After The Beatitudes, Jesus continues teaching about His Kingdom:
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
Much has been made about these words, most of which revolve around the fact that salt cannot, in fact, “lose” its saltiness. At least not without being chemically altered. Apparently Jesus wasn’t talking about GMO’s when He compared His followers to salt.
And though salt cannot lose its saltiness, it can, however, become so diluted that it loses its efficacy. It can be drowned out by other spices, watered down by…too much water. When the ratio goes out of balance, the flavor needs restored.
Top Chef if one of our favorite shows. It’s 22nd season is about to begin, this year gathering chefs from around the country (and one Canadian) to compete for the title of “Top Chef.” It’s a lot of fun watching the contestants, especially when their creative and culinary abilities shine. One of the consistent critiques, however, happens when a dish is bland. “You needed to add more salt,” one of the judges will lament. “It didn’t have enough flavor.” Whatever salt they did add, wasn’t enough. It became indistinguishable from the rest of the ingredients.
I wonder if Jesus had something similar in mind when He shared His concern that His followers lose their saltiness, that their lives cease being flavor-full because they’ve become so diluted by the demands and desires of this world that they are no longer distinguishable from it?
Tonight, when I will most likely add some table salt to my dinner plate, I will be thinking about Jesus’ words. And I’ll be thinking about this season of Lent, too.
Are there desires in my life that more oriented toward the ways of the world around me than they are by The Way of Jesus?
What aspects of life - what I want, what I wear, what I am working to achieve or attain - reveal my deeper motives, values, or longings? What might they reveal to me about the condition of my soul?
Are there noises or newsfeeds or music that I need to quiet down, even turn off, because they are drowning out the voice of God in my life? I challenged folks in our church to take a weekly sabbath day from watching the news. I wonder if that is a Lenten discipline others might feel nudged to take on in the month ahead?
Yes, tonight I will be thinking about salt and how I might recapture more of the flavor of Jesus in my life during this season.
