such as bread and pasta taste good and it
helps to bring out the natural flavours in other foods.
As
well, salt is an important natural preservative and has been used for centuries
to preserve meat, fish, dairy products and many other foods. Long before the
invention refrigerators, techniques such as pickling were used to keep food
safe to eat. Salt in the brine dehydrates the food making it take longer to spoil.
In
Biblical times, salt was very important. People back then did not have
refrigerators or ice cube makers and so salt was very important to preserve
food. They preserved vegetables. They would preserve fish for the winter time;
that is, they would salt it and dry it out.
Today,
Jesus has a lot to say about salt and the importance of salt being salt. “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
underfoot.” Well, what does that mean?
Even
in very small quantities, salt can make a big difference to a much larger
whole. A pinch of salt brings a dish’s flavors alive. Indeed, salt is one of
the only spices that can enhance and bring out other flavors in a dish.
Jesus
has a vision in mind, a standard by which we should be in the world. We are
meant to be the salt of the earth, a sort of leaven or spice for the world. In
a word, we followers of Jesus are meant to enhance the world, to draw out the
flavors of all the world, existence, everything!
“You
are the salt of the earth.”
In
this single verse, we see Jesus would have his followers deeply engage with the
world, to act as a spice that enlivens all the rest. With this spice, the world
feels things more deeply, the highs are higher, the lows are lower. With this
spice, the world feels, thinks, and acts more profoundly.
“You
are the salt of the earth.”
Aside
from the word “salt”, the other keyword in this verse is “are”. Jesus says that
we are the salt. He doesn’t say, “You will someday be the salt of the earth,”
or “Continue to work at becoming the salt of the earth.”
“You are the
salt of the earth.”
For Jesus, we are
already the salt of the earth. Jesus isn’t giving us a new role to play. He is
naming who we already are. We don’t have to work to become salt. God made us
this way, blessing us with gifts that can bless the world. But we do have to
claim and embrace and live out these gifts. We do have to actually be salty,
fulfilling and embodying what our gifts make possible. We do have to be who we
are.
And this idea of
being who we truly are forms the basis for all the instructions to come in the
rest of Jesus’ sermon. Jesus does not say, “Follow these instructions and
you’ll be blessed.” Rather, he says, “You are already blessed with gifts for
blessing the world, so go and bless! Spice and shine! And here are some
instructions for how best to do just that…”
“You are the
salt of the earth.”
With this verse,
Jesus moves from the announcing of blessings we heard last week, to giving
instructions on how to live. Are you living as the salt of the earth? Are you
enchanting and enlivening the flavors of life, are you feeling, thinking, and
living deeply in the pain and joy of the world or are you living in another way
that Jesus doesn’t describe?
And what does
this salty life look like anyway? To me it seems that a salty life of following
Jesus is one where, first and foremost, the disciple has begun to make peace
with themselves. Where in your life have you shied away from the cold facts of
life? Which relationships have you let grow cold because the truth is just too
awkward?
Next, I suppose,
is that the salty ones begin to move beyond themselves and gently offer
themselves to others; hopefully simply as presence, ally-ship, and friendship
and not as an overpowering fixer. We are salt, not cayenne. Salt allows the
flavors of others to shine. Cayenne insists on being forward and in your face.
Being salt means that we listen, we notice, and we don’t have to have our way.
Jesus is
inviting us to live our salty discipleship out in the world. In our schools. In
our places of employment. In our neighborhoods. In our circle of friends. Out
there in the world which is often not so godly.
Being salt for
the earth means to remind the world of what God created it to be: a loving
commonwealth that is created for the flourishing of all and that anything other
than that is not living in accordance with how God desired things to be. If we
are to be disciples of Christ, we either season the world with love and grace
or we cease to be a disciple of Christ.
You are the salt
of the earth, called so by Jesus himself, now go and be salt.
Amen.
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