Psalm 18:1-2, 21-31,
Matthew 5:13-20
There’s a fun story about a man who
walked into a little mom-and-pop grocery store and asked, "Do you sell
salt? "Ha!" said Pop the
proprietor. "Do we sell salt! Just look!" And Pop showed the customer
one entire wall of shelves stocked with nothing but salt -- Morton salt,
iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt,
Epsom salts, every kind of salt imaginable.
"Wow!" said the customer.
"You think that's something?" said Pop with a wave of his
hand. "That's nothing! Come look." And Pop led the customer to a back
room filled with shelves and bins and cartons and barrels and boxes of salt.
"Do we sell salt!" he said.
"Unbelievable!" said the customer. "You think that's something?" said
Pop. "Come! I'll show you salt!" And Pop led the customer down some
steps into a huge basement, five times as large as the previous room, filled
wall, floor, to ceiling, with every imaginable form and size and shape of salt,
even huge ten-pound salt licks for the cow pasture. "Incredible!" said the customer.
"You really do sell salt!"
That’s when Pop gave the exasperated reply, “No, that's just the
problem! We haven’t sold any salt! But that salt salesman, Hoo-boy! Does he
sell salt!"
It sure would be a waste for all the
kinds of salt in our world to not be used for all of their necessary purposes. Let’s see what you know. What’s your guess? Across our country, is there more salt used
in our food or on our roads? Fact
check: 17% of salt is used as rock salt
and only 6% used in food. What’s your
guess? How many cells in our bodies use
salt? If you guessed every single one,
then you are correct. Our brains need
salt to fire off signals to the rest of the body, especially when it comes to
regulating our heart beats and the balance of fluids in our systems. What’s your guess? How is salt made? If you guessed that this is a trick
question, you are correct. It’s not made … it’s a natural resource like
water and air that is harvested, mined, and extracted. What’s your guess? What was the only way for people in ancient
times preserve food, especially meat?
I know we all guessed correctly – they used salt!
One more. What’s your guess? What did Jesus call all of his
followers? Since you were listening
carefully to the Bible reading, you’ve got this. Our Lord calls us the salt of the earth! We are each very valuable, vital part of
how Jesus seasons this world with saving grace.
Jesus and his first followers knew
the symbolic significance of salt very well.
They fully understood that salt is not useful to itself. Its value comes from its purpose as part of
other things. The essential value of it
was noted throughout their Bible, which is our Old Testament. A quick survey reveals that the prophet
Elisha sprinkled salt into a spring at Jericho to purify the water (2 Kings
2:21.), that eating salt with another person was a sign of loyalty, sort of a
passing of the peace pipe, a breaking of bread (Numbers 18:19.), that temple priests
strew salt on sacrifices and seasoned incense with salt, and, get this, that parents
rubbed salt all over their newborn baby’s body as protection against all kinds
of ills (Ezekiel 16:4.)”[i]
To be Jesus’ salt, His followers understood
this meant being part of His purifying presence in the world, peaceably loyal
to Him and to one another, and making faithful sacrifices for the sake of
protecting the most innocent and vulnerable.
This is, of course, what it means
for us modern day disciples as well.
And if you need further clarification about what Jesus meant by calling
us the salt of the earth, read what Matthew quotes him as preaching right before
He said so. These verses, commonly
known as the Beatitudes, inspire and instruct us to be part of our Lord’s
highest ideals of mercy, humility and compassion. These poetic words about blessedness are
truly beautiful and “bring out the true flavor of what it is to be truly
alive,” to be “life-givers to others.”[ii] Jesus calls us to mix ourselves “right into
the middle of life, adding some zest and making a difference.”[iii]
But honestly, it can be very
challenging to go out and be the salt of the earth. Tossing words about meekness, mercifulness,
and purity of heart is not at all easy to do in this world stewing in sorrows,
sinful stubborn pride, injustices, persecutions, and warfare. To shake this radically divine love out for
others, we have to first fill ourselves into constant awareness of all this
darkness and our part in it.
Jesus understood this difficulty. He personally experienced it. But in verse thirteen we read how he kept
the bar set high. To be his faithful
followers, to be his sacred seasoning, he made it clear that we mustn’t lose our
taste for the Beatitudes holy flavor. If
ever we do, we are, to quote Jesus, “no longer good for anything.”
Given that we just had our eleventh
snow storm of the season, I’ve been thinking a lot about the tons of rock salt
that’s all around. While I’m rather
tired of it being all over my shoes and encrusting my car, I know how necessary
and valuable it is. I’m thankful for it
and all the good folks who’ve been working hard to spread it around. I’m not the only preacher in this tri-state
area whose been mulling over the symbolic meaning of rock salt. A Presbyterian colleague in New York City not
only gave this good thought, but he came up with a beautiful reflection on it
that’s well worth fully quoting. I
invite you to faithfully listen to these words of Pastor Andy James –
“Just as salt works to give us
traction when things are slippery, as salt of the earth we can help others to
regain their footing in times of uncertainty. Just as salt works to melt down
the mounds of ice around us these days, we can be the salt of the earth to help
melt the hardened hearts of our world. And just as salt takes a little bit of
time to take effect and clear the path, so as salt of the earth we may need a
little time and patience to join in God’s work of making a way amidst the
challenges of this world.”
Building on these faithful words,
let me ask -- when times are tough here on earth, when they are like what we
read in the Beatitudes, in what ways do you serve Jesus? Help
folks find secure footing, melt any hardness of heart, patiently wait for God
to open up a way forward when the path isn’t clear? In what ways do you humbly witness and enact
your love for Him as your only true strength, refuge and rock?
I joyfully believe that every one of
us had been gifted by the Holy Spirit with the ability to be the salt of the
earth. We just need to take the time
to inventory our inner-salt stockpile and realize that there is an endless
storehouse of ways our Lord works through us to bless and transform this
world. I was very glad to learn that
this was discussed in last week’s Sunday School class. The kids did a little experiment which showed
how well things stick together when everyone is applying their spiritual salt,
their God-given gifts.
Yet it’s very natural for all us to
have times when we feel as though we’ve lost our spiritual saltiness, our sense
of holy purpose in this world. During
such moments, pray. Pray for restoration
of a deep trust that you are what Jesus calls and equips you to be. Also read the Bible. You don’t have to understand every word — let
the Spirit sprinkle insight and season your faith as you study and reflect. God promises that the Spirit will move through
your prayers and your reading and strengthen you. You should also keep getting to know your
soul--- If music speaks to your heart, find a way to listen to hymns or allow
praise songs to lift your spirit. If
seeing God in nature blesses you -- then set aside time to look and see the
goodness of God all around you in the snowy landscape and watch for signs of
spring. God has also given us each other on the
journey of life — so if you feel washed out spend time with other Christians
who you know bring faithful flavor to the world. You’ve done so today by being here. Jesus is your rock and you are therefore rock
salt. You have a sacred purpose. Especially through life’s storms. Let’s all make every effort not to stay stuck
on a shelf! Amen.
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