Called to Be the Salt of the Earth

Homily for Tuesday of the 10th week in Ordinary Time

One of the most astounding facts of our world is that 71% of the planet is covered by water, and approximately 97% of that water is saltwater. Salt is something that you and I probably give very little thought to on most days. Yet there can be no denying that it is an important part of our lives, of our world, and of our universe. So, when Jesus uses this metaphor in today’s Gospel reading, we must immediately look for examples of how we are the salt of the earth.

Our uses for salt are usually restricted to two things: we use it to flavor food, and we use it to melt ice.  However, throughout history salt has been used for many different purposes.  In addition to flavoring food, it was used as a preservative.  Dried fish and meat were salted and set aside for future use. Some cultures used it as a form of currency.  For instance, Roman soldiers were paid in salt. Others used it to cauterize wounds in order to help them heal faster. 

However, perhaps the most prevalent use for it in Israel in the time of Jesus was as a catalyst for fire.  A block of salt lay at the base of the community oven that was used to bake bread, the source of most of the calories that these people ingested every day.  Sometimes it was mixed with dung to make it burn better.  Its catalytic character made it a necessary commodity for the communities of the Middle East, including Israel.  Once it had lost its catalytic properties, its savor, it was in fact thrown out on to the pathways where it provided traction for those who were walking on the road.

Is Jesus asking us to be a source healing for our world?  Is he perhaps suggesting that we should act as a preserving agent in our society?  Can it be that he is suggesting that we should be a catalyst in our communities?  I would suggest that all three questions can be answered in the affirmative.  Just as salt served many purposes in the ancient world, we are called upon to be the locus of reconciliation and healing, to be an agent that preserves our communities from evil, to be a catalyst that makes it possible for the Church to bring all men and women to God.  Even if we are nothing more than the grit that provides traction for people as we falter through this life to the next, Jesus is suggesting that we are an important part of daily life with God and neighbor.

The Eucharist is our food for the journey. It is the primary source of our reconciliation and healing. It is the memorial of Jesus’s sacrifice for our redemption. Through it we receive many graces to help us in our daily lives. We are called upon to share all of these gifts with our brothers and sisters. This is just one way that we can be the salt of the earth.