One often hears some folk described as ‘the salt of the Earth’. A familiar phrase often used to describe a thoroughly decent, unpretentious person, perhaps a bit rough round the edges but good, nonetheless. To be referred to as ‘the salt of the Earth’ is a compliment and not an insult.
Salt is a very plenteous chemical. We find it deposited underground, in vast caves; in the sea water covering the globe and within most living creatures and quite a few inorganic objects. It has, I believe, even been found on other planets!
Salt - is simple chemical compound, sodium chloride. NaCl, a combination of the 11th and 17th elements on the periodic table. Yet salt is more than just a combination of chemicals, its value is great and its uses myriad. Did you know that:
Salt is most effective in stabilizing irregular heartbeats; that it is vital to the nerve cells communication and information processing and that it is vital for absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract.
For many years my family was unable to use salt in cooking as my late sister, always had very high sodium levels in her blood. As a result if we used salt at all it was to add to food after it had been cooked. When I began cooking for myself I discovered the effect that using sat in the actual cooking of food could have. How it enhanced the flavours. I also learned to be wary of how much salt I used as too much would always ruin a dish. I learned that salt is and can be good. Jesus was well aware of this. He knew that salt preserves food in hot climates; he knew that it kept the body functioning in the heat and that without it things were never so good. That’s why he says:
“You are the salt of the earth.”
Jesus uses this phrase to emphasise to his listeners the fact that they are of the very essence of creation, part of its structure and as such part of God. For God he implies cannot be divided from his creation. The idea of us losing our saltiness (which Jesus also suggests) is to warn us that if we do not pay attention to God’s ways then like un-salty salt we might find ourselves removed from creation and therefore outwith the love of God. Losing your place in God’s love is like being a light shining under a bucket – no use to anyone. Jesus tells us too that we are called to shine as lights in the world to enable ourselves and each other to remain salty. To remain within God’s love and kingdom, following his ways and laws.
God is our essence, we are made in God’s image, we are of God. We are the salt of the earth, integral to creation. We can accept, reject or ignore this but if we reject it we step outside the Kingdom of God and can end up wandering the unsalted lands of the unknown. To Jesus’ first hearers that would have been very scary. There was great fear attached to anything outwith the known. So his suggestion that we could lose our saltiness would have been a severe warning. For one of the chosen people to imagine that they could be outside the care of God would literally strike terror in them.
As I hinted at earlier, Jesus combines his warning of not being salty, with the command that his followers do not hide their light under a bushel basket. He suggests, I think, that being salty means that we have to share our salt with others who do not know the ways of God or do not perceive his essence with in themselves. We should not hide our saltiness but encourage others to discover their own saltiness and connections with God.
Not hiding one’s light is to be willing to share who we are with others; to be salty in their company. By our example of living we can then hope to enable them to discover their own salty nature and the ‘imago dei’ (image of God) deep in their own body and soul.
Salt is good, you are good, creation is good and God is good. Choose to be salty, don’t hide who you are and enjoy being a part of God’s kingdom of love.