SALT

Salt

Every once and a while especially during midterm and final season, I often get a craving for those delicious and perfectly salty McDonalds French fries. They are just too perfect not to cave into the temptation to order an extra large and devour. They are so perfectly unique, and just perfectly salty that it leaves you wishing that the cardboard container was eternally bottomless.

In todays Gospel we hear that familiar teaching from the sermon on the mount where Jesus calls us to be salt and light for the world.  Some of the parables that Jesus uses can often be foreign to us, as we are not familiar with the particular societal significance behind the symbols he uses. But today the symbolism and themes are clear: salt and light. They are both essential, and especially within the culture Jesus lived in. Salt was even more essential to preserve foods, and light was defined by the oil lamps as there was no electricity.

A couple weekends ago we heard that it was Jesus who is the light of the world, who came and shone his light on the nations. Today, Jesus tells us that we are that light and that salt of the earth. In virtue of being his followers, we are inherently now the light of the world, the seasoning which brings taste to the world.

We live in an increasingly secular society. God and religion on a whole are seen as some superstitious beliefs of the past, which does not fit in our free and open society. As people of faith, we know that this picture is not accurate. We know and hold onto the salvation of the world, the light of universe. We  have the salt of faith which brings meaning, purpose, eternal happiness, and Salvation to this world. As believers in a real God, who came to bring a new and real change to the status-quo, we too are called in todays Gospel to bring that salt to the earth. We are challenged to retain the seasoning of faith in our own lives, and to help others to see the joy and excitement of being a member of God’s holy people.

As those delicious McDonalds French fries are unique, and particularly salty, we are called to carry the unique call of Christ in our life.  We are challenged today to remain firm in our faith, and to bring The Light of the world to the world. As a community of faith, let us not shy away from our faith in our day to day life, but let us embrace the new life of holiness that we are called to partake in. Let us bathe in the goodness of God, and let him guide us every single day, standing up for his kingdom and pointing others to him. In this way, we are unique in this secular age, we are attractive, and we bring the deepest filling to everyone’s deepest craving.