“You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13, King James Version)
Salt was and is a common and plentiful mineral in Israel. Taken from the Dead Sea, the Jewish people had many uses for salt, including preserving fish, as part of the sacrificial offerings at the Temple, and for rubbing newborn babies to promote wellbeing. Salt, as it is now, was necessary for life. Even today, Israelis have a miniscule amount of salt added to the public drinking water for the health of the populace.
In this message to his disciples, Jesus takes this common mineral to drive home several points. First, the disciples are to be the salt of the earth, not the salt inside the church. Just as God’s salvation is offered to the world, so the church must be the salt of the entire earth. Jesus commissions the church to be the salt of the earth.
Second, Jesus warns that salt can lose its savour. Salt, if it is diluted with other ingredients, can lose its power, its saltiness. Israel lost its potency by not fulfilling the mission the Lord had set for it.
Third, Jesus states that if salt loses its savour, then it is “good for nothing.” As history shows us, Jerusalem was eventually “trodden under foot” by Titus’s Roman Army in 70 AD. Titus razed Jerusalem’s walls, pulled down the Temple, and scattered its population.
In its 2,000-year history the church has often been in danger of becoming “good for nothing.” It has, at times, lost its savour. It has also remained in the salt shaker instead of being the salt of the earth. The church must constantly learn new ways and opportunities to spread the message of salvation over the whole earth.
Today, the United Methodist Church reaffirmed its mission to be the salt of the earth by reaffirming biblical teachings about human sexuality. The United Methodist Church has retained its savour. Its commitment to be the salt of the earth will be rewarded with expanded opportunities to reach out to a lost world with the Good News, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us commit ourselves to be the salt of the earth as Jesus instructed. The world needs our savour now more than ever.
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