We Are Salt

In nineteenth century China, a young girl was born into a poor village. Her name was Lily. It was customary for a girl to have her feet bound around the age of seven. Lily’s mother was determined that her daughters feet would be tiny, no bigger than a grown man’s thumb. Her mother was vicious in the process of foot-binding. She wrapped Lily’s feet tighter and tighter, folding the four smaller toes under the foot until Lily’s bones broke. She forced Lily to walk on her tiny feet and the pain almost made her faint. Lily’s feet came out perfectly, they were the smallest in the village. Because of the size of her feet, Lily was chosen to marry to son of a wealthy landowner.

For a few more years, ceremonial gifts flowed back and forth from Lily’s poor family to the wealthy landowner. Finally, Lily was carried to the home of her new husband. Lily would make this young man happy and they would have children. Lily would spend her entire life indoors, either in an upstairs women’s chamber, or serving her husband at meals. The only time that she had to speak to her husband was in the bed chamber. Lily rarely went outside.

After a few years, there was a drought and the fields did not produce. From talk among the men at meals, Lily learned that her husband was worried. As the months passed, she could see her husband become more irritable, more anxious. Finally, one night in the bed chamber, her husband explained to her that he had been thinking and he knew that he had to do something different to keep his family fed. He decided to take the mule and some of his men and travel to a faraway kingdom. There he would spend the last of their money to buy the most precious thing that he could think of…salt. He knew that if he could return to their village and sell the salt, he could feed his family. Lily, who had spent her entire life in the women’s chamber upstairs, thought he had gone mad. But he assured her that this was the only way.

And so her husband traveled by mule with some other men. Lily cried when he left. She was so afraid.

Her husband was gone for an entire year. During that time, a terrible sickness swept through their village and almost half the population died. Lily had to hide in a room with her children, only leaving to cook gruel to eat. When her husband finally returned, she was overjoyed to see him.

And the salt. It made him the richest man in the village. Because everyone needs salt.

Have you forgotten that this is the season of Epiphany? I know, there is a lot going on these days. The world seems like its going crazy. But it is still Epiphany in Epiphany, we remember the showings, the epiphanies, the “aha” moments. In Epiphany, we examine the myriad of ways that Jesus showed us who God is and who we are in God.

Last week and for the next few weeks, we will be looking at the Sermon on the Mount, one of the greatest revelations that Jesus gave us about our nature and about God’s nature.

Jesus sat on this beautiful hill above the Sea of Galilee and he taught his disciples many things. He told them, “You are the salt of the earth.”

This image of salt, it is so rich and so deep. Let us look at it closely. Let us peel back the depth of this image. It is rich.

Salt is valuable. It is so valuable that a man would travel for a year just to bring it home to his village. It is one of the key ingredients of life on earth. We could not survive without salt.

And so you are valuable. You are precious to God.

Along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, salt is gathered from salt marshes. When the water washes up into the marsh, it deposits salt on the shore. When the water recedes the salt is left on the ground. It was essential for the people of the Galilee to gather the salt before it became covered over with dirt and rocks. If the salt became buried by earth, it would lose its flavor. Once its flavor was lost, it could not be used for much, only to be thrown on the road so that when it rained, people did not slip. It could no longer flavor food or preserve it and it could not be thrown into a field or it would kill the crops.

Jesus continued, “But if salt has lost its flavor, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no good but for to be trampled under foot.”

As a believer, you are in the world but not of the world. You must interact with the world and do your best to make it a better place. You are to remain informed and pray for the world. But you must never become covered over by the world and its mess. You must never become so absorbed in the activities of the world that you forget who you are and lose your essence. As salt, you must remain above the day to day, remain in close contact with God, and never forget that you are precious.

Salt does not DO much, it changes its surroundings by simply touching them, being with them. It transforms its surroundings by simple proximity. So you will automatically make the world a better place, just by being yourself.

Salt brings out the flavor in the food that it touches. As a follower of Jesus, you will bring out the best in other people. You will help them find their essence, their flavor, simply by being you. Listen to them, be with them. You will add so much just by being with them.

Salt also helps food stay fresh. Its very nature keeps meat from spoiling. If you are faithful in prayer and service, you will help others to stay open to God, to stay and fresh and honest. You will help preserve values and hope and faith. You will give people courage.

And finally salt is a disinfectant. You already know this, how you have to spray your nose with salt water when it is runny or gargle salt water when you have a mouth sore? Salt cleans. And so will you, again, just by being a faithful follower of Jesus. You will make the world a better place.

I know that in this time of great turmoil and anxiety it seems that all of us must do do do. There are many loud voices out there arguing about what is right and good. But sometimes substantial change is made by the simple presence of goodness. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not focusing so much on what you do as who you are. Orient yourself to his teaching, to his words. You are salt. Do your best to follow him. Be the best that you can be. Listen. Touch. Salt affects its surroundings by its very nature. Never forget the power that you have just be being who you truly are.