We all know people who are called the “salt of the earth.” Although many of us would be hard pressed to offer a definition of that what exactly that means, we all know such people when we meet them. This expression has its roots in this Sunday’s Gospel, as Jesus challenges His disciples to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.”
Jesus tells us we must be like salt. Yes, salt, you know the condiment we find on every table, and throw on the streets to melt ice … that salt. Why salt? We take salt for granted even though, like water, it is essential for life. We use it to prevent spoilage, cure meat, flavor our food and even to heal wounds. Without it, food goes bad and a people on the brink of starvation find what little food they have, gone. Salt was an extremely valuable commodity in the ancient world and was for much of history even more valuable than precious gems and metals. For the Israelites it was plentiful. In the region of the Dead Sea – the saltiest body of water on earth – the salt pillars are aplenty.
While we know from our readings a few weeks ago Jesus is the “light of the world.” We are called also to be the light, not from ourselves but one that reflects the light of Jesus. We might say that Jesus is the light (like the sun) that is reflected in his disciples (like the moon).
In order for us to grasp the analogy that Jesus is making here, we need to read the Gospel passage in light of the First Reading from the prophet Isaiah. He tells us: “share your bread with the hungry, shelter the homeless and oppressed. Clothe the naked when you see them and do not turn your back on your own.” The demand comes with a promise: “Then you shall call and the Lord will answer, you shall call for help and He will say, ‘here I am.’”
As we become the salt of the earth, we become a light to the nations. Our words and actions become a prayer, a glorification of God to the world. We must be first salt before we can become a light on a lamp stand.
We do not have to go far to find the needy, they are in our midst in many ways. Our communities are filled with the economic poor. There are recent immigrants among us who need to be welcomed into our communities. We have crowded hospitals and nursing homes. In the workplace, at school, the supermarket, there are people who feel lost and abandoned by the world, by the Church and by God. Jesus tells us that in reaching out to them and by touching their lives in immediate and simple ways that the loving mercy of God is made present in the world. We are the salt of the earth becoming a light to those enveloped in darkness.
This is not just a call to volunteering which has become so popular in the past decades. While that is worthwhile work, and on the outside looks the same as fulfilling the baptismal commitment, as Christians we are called to do so not so that we can “look good” or so that we can feel good about ourselves. We do what is good because it brings glory to God. The benefit to us is a spiritual one it serves to strengthen our relationship to God. Then, and only then, can we authentically leads others to Christ, which is the sign of our value as salt and light.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.