5th Sunday, Year A: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima
Theme: You Are the Salt of the Earth
Readings: Is 58:7–10; 1 Cor 2:1–5; Mt 5:13–16
Dear friends in
Christ, for several Sundays now, our readings have reflected on Christ as the
light of the world and on our vocation as Christians to reflect that light
wherever we are. Today, the first reading and the Gospel continue this theme of
light, but the Gospel adds another powerful image: salt. In this gospel, Jesus
says, “You are the light of the world,” and also, “You are the salt
of the earth.” Since we have spoken much about light in the past weeks, let
us focus today on salt.
Let us try to
understand what Christ meant when he told his disciples that they are the salt
of the earth. When Matthew recorded this statement, he assumed that the
disciples already understood what being “the salt of the earth” implied, so he
offered no explanation. However, when Luke (14:34–35) and Mark (9:50) recorded
the same saying, they added clarifications about salt to help their audiences
grasp what Christ expected from his followers. Both evangelists began by
affirming that salt is good and then explained what Christ wanted his disciples
to do as the salt of the earth.
It is therefore
helpful for us to consider what salt does in order to understand what Christ
meant when he used this metaphor. Let us survey some uses of salt in the Old
Testament and in the ancient world to unravel what Christ means when He calls
us the salt of the earth.
Salt as a
Preservative: Salt is one of
the earliest and most common preservatives known to humanity. To prevent food
from decaying, people added salt before storing it, because salt keeps
bacteria, ants, and insects away. In ancient times, cereals and other seeds
were preserved with salt. For the ancient Greeks, salt was seen almost as a
“new soul” breathed into dead things; without it, something corrupts and
decomposes, but with it, freshness is retained. In other words, salt defeats
corruption, decay, and decomposition wherever it is introduced.
So, when Christ said
that we are the salt of the earth, he was telling us that just as salt
preserves things from decay, Christians are meant to preserve the world from
every form of moral and spiritual decay. We are called to protect society from
ideologies and practices that lead to corruption and decadence. Dear friends,
we are preservers of the good things in society. Just as salt keeps food fresh,
we Christians are to keep our society fresh with love, peace, charity, and
fraternal correction. We are to uphold and preserve the good moral standards of
our communities.
Just as salt defeats
corruption wherever it is introduced, Christians are to confront and overcome
corruption wherever they find themselves. We are to swim against the currents
of corruption already present or emerging in any institution or society we
enter.
To defeat corruption
and preserve freshness, salt must mix well with what it is meant to preserve;
it allows itself to be absorbed. In the same way, Christians are not to isolate
themselves from society or withdraw from social life. We are called to engage
in the social, economic, and political life of our communities so that we can
heal society from within. Yet, as salt does not allow itself to be corrupted by
what it touches, we too must not allow the corruption around us to defeat us as
we participate in the life of society.
Salt as
Seasoning/Condiment: Job 6:6
says, “But no one can eat tasteless, unsalted food.” Salt is a substance found
in every kitchen. It adds flavour to food and seasons what would otherwise be
bland. Without salt, even the richest dish becomes insipid and unappealing.
Dear friends, salt
gives flavour to food. Without it, a well-prepared meal becomes tasteless. In
the same way, the world becomes tasteless without the flavour of Christianity.
Christians have the duty to restore the divine flavour—the divine taste—that the
world lost through sin. To those who have lost the joy and taste of life,
Christians are called to be restorers of joy and hope. We are meant to be
diffusers of joy in a depressed world. God sends us to restore the flavour of
joy, love, compassion, peace, happiness, tolerance, and mercy to families,
relationships, and communities torn apart by hatred, war, selfishness, and
intolerance.
One remarkable thing
about salt is that it leaves an unmistakable mark on food; it does not lose its
identity. You do not need scientific analysis to know when food has been
salted—the taste is evident. In the same way, Christians must not lose their
identity in the world. We are Christ’s disciples and restorers of divine taste.
This identity should be visible to everyone who encounters us. If we fail to
live according to our identity, we lose our “taste” in the world.
Let us ask ourselves
what kind of flavour we are adding to the lives of our friends. Is it a
positive flavour or a poisonous one? Are we adding goodness to society or
negativity? Are we making the lives of others sweeter or more bitter? Salt does
not lose its saltiness; let us not lose ours.
Salt and Health: Medically, a deficiency of salt or sodium in
the body leads to depression, weakness, nausea, vomiting, cramps, headaches,
irritability, confusion, seizures, coma, and even death. During the
Nigerian–Biafran War, salt deficiency in people’s diets contributed to
widespread cases of kwashiorkor. Salt is essential to human health. In the same
way, Christians are essential to the moral and spiritual health of the world.
Christ is telling us that without our good works, the world will suffer terrible
deficiencies with painful consequences. He warns us that if we lose focus on
the good things he has sent us to do, the world will suffer greatly.
Salt as Purifier: The prophet Elisha used salt to purify the
river of Jericho (2 Kgs 2:19–22). Salt has long been used to cleanse materials
of germs. Its association with purity is strengthened by its glittering
whiteness. The ancient Greeks called salt “divine,” while the ancient Romans
considered it the purest of all substances because it comes from the purest of
all things: the sun and the sea. In the Old Testament, salt was sprinkled on
temple offerings to make them clean before being presented to God (Lev 2:13).
Dear friends, just as
salt purifies whatever it touches, every disciple of Christ is called to be a
purifying agent in the world. We are to purify the world of sin through our
good works, through our loving admonitions to friends, by refusing to support evil,
and by refusing to compromise our Christian identity. Christians are meant to
have a cleansing, antiseptic presence wherever they find themselves. But if we
do not first cleanse ourselves of our own sins, we cannot hope to cleanse the
world of its sins. Let us therefore repent, seek God’s mercy, and then extend
that same cleansing grace to others.
Our Vocation as
Salt: Just as salt makes a
positive difference wherever it is placed, so too should a Christian make a
positive difference wherever he or she is found. Light should overcome
darkness; love should overcome hatred; mercy should overcome cruelty; charity
should overcome selfishness; peace should prevail over conflict; meekness
should temper arrogance; humility should defeat pride. This is our vocation as
the salt of the earth.
Peace be with you.
Rev. Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima
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