St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

7/6

Salt of the earth

In the Sermon on the Mount, after the Beatitudes, Jesus assures his disciples of their reward in
heaven if only they endure with patience all insults and persecutions and false accusations because
of their belonging to Christ, and then compares them to the salt of the earth and the light of the
world. Here Jesus says: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot" (Matthew 5:13). Similar thoughts we find in Mark 9:49-50 but in this case Jesus is reminding
his disciples: "Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another" (Mark 9:50). Author of the
third gospel carries the same thought but ends with a warning: "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown
out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 14:34-35).

The fact that Jesus chose salt for his lesson, should be of no surprise. In antiquity salt stood for
wisdom, knowledge and intelligence. Salt was used to stop vegetation, slow down the process of
decaying, and played an important role in the process of purification. When Jesus tells his disciples
"You are the salt of the earth," he does not think of salt as it is used in the kitchen, but tells his disciples: "You will purify the earth; you are to stop the decay of humanity. You are the salt that will give
the world its real taste." Jesus wanted his disciples to understand the importance of their mission to
which he was preparing them. Beware not to waste or lose the power I give you-Jesus warns them.
If you-the salt-lose the power I invest in you, I will have no use of you. I will not be able to use
you for the purpose I intend. It is very important to see how wisely Jesus uses the example of salt
and how deep is the meaning of this parable. Jesus wants to pass on his 'heart' to humanity, but
knows what awaits him in Jerusalem - death on the cross. He will not be able to finish his work.
To whom can he trust his mission? His only hope are his disciples; they spent three years with him,
listened to him, saw his miracles, prayed with him.

However, they are still far from the understanding of his role as the Messiah and its understanding as
Jesus had in mind, but they are his only hope. They have 'tasted his spirituality.' Should they misunderstand him, who then will take his 'heart' to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20)?

Jesus was a master in using real life incidents. They serve his listeners, shocking them with their
meaning, demanding religious and social action. They give his Palestinian friends proper
understanding of who he is and why he came to the earth, making his teaching relevant. Details in
Jesus' parables call analogies that challenge readers and hearers to fill in appropriate comparisons.
Jesus wanted his audience to be not merely hearers but also doers of the word he had spoken.
Merely listening to Jesus' word is insufficient.

Fr. Joachim