Salt was an essential ingredient for food processing in the ancient world. Without modern refrigeration, salt was used to preserve meat, fish, and other types of food, which was especially important in the hot desert climate of the Middle East. Salt was also used as a basic spice to make various foods more tasty.
Given its importance, salt was an expensive commodity in the ancient world. So valuable was salt that soldiers were often paid in salt for their military service. In fact, the English word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt. Even today, we might say that someone is "worth his salt," meaning that they have truly earned their wages.
In the Gospel passage for this Sunday, Jesus warns against salt losing its taste. Some might object saying that salt produced for modern cooking doesn't go stale. However, ancient salt could lose its taste because it wasn't fully purified. Thus salt could go bad.
Jesus tells us, his Christian followers, that we are to be the salt of the world. Though our numbers may be small, we are to have a profound influence on the world. Just as salt was essential for the physical survival of the ancients, we are essential for the spiritual survival of humanity. Without the followers of Christ, the world plunges into darkness and self-destruction. We can see in our own society that the more Christ is pushed out of public life, the more dysfunctional people's lives become.
But we Christians can impact the world positively only if are truly centered on Christ and fully live out his teachings. If we are lukewarm or tepid, if we conform to the world, rather than calling upon the world to conform to Christ, then we cannot transform the world. If we are not truly focused on Christ, we cannot be vessels of Christ. In fact, Christians who have succumbed to the world but still profess to follow Christ do a tremendous amount of damage because they are perceived as giving religious approval to the values of the world. We see religious leaders and even entire congregations professing a supposedly Christian faith that is nothing of the sort but merely a mirroring of the latest secular trends. We see politicians who go to Mass, hold up rosaries, wear ashes on their forehead, while supporting policies that are diametrically opposed to the values of Christ. Those are prime examples of salt losing its taste.
In the Gospel passage for today, Jesus also calls us to be the light of the world, which is a phrase we see in the Old Testament as well. The mission of the ancient Israelites was to be the light of the world, in order to show the peoples of the world what it means to be in right relationship with God. Jesus brings to fruition the Old Testament. The mission of ancient Israel continues in the Church established by Christ, which is now composed both of Jews and Gentiles.
What is more, in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to himself as the light of the world. By calling us, his followers, the light of the world in this passage, he is reiterating that we are to be Christ for the world. The world will encounter Christ's saving grace only through us. Thus, our responsibility is tremendous. Only we Christians can heal the darkness of the world, by letting Christ work through us.
In the Gospel passage for today, Jesus also states: "Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:16). That statement might be puzzling in light of another passage, also from the Gospel of Matthew, which we will hear on Ash Wednesday: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father" (Matthew 6:1). In fact, the whole Ash Wednesday Gospel reading is about not letting other knows when we give alms, pray, or fast. Why the discrepancy between the two?
The difference in perspective has to do with our focus. When we pray, fast, and give of our resources, we have the opportunity to grow spiritually. But if we put these actions on public display, we lose the correct focus and can easily turn these actions into self-aggrandizement. What is more, if we make a show of helping others less fortunate than ourselves, then we can easily embarrass them and can turn our charitable actions into a way of trying to assert superiority over others.
By contrast, the good deeds that Jesus talks about in the Gospel passage for this Sunday have to do with building up the Kingdom of God. We are to show the values of Christ in action, so that others might see them and might be inspired to follow Christ themselves. From this perspective, even our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can be shown, as long as we do so to give the world a good example, and not to gain glory for ourselves. First and foremost, in all things, we must give credit and glory to the Father for giving us his grace to work through us, rather than seeking the praise for ourselves.
The question of good deeds raises another topic, the centuries-old debate between Protestants and Catholics about faith versus works. Historically, Protestants have, for the most part, claimed that we need only faith for our salvation, not works, that is to say good deeds. The argument seems hollow from the start, considering how often the Holy Scriptures enjoin upon us the doing of good deeds, both in the Old and New Testaments.
Our relationship with God starts with faith. But our faith has to be lived out day to day. Without actions our words are useless. I once heard a professor, who was also a priest, explain this in the following way: Imagine if a man and woman had just gotten married and the husband were to say something like this to his wife: "Dear, I love you. I love you very much and I will keep telling you how much I love you. But I will never show my love for you through my actions at any time through our marriage. So just take my word for it." Obviously, such a marriage could not survive. Neither can our relationship with Christ survive if we do not show our faith through our actions every day.
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The readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, are:
Isaiah 58:7-10
Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Via Dolorosa, First Station, in Jerusalem by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.