Wednesday 5 February 2025
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot." (v. 13)
Background
What would we do if we didn’t have salt? Despite the many warnings about how much salt we consume, it still has an important place in our lives. For these tiny crystals of sodium chloride can flavour and preserve food. We can heal wounds and clean surfaces with it when it is dissolved in water. During the winter months we can also use it to melt the frost on the roads to make our paths less slippery.
In the ancient world, salt would have been even more precious than it is today. It makes sense that Jesus would use this precious commodity as an analogy to talk about those who are part of God’s kingdom. In verse 13 Jesus asks "If salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?" But you can’t put back the saltiness. In fact salt that is no longer salty is no longer salt.
Just as those who seek to be people of God are like salt, they are also like light. Light is also vital for all kinds of important things from plant growth to creating key vitamins within our own bodies. A town lit up on a hill, or a lit open window in the home, are there for all to see. The light is hard to miss. In fact, like salt without its saltiness a lit candle that is hidden is pointless. It has ceased to do what it was meant to do.
So it is for us then. We are called to be salt and light. We are called to be 'difference makers' in the world, seeking to live in a way that changes things for the better.
To Ponder:
- What does it mean for you to be 'salt' in your community? How can you bring flavour, preservation or healing to the world around you?
- In what ways can you be a 'light' in the places where you live and work?
- What are some of the ways you might lose your 'saltiness' or hide your light?
Bible notes author: The Revd David Wynd
David Wynd is a Methodist minister serving in Cullercoats, in North Tyneside.