A long time ago, one of my sons decided to play an April Fool’s Day prank on his parents. He put salt instead of sugar in the sugar bowl. I poured our coffee out and handed his travel cup to my husband as he left for work. Then I sat down to enjoy mine before it was time to get the kids off to school. Well, that’s a taste it’s hard to forget... And there were no cellphones back then for me to text or call John to warn him. In order to get through to bored teenagers, youth ministers have come up with the following activities: r Take an onion. Put a stick in it and cover it with caramel. Have the youth bite into it... r Take some Oreo cookies. Remove the cream filling and replace with tooth paste... r Take a Twinkie. Remove the cream filling and replace with mayonnaise... I know. But all these gross-out object lessons are meant to teach young people about how appearances can be deceiving, and the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of situations so that we don’t just jump into moral and mortal danger. 2 We all want authenticity, don’t we? We all want the inside to match the outside. When promised a caramel apple, who wants to bite into an onion? Nobody likes a toothpaste Oreo to say nothing of a mayonnaise Twinkie. The inside should match the outside. Sugar and salt look identical to the eye but the tongue soon finds out the difference... Today in our Gospel reading Jesus has a lot to say about salt and the importance of salt being salt and not something else, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Well, what does that mean? He doesn’t say, “You will someday be the salt of the earth,” or “Continue to work at becoming the salt of the earth,” no, “You ARE the salt of the earth.” So how are we doing? Are we living as the salt of the earth? Of course, the way in which modern people view salt is very different from those of 2,000 years ago. Salt is very inexpensive in our culture. We may only buy small amounts of salt for cooking, but we buy it in 40 pound 3 bags for use in water softeners or on slick winter sidewalks and by the dump-truck load to melt ice on roads and bridges. In Biblical times salt was rare, hard to obtain, and considered a very precious commodity. Jesus used an analogy they could easily understand to let them know he expected something extraordinary from them for the sake of God. In Jesus’ day, salt was often connected with purity. It was used by the Jews to purify their offerings to God. Salt was also used to aid healing. A saline solution is used even today to clean wounds before dressing them (Yes, I watched E.R. !) As salt in the world we can promote healing through prayer, caring for others, and supporting the least, the lost, and the lonely. Sometimes Christians have been the people who want to quit the earth, to escape into an abstract spiritual existence. But Jesus wants his followers to engage deeply with the world, to act as a spice that enlivens all the rest. Salt acts in several ways to enhance the flavour of food. Not only does it create a "salty" flavour element, one of 4 the tastes most desired by humans, but salt can also affect other flavours. In small amounts, salt will intensify sweetness, so it is sometimes sprinkled on fresh fruit or added to candies like caramel. Salt can also be used to reduce bitterness in vegetables like broccoli and olives. Salt will also help release certain molecules in food, bringing out some of the ingredients' flavours and making the food more aromatic. Salt has, for centuries, served as a preservative to prevent food from spoiling. Microbes that can spoil food need moisture to grow; salt acts as a preservative by drawing moisture out of the food. Many disease-causing bacteria are also simply unable to grow in the presence of salt. Pickling is basically soaking food in heavily salted water, which preserves and flavours it. If we, as salt in the world, become preservatives of God’s goodness, we can help prevent spoiling and corruption wherever we find it. As followers of Jesus, we are committed to preserving Christian principles that keep ourselves and others from going bad. 5 The bright colour of many processed types of meat, such as ham or hot dogs, is partially due to salt. The presence of salt helps promote and maintain colour and prevents it from turning gray or muddy. Can you see where I’m going with this? To quote the K-Tel commercials- “But wait! There’s more!” Because salt helps form protein gels, it can be used as a binding agent. When salt is added to foods such as sausage or other processed meats, it causes gelatinization of proteins which then hold the product together. Christian faith gives life joy and meaning. Being salt to the world means pursuing meaning in all we do and and acting in love with all we encounter. We could also consider the use of salt to thaw ice on roads. As salt in the world, we can help melt the iciness of life. Frozen relationships can be melted by applying the warmth of Christian love. We can take that love and wear down the indifference or lack of feeling that often overtakes human beings. It’s important to note something Jesus did not say. He did not tell his disciples to become the pepper of the 6 earth. Pepper calls attention to itself, as opposed to salt that, when properly used, only highlights flavours. Jesus does not expect us to call attention to ourselves in our salting efforts. Rather, we are to help others become more useful, more meaningful, more loving. Usually salt is found in boxes in our pantries or shakers on our dining-room tables. For the salt to become effective, to do its work, however, it must be released from its container. God can help us step outside the box, our comfort zone, so we can work with the people of the earth. God can release us to do the work Jesus encourages us to do in the passage that comes just before our Gospel today, otherwise known as the Beatitudes- to make a difference in the world: giving hope where there is no hope; forgiving where there is sin; embracing where there is loneliness and despair; tolerating where there is prejudice; reconciling where there is conflict; bringing justice where there is wrong; providing food where there is hunger; giving comfort where there is distress or disease. 7 Jesus empowers us to purify, to heal, to nurture, to thaw the frozen, to preserve, and to season and brighten the lives of the people of the earth. Unlike many modern people whose health depends on limiting sodium intake, we Christians do not need to go on a spiritual salt-free diet. Let us be proud to become the salt of the earth. Being salt for the earth means to remind the world of what God created it to be - a loving commonwealth that is created for all to flourish in. You are the salt of the earth, called so by Jesus himself, so go, be salt and nothing else, not sugar, or an onion, or a toothpaste Oreo, or a mayo-Twinkie. Walk bravely into the world and know that we go together empowered by the Holy Spirit.