Salt.

I cannot stop thinking about salt.

My mom tells a story about a cooking mishap early in her marriage with my father. As she cooked, the salt fell into the dish. She tried her best to scoop out the excess salt, but the meal still came out tasting way too salty. My dad was in the habit of adding salt to all his meals without tasting it first. This meal was no exception. Even my salt-loving father could not stand the extreme over seasoning. The meal was inedible.

Unlike my father, a meal has to be really bland before I will add salt. I never liked a lot of seasoning. If I could taste it, there was too much. My taste buds became even more bland after chemo. Even if something tastes good, my digestive system may not be too thrilled with my food choices.

Salt.

Why has this one little seasoning overtaken my thinking?

There’s an episode of the Good Witch when Stephanie is in Cassie’s shop looking for a special kind of light bulb. Stephanie picks up a saltshaker and comments that it is not as fancy or exotic as most of the things in Cassie’s shop. Cassie shrugs and says that it is not intended to be fancy. It’s for salt. It does exactly what it is designed to do.

Salt.

Designed to accentuate a dish, not to be the main ingredient. I am no chef. In fact, I hate cooking, but I have heard it said that if you can taste the salt, you used too much.

Salt.

So what?

I began January 2023 by participating in a home retreat written by Mark Thibodeaux Sj called Ascending with Ignatius. On day 14, he wrote about salt, quoting scripture, explaining what salt meant to those in the days of Jesus, and comparing salt with Christians.

His description is comparable to the story of Goldilocks and the three little bears, although he never mentions this story.

Matthew 5:13-16

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Briefly:

Salt was so uncommon in the day of Jesus that it was a special treat, used on rare occasions such as weddings.

Too much salt is bad. Not enough salt is bad. Salt is intended to add flavor without taking away from the main dish.

Being an overbearing and pushy Christian is bad. Being a Christian who hides or fails to live as we are called to live is bad. We need to be just right.

What does it mean to be just right?

As Mark Thibodeaux Sj explains it, being just right:

• Requires that we pray regularly in the faith, hope, and love of Jesus.
• Requires a great deal of responsibility.
• Does not draw attention to itself.

On the same day, I read January 14 of Oswald Chambers devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. Chambers shared an insight about the famous calling of Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:8

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

We (I) always assumed Jesus was calling Isaiah specifically. Maybe I was confusing this verse with 1 Samuel 3:4 when God was calling Samuel specifically.

Chambers points out that God was not calling Isaiah specifically, but Isaiah heard the call and answered. We cannot answer if we cannot hear and we cannot hear if we do not pray.

To pray in faith, hope, and love is to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) – which means to pray selflessly – which means we may not be the most popular people in the room – either inside or outside of the church. Following God takes courage and a great deal of responsibility. After all, we do not want to be the reason people are either ignorant of or repulsed by Jesus.

And, last, to be the salt means that the main dish always remains Jesus – it is never about us. Self-centeredness has no place in our Christian call to be the salt of the earth.

We all know people who claim to be Christian, but either live their own lives as if they never met Christ or have such a destructive way of showing it.

Anti – anything rallies come to mind. Not that I am anti-protest. I am all for speaking out and speaking up. We just celebrated Martin Luther King Day. Example of a protest I would rally behind.

What I am against is the mode and method. I am anti-social media rants or ignorantly or lovelessly screaming at people across the aisle or worse – causing emotional or physical harm.

I think again of my New Year’s post and video – faces – relationships – looking people in the eye. Do you know how difficult it is to say certain things to people when you are face-to-face with them? Do you know how much easier it is to work through problems and misunderstandings if we are courageous enough to talk through them face-to-face rather than through text or email?

I think about the damage done within my own denomination – from those in leadership unwilling to meet face-to-face – not being salty enough – or those hiding behind email or text – causing things to get out of hand – too salty.

What would the church and society look like if we learned to be just the right amount of salty?

I think of a young pastor who is very egocentric. The kid has great potential when he learns to set aside his youthful ego and truly listen. That takes time. I still struggle with this one. As a person who has flown under the radar most of my life, I like those pats on the back. It is a struggle each time I put something out there to NOT seek accolades, to keep it about Jesus, ESPECIALLY on those rare occasions when I preach.

Salt.

Mark Thibodeaux Sj is spot on when he reminds us of the weight of the responsibility being the salt of the earth carries for Christians. I suppose that is why it is of the utmost importance to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).