The Humble Power of Salt... 

I grew up in a rough neighborhood, in a small city, on the East Coast. We never had a garden, canned our own food, baked bread, hunted for meat or any of the other numerous things that have become a daily part of my life. That’s what I get for marrying a country boy. Now, I live on a couple acres outside of town in the Midwest, raise ducks and chickens for meat and eggs, and help my husband process the animals he hunts to stock the freezer for our family. Every year I plant and labor over a large garden, well large for me at around 40x60 feet, we add trees to our small orchard, and I have had to learn how to preserve the food that we grow. In addition to these skills I had to teach myself how to bake and cook (thank you Martha Stewart and PBS for the free lessons). I was the kid who built ramps and had bike jumping contests and played basketball in the driveway until it was too dark to see. I did not bake. Yet here I was, all grown up and trying to learn new skills. Given my history, it is fair to say I had no knowledge of ‘food science’ or the different roles that each ingredient played in a dish coming together. But I was determined to learn!

Enter baking… 

The smell of fresh baked bread is like no other and the taste of a well-risen batch of homemade bread, fresh from the oven and slathered with butter is one of the most comforting things I can think of! Over the years, through trial and much error, baking has become a true joy in my life… and my kids are pretty happy about that as well. Recently I was talking with a young girl who had stayed up late working on a project for school. This teenager had taken the time to make her own sourdough starter from scratch, with the intent of baking a loaf of sourdough bread as part of her class project. However, she made one simple mistake, she forgot to add salt when mixing the dough. As you can probably guess, the bread did not turn out as she intended. Salt plays so many roles in the bread baking process. Salt prevents the yeast from running wild and over fermenting, which can cause the bread to rise too quickly while proofing but then fall when baking. Salt also affects the structure of the bread as it strengthens and tightens the strands of gluten. Without salt, the bread dough will be weak and will struggle to hold its shape. More importantly, to my tastebuds at least, is the flavor that salt imparts to the bread. If you have ever forgotten to add salt to bread, sweet baked goods like cookies, or even savory soups, you immediately notice something important is missing. 

While my family loves, even cherishes, our homemade bread, in the 1st Ct., bread was not simply a treat but a necessary staple of the Israelite diet. Contrary to our modern, and rather varied, western diet, during the time Jesus walked on the earth food options were limited, and for the majority of people somewhat scarce. Bread was often eaten at every meal. Given the important role of bread in daily life, Jesus’ words to his disciples (and the crowds) in Matthew 5:13 would have stood out. After telling His disciples that they are the “Salt of the earth…” our bibles often translate Jesus as saying “but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?”. Jesus then goes on to state what everyone there knows, “tasteless” salt is worthless and must be thrown out. Unfortunately, in this case many Bible translations lack the full meaning of Jesus’ words. What we have translated as “tasteless”, actually refers not just to loss of taste but also lacking strength. It is as if Jesus is saying that if salt looses the basic essence of what it is and does, loosing its saltiness, it proves itself to be useless and worthy of disposal. Ouch! Let us remember Jesus is speaking these words to His disciples, giving them both an encouragement and a warning. The encouragement: “You are the salt of the earth”, you keep the “yeast” in check so it doesn’t run wild and outside of it’s time, you provide strength and structure so things don’t just fall apart but are held together, and you impart “flavor” that gratifies the tastebuds. The warning: if you loose the essence of your God-created nature (their saltiness), what good are you as a disciple and minister in the kingdom of God? You are of no benefit to yourself or to others. So how does a disciple remain “salty”? Oswald Chambers, in his Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, answers this very question: “How are we to maintain the healthy, salty tang of saintliness? By keeping our right relationship to God through Jesus Christ. (pg. 16). 

Jeannine K. Brown, in her commentary on Matthew, enhances our understanding of Jesus’ salt metaphor by calling to mind Leviticus 2:13. Chapter 2 of Leviticus is focused on the grain offerings Israel was to present before the Lord and God tells Moses that every grain offering must be seasoned with salt “so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering” (Lev. 2:13). The ‘covenant of salt’ is also mentioned in Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5. Brown understands Jesus’ salt metaphor as calling upon both Israel’s covenant with God and Israels missional role among the nations. (Brown p. 55). Jesus both informed and reminded His disciples that they are salt. The disciples keep their saltiness by remaining in relationship with Jesus, just as Israel maintained their saltiness by remaining in covenant relationship with God. That same principal holds true for all disciples of Jesus. You, I, as believers and followers of Jesus, are the salt of the earth. Let us not become weak and tasteless but remain in Christ so that we can be true to our nature, not worthless but useful disciples so that others will be drawn into the kingdom of God. So go ahead, fellow believers, Be Salty.