Homily: Tuesday - 10th Week of OT 2016 - Salt of the earth

I remember as a kid, my dad telling stories about working in the salt mines under Lake Erie when he was a younger man.  Morton Salt has salt mines that run around 2000 feet underneath our great lake.  This salt is an important source of revenue for the State of Ohio, and the salt is utilized in a number of ways: particular as a seasoning for our food, and on our roads during the winter.

Jesus uses the metaphor of salt to teach his followers the Gospel. He says to his followers, you are salt of the earth.  And salt, for his listeners, evokes a number of images, just like it does for us.

Of course, salt is a seasoning. It adds flavor to an otherwise bland dish.  It’s not an entrée in itself, you aren’t going to sit down to a nice bowl full of salt for breakfast.  But it adds something.

Christians are to be a sort of seasoning to an otherwise bland world.  There is nothing more interesting, no one more full of life than a true Christian saint filled with the life of Christ. Something each of us are to aspire to.

Salt is also a Preservative: In the days before refrigeration, salt made preserving food possible for times of famine. Christians need to be a preservative in our culture, to preserve what is good and holy in creation, opposing spiritual decay.

A diet containing some salt is necessary for life.  The ancients, too, understood, salt was necessary for good health, and would be used medicinally.  Similarly, Christians need to be salt in this way. The health of a society can be measured by its Christians living faithfully according to the precepts of our faith.

Salt is also a Purifier: The salt in the oceans of the world that act as a natural cleaning agent, and most water purification systems use salt as a "purifier." Christians are to be the world’s purifiers: opposing the corrupting powers of malice and perversion and greed, purifying our minds through study of God’s word and preaching that word in our culture.

Finally, just like it’s used on our roads, in ancient times salt was also used to prevent people from slipping on slippery paths.  Christians are called to help souls from slipping into damnation—promoting the teachings of Jesus on marriage, family, and morality, which give stability to civilization.

In Jesus’ instruction to be the “salt of the earth” it is clear that following him requires us to have an active role in the world and in the lives of others, to be filled with his life, and to bring His life to others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.