A
bit over 2000 years ago Roman soldiers roamed what we know as Europe and the
Middle East. A great army of soldiers. Working men who needed to be
paid. For many payment came in the form of salt. It was called the salarium
argentium.
Salt
was a form of currency and for those of you who have ever been paid a “salary”
the origins of this word comes from a time when soldiers were paid in salt.
In the ancient world salt was a thing of value, Romans paid their
soldiers with it, Greeks traded it for slaves, and according to Leviticus salt
was to be part of any offering ever made to God.
Salt
was valued and salt was valuable and Jesus said to his followers and friends
"you, you are the salt of the earth". You!
his followers, you! his audience, you! humanity with whom Jesus shares his
life. You are salt! You are valued by God and you are valuable.
This
is and should be the starting point for our self-understanding as human beings
and as followers of Jesus and children of God. You are the salt of the
earth. This is not an exclusive claim it is a universal claim that echoes
down from the mythology of Genesis. Adam and Eve were given a unique
place within the creation - dominion, stewardship, caretakers with a privileged
relationship with the creator. You are salt. You are valuable.
Remember this. This is Jesus’ starting point in today’s reading and it
should be ours when we think of other people, of other humans.
Maybe
Jesus asserts this so strongly because it is so easy to forget just how
valuable we are, just how valuable other people are too. When people
around him doubted themselves, when they felt disempowered by the Roman
incursion into their holy city, or challenged by the elites with power who
didn't seem to care, challenge by a system which distinguished and
discriminated one group from another it is easy to forget you are the salt of
the earth – Jesus is saying remember just how valuable you are.
When
we feel threatened by our lot in life, when we struggle for meaning, when we
lose our sense of self-worth have we forgotten that we too are salt. When we hear of a terrorist attack in a
Canadian mosque, when we see people who are homeless clashing with police in
Melbourne, when borders are closed and walls are built do we not wonder if we too
have forgotten - these people are salt.
Maybe
it is in our amnesia that we lose our saltiness, maybe it is when we see our
lives are just about me and I and mine we have lost our saltiness. When
we cease contributing to the good of the whole in preference to the good of me.
What do we do when the saltiness has gone from humanity? What does God
do?
Jesus
says that when the saltiness is gone the salt only worth trampling under foot
but then again God sends Jesus who says to us, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law
or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil." In him
God restores our saltiness. In him God reconciles and renews. In him God says
to us remember who you are. Salt that loses its saltiness is worthless,
it is only worth trampling into the ground but God in Jesus is salt and light
and causes us to be salty again.
You are the salt of earth – you are valued and valuable. In Jesus our saltiness is restored and we are invited and encouraged and empowered to be salt again.
The
question is, “what does salt do?” Salt
has numerous properties and uses so today I want to simply highlight four: Salt
heals. Salt adds flavour. Salt fertilises. Salt preserves. In
God’s grace through Jesus we are re-released into being the salt of the earth, bringing
healing adding flavour, fertilising and preserving. Let me just unpack those themes a little
further. Healing, flavouring, fertilising and preserving.
So
let me start with the notion of salt healing.
In the Roman pantheon of gods the God of healing was called Salus which
directly relates to the Roman word for salt – sal. The word salus was connected with healing and
is also connected with the word salvation.
Now
salt was used as an antiseptic to clean wounds in the ancient world. Many of you will have heard the phrase rubbing
salt into the wound. It is usually heard
as a negative thing, something that causes pain and any of you who have had
salt on an open wound know that it can hurt.
Yet as a child I can remember the healing properties of swimming in the
ocean when I had cuts and grazes. Salt
in the wound can hurt but it heals as well.
In
Jesus’ life we hear of many miracles where Jesus brings healing to others and
in and through Jesus own life he is antiseptic to our sinfulness, he cleanses and
heals us. This process can at times feel
painful as we admit our wrongdoing and are exposed to the cleansing love of
God.
If
we are to be what we were created to be as the salt of the earth then we too
have a role to be healers. To reach out
to those who are hurt physically or mentally and help cleanse and renew people’s
lives as we are able. Not all of us can
be doctors or nurses or miracles workers, some of us have special gifts and
training in these areas but all of us as salt are about the desire for healing
and restoration. You are the salt of the
earth.
Salt
adds flavour. Salt has been a common
flavour for foods for thousands of years.
Just a pinch of salt can add so much to a meal. It can give it life and zest. I don’t know about you but I always notice
how bland porridge is when I forget the pinch of salt. Through Jesus life we see him engaging in the
joy of life and bringing life and joy to others. He changes water into wine at a wedding. He shares meals with his friends and with
those who were considered outcastes in the community. In John he says to the disciples that he has
come that they might have life abundantly.
Once
again you may have heard that someone is the flavour of the month, or the flavour
of a party. If we are to be salt, if we
are to add flavour to the life of each other, then I believe this is about
encourage others to enjoy life and to live it.
To embrace the moments of joy and celebration and to remember the value
of life.
Salt
fertilises. It helps growth, it nurtures. Once again in the ancient world we
find that salt was used as a fertilising agent.
Fertilisers assist in the growth and Jesus the teacher is always
encouraging people to grow in their understanding of God. He is a teacher and
sage. To be salt means engaging in the
task of teaching others. It means taking
the opportunity of sharing you faith and nurturing the faith of others.
Too
much salt in fertilising or in our cooking can end up being a bad thing so
there is an element here of getting the balance right. When we share our faith and teach others
about Jesus too much can be received poorly.
Teaching takes time and patience and opening up ideas over time. Last time I preached on this passage here we
reflected on the idea of being light shiners and glory givers and we contemplate
how to bring God into our everyday language a little more often without adding too
much. Nurturing faith, fertilising
growth, is not about dumping and downloading our views on others but weighing
up carefully how much to share and when.
You are the salt of the earth – nurturing growth.
And
lastly, salt preserves. In Jesus’ time
so long ago salt was one of the only things that could preserve fresh
food. It is difficult for us to
comprehend life without refrigeration but for millennia salt was the main thing
that preserved food and kept it usable.
Turning to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that we heard this morning
Paul makes the claim that when he came among the people he knew nothing except Jesus
Christ and him crucified, and dare I say risen as well. This is the message that we preserve. That God in Christ has drawn us back into God’s
life – given us to be what we were always mean to be the salt of the earth.
You
are the salt of the earth. You are
valued and you are valuable. You are
healing and you are flavour. You are
fertilisers and you are preservers.
I
want to add one more story about the value of salt. In the middle ages it is said the custom for
feats or dinner party was this. The
closer you sat to the salt cellar the more important you are. Today as we share bread and wine and remember
together Jesus love for us remember that God invites close to the salt cellar
that as we dine at this table the salt is within reach for such is our value to
God.
Being
salt is not what brings us salvation but being salt is about living our
salvation. The saltiness has been
restored. The Holy Spirit has been
poured out, sprinkled like salt into your life.
Hear this good news and as you live do not hide the lamp of your faith under
a bushel but be a light shiner and glory giver because you are indeed the salt
of the earth.
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