80: You Are the Salt of the Earth
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Fun fact: one of my job responsibilities used to be creating bulletins for funerals. For almost four years, I worked in an administrative role at a local church. As you might imagine, I had a behind-the-scenes hand in many ministries, including the planning of funerals.
In putting these bulletins together, I became very familiar with the usual order of service, the common hymns selected and the typical Scripture passages chosen to provide comfort and inspiration while reflecting on and mourning the loss of a dearly loved life.
Perhaps this is why, while attending a funeral not too long ago, I was so struck by the selected Scripture passage. It was a bit out of the norm, at least in my experience. Rather than words from Psalm 23 or Romans 8 or Ecclesiastes 3 or 2 Timothy 4 (all beautiful, wonderful passages in times of grief, by the way), this family chose a simple line from Matthew 5:
“You are the salt of the earth.”
It wasn’t even an entire verse. But throughout the service, loved ones reflected on how this person lived up to that description and was the salt of the earth in their lives and in their community. It’s a familiar phrase that we often to use to describe people who we consider good and honest and pure. And while I didn’t know them well, I thought the use of that verse was a good way to honor this person’s life.
For the past several weeks, that verse has stuck with me. And as I’ve continued to reflect on it, one thing I keep coming back to is that it’s more than just a turn of phrase or a nice way to describe someone. It’s included in the Sermon on the Mount, and actually describes our call as followers of Jesus. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been so drawn to it recently.
I’ve been wondering what the implications might be of that call to be the salt of the earth.
I think it’s important to start by putting that one line in the context of the entire verse. In Matthew 5:13, we read,
13 “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.”
Well, as you can tell, it’s more complicated than we might realize at first glance. I don’t know that I can offer a clearcut, “this is exactly what Jesus meant” answer. But it might be helpful to start by considering the different uses or purposes of salt. Before the warning about salt losing its saltiness, what is salt good for?
The most obvious purpose (at least in my mind) is its distinct flavor. Salt enhances and makes certain meals worth savoring. I don’t know many people, if any, who prefer unsalted French fries, amiright? I doubt anyone would describe their favorite flavor as “bland.” In fact, a lot of people struggle to drink enough water because of its lack of flavor. When we are eating a good meal, we want it to engage and enhance our sense of taste with good flavor. And that’s one of the things salt brings to the table.
In the context of our faith, then, the first implication of being the salt of the earth is that we are called to have a distinct flavor in the world. We aren’t meant to be bland or to blend in. The goal is that people would know there is something different about us. An organic difference, not one that is manufactured or put on for show. And ultimately, that difference is meant to be our witness in the world.
In a culture obsessed with influence and power and money and followers and likes and comments and holding grudges and being right and getting ahead no matter the cost, being the salt of the earth right now might look like humility and thinking of others and sacrifice and compassion and forgiveness and kindness and learning to say, “I don’t know.”
A second significant purpose of salt is, salt makes things better. Salt has the ability to heal. Salt can sanitize. Salt can open airways and relieve congestion. Salt can preserve. Salt can work as an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial catalyst for wounds. If your muscles are sore, it can be healing to take a bath with epson salt. If you have a cut, it can be good to soak it in saltwater to speed up the healing process. If you have a sore throat, gargling saltwater is a good idea and if you have a stuffy nose, using saline spray can help you breathe.
Salt heals. When I think about Jesus and his purpose on earth, he did a lot of important work. He showed us who God is. He showed us how to live and love others. He went all the way to the cross on our behalf to conquer sin and death and give us new life. But one of the primary things Jesus talked about and demonstrated throughout his ministry was the reality of the Kingdom of God - life under God’s reign, the world as it should be, as God intended it to be. And that’s something I’ve often overlooked.
When we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” that is what we participate in as the salt of the earth. Through the Holy Spirit, we partner with the purpose of Jesus and do what we can to make earth look a little more like heaven. A little more like it should under God’s reign. As N.T. Wright puts it in his book, Surprised by Hope,
“…if [we] want to help inaugurate God’s kingdom, [we] must follow in the way of the cross, and if [we] want to benefit from Jesus’s saving death, [we] must become part of his kingdom project.”
And that project involves healing a broken world. N.T. Wright adds,
“…that setting right must necessarily involve the elimination of all that distorts God’s good and lovely creation and in particular of all that defaces his image-bearing creatures.”
As salt of the earth, we add a distinct embodied flavor as we help to heal what is broken in the world around us. This is done in big ways and in small, seemingly insignificant ways. No work we do now is wasted by God. It all matters and it all will last. It’s eternal work.
Those are just a couple things salt is good for. This list could go on. But here’s the thing: I think it’s also important to briefly consider Jesus’ warning of salt losing its saltiness and no longer being good for anything. Remember that line from Matthew 5:13?
Well, I am no scientist, but I’ve learned that salt by itself, in its purest, most natural form, will not lose its flavor. It’s already capable of being good for something. It’s only when it is paired with additives or outside chemicals that salt is at risk of losing its saltiness.
And I wonder if maybe, that’s what Jesus was getting at. I wonder if Jesus was not only reminding his disciples of the invitation and opportunity to flavor and heal the contexts in which they were uniquely placed, but also warning of the “additives,” the distractions that might cause them to forget their purpose and participation in God’s kingdom work.
Additives like fear, power, worry, control, wealth, ego, resentment, cynicism, insecurity, and too long to-do lists, just to name a few.
Salt is meant to be pure, but when it’s cluttered with additives, it’s slowly stripped of its saltiness. In the same way, our faith is meant to be whole and purposeful, but when it’s divided by distractions, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s most important. It’s easy to let go of who we are. It’s easy to forget. And maybe Jesus knew how important it would be to remember.
So today, if you feel the distracting additives are creeping in, remember that as followers of Jesus, we are already the salt of the earth. We are equipped to live with bold flavor, helping to heal our wounded world as, together, we continue to seek to be the people God has called us to be. May it be so for us today.