You are the salt of the earth.
Salt is different from other sorts of seasonings and condiments in that, used correctly, it brings out more deeply the flavor inherent in the dish. There can be problems if too much salt is applied, if the taste becomes more about the salt than what it is meant to season. That sort of error leaves those who partake thirsty. Too little salt, by contrast, does not overpower the dish. But it doesn't allow the flavor of the dish to become as vibrant and discernable as it should be. Further, what nutritional value the dish does have quickly degrades and spoils without salt to preserve it. The world is such a dish. There are many marvelous flavors waiting to be brought fourth, and these are the unique calling of God for every individual. Without the salt of Christians living as they are meant to live these individuals will remain only with the ingredients of the world, and therefore bland and with only a brief shelf life. Christians, realizing that salt is good, may instead try to overdo it, perhaps by becoming overly preachy or by teaching too much doctrine all at once. This does little but increase the thirst in the world for the true living water, but in a way that makes them less likely to find it.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
We live in a world that is more interested in covering up the flavors that are God's gift and crafting identities of their own from scratch. People who insist on this are like children pouring ketchup over a steak. Part of the job of the Christian as salt as to draw attention to the inherent God given value of which each individual is a unique expression. We do this when we ourselves first remember our own Christian identity and live accordingly. It is then that we don't add too much of ourselves to the mix out of pride, or too little out of a lack of courage or a false humility.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
On the one hand Jesus told us to conceal our good deeds even from ourselves, to pray only in our inner rooms where others cannot see. On the other, he tells us that we are meant to be light to the world, just as he himself was light which the darkness could not overcome. Jesus, as an example, performed his works to be seen, so that his Father would be glorified. Christians throughout the centuries have followed in his steps, founding hospitals and schools, loving the poor, the widow, and the orphan. The light of Christian charity is an invitation to the world to realize that there is something more happening within the Church than mere talk can convey, that the love of Jesus himself is still present and on the move, transforming individuals and the world. Yet if we begin to celebrate ourselves for the light and forget to give thanks, forget to attribute everything to the grace of God, we will find ourselves concealing the light under the bushel basket of our ego. This is the point of the teaching of Jesus that we not focus on ourselves or celebrate ourselves in works of charity. When we step out of the way Jesus himself shines through more clearly.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
We all have a unique individual flavor, an ability to illuminate places that would otherwise remain in darkness. But to actualize this potentiality we must not try to create from scratch or to cover what we find with something which we imagine to be better. We must treasure the gifts given by God and seek as much as possible to bring them to the fore. It then that the world will come to us to satisfy their hunger, and in turn become able to nourish others.
‘The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”
We are all meant to give light to the world. When we get the veil of self out of the way of that light it is then that the world will rush out from darkness with joy and glorify the Father in heaven.
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