The Value of Salt Matthew 5:13-16
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Value of Salt Matthew 5:13-16 Over the past several months, Wendy and I have cultivated a liking for traditional Indian food. It’s not everyone’s favorite, I realize, and we both had concerns over how hot and spicy it can be; in addition, I admit, the strictly vegetarian diet didn’t have a lot of appeal to me either. Nevertheless, I’ve now been converted to appreciate it, without apprehension over biting down on paneer instead of chicken or fish, or consuming rice and grains rather than leafy vegetables—enough to enjoy a satisfying meal. Between what Wendy has prepared since the wedding last summer and what we consumed in New Delhi a couple of weeks ago, Indian food has curried a lot of favor (and flavor) with me! While staying with Zed’s parents in New Delhi, we were treated to a range of smells and tastes, with spices and herbs in abundance. Pali, Zed’s mother, is a strict vegetarian and obsessive in having natural ingredients in anything she prepares. There are no shortcuts. However, Pali is quite insistent on limiting salt, critical as she is of how the Indian marketplace has been inundated with fast food restaurants and processed and packaged foods, resulting in widespread health problems in the population relative to high blood pressure. What could I say? Obviously, Americans are largely the source for this, and we suffer the same, especially with the table salt we then add to our meals. It’s serious enough for cardiologists to nutritionists to warn that salt has become the enemy of the people— here, there, and everywhere. 1 This is not to say salt is a recent additive to our collective diets. Yet, it’s only been in the past century or so that health concerns over salt consumption have been raised, once it joined sugar as ubiquitous ingredients in food processing. Throughout history, however, salt was rarely overdone because it wasn’t plentiful. In fact, it was a coveted commodity, particularly as a preservative. Somewhere in time, ancient fishermen must have realized drying salted fish prevented spoilage for storage (or unsalted dried fish, which gave rise to that pungent Norwegian Christmas delicacy I and others were subjected to, i.e., lutefisk, which is dried codfish soaked in water and lye over several days). Then, some Neanderthal hunter must have discovered that salting meat did much the same, by drying out the natural moisture that contributed to the growth of bacteria. So, even thousands of years ago, salting meat and fish helped to ensure food supplies were safe to eat. Historically, the value of salt was always premium since it was fairly limited in supply, being residual from the sea brine or from mineral springs; it was a tradable, and highly cherished, commercial commodity. Salt was so important, it was even used to ceremonially seal ancient covenants and agreements (e.g., Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; II Chronicles 13:5). The Romans paid their soldiers with “salarium,” (from whence we get the English term, “salary”), which was derived from the Latin word for “salt”—sal—because it was compensation paid for the purchase of salt. Even another familiar term, “salad,” originates from this Latin root, literally referring to the Roman practice of salting leafy vegetables. 2 A little further south into sub-Saharan Africa, for many centuries salt was used as currency, including in the purchase and sale of slaves! The most intriguing reference I found was that 1500 years ago the Moors traded gold for salt, for equal weight—in effect, they traded a brick of gold for a brick of salt (with that type of market sense, no wonder they are no Moor)! History tells us that not only have ancient tribes fought territorial battles over salt, in recent centuries monarchs imposed taxes on it, which incited various rebellions and revolutions, including the Russian revolt of 1648; the hated gabelle (salt tax in France) was a key catalyst for the French revolution; in December 1775, Virginia farmers began their own salt riots when there was a shortage, contributing to the revolutionary cause a few months later. Even less than a century ago, salt was taxed as a commodity by the British in their colonies—a point of bitterness and defiance for Gandhi and his followers in the Indian independence movement, who you may recall, made their own salt to avoid paying the British tax, i.e., the Salt March. I’m sure you find this fascinating about the value of salt! In all likelihood, you thought it was so common and cheap that you never thought twice about it, except to avoid it. This might be why the old idiom, “a person is worth their weight in salt,” was never truly understood in modern culture. With history as our guide, it’s clear it was meant as a wonderful compliment! It means you are extremely valuable, essential to daily life and, I suppose, you preserve what was unspoiled and good about the world! 3 This revised understanding, then, should enlighten us on another idiom, i.e., one Jesus himself may have coined when he declared his followers to be “salt of the earth”—the familiar reference we have here in our text today from the Sermon on the Mount. This is particularly insightful, because we likely interpreted it as meaning something quite different than he intended, as referring to those who are rather common, perhaps undistinguished, down-to-earth, and practical. “Salt of the earth” people are characterized as the ones who are straight-forward and call it as it is without pretentions. “Salty dogs” are seen as ordinary folks close to the essential elements of life—no frills, no fanfare. Hence, old Noankers may be referred to as “salt of the earth” people because they possess rugged charm, unvarnished honesty and, like table salt, they’re fairly cheap! But from the view of history, it’s apparent we’ve had it wrong. Given the value of salt in Jesus’ day, we now realize he was citing “salt of the earth” people as being quite special, absolutely essential, greatly coveted, and beneficial to help preserve and save others. Can you imagine what it would have meant to those who likely never felt much value in the social order of his time? Here was Jesus endowing them with a measure of personal and public dignity, which raised their self-esteem, self-respect, and social value—quite out of the norm for many with whom he made company. That was a declaration of divine grace and, in turn, a deliberate point of resistance against the established social and religious order. In Jesus’ counterintuitive messaging, the “deplorable” and “expendable” peasants were essential to God’s realm and Israel’s nation, coveted much like the salt of the earth! 4 So, what did that mean beyond a glorious upgrade in status? That’s where I think it has its most impactful meaning. To be salt, meant they helped preserve what was good about and in humanity, in contrast to those who did things to spoil it. Salt of the earth people were those who actively resisted the corruption of the world by building relationships of trust and communities that could sustain it. For one thing, as a rule they weren’t among society’s elite—wealthy, influential, and lords and masters over everyone under them; they were quite the opposite, among those forced to share resources out of need, mutually dependent on each other; perhaps they even were humbled enough to be grateful for their daily supply of bread and fish. But in Jesus’ eyes, that is what made them special and morally superior. Their low position in life required them to depend on building a community of mutual support and trust (a reflection of God’s realm—a kindom, not a kingdom, meaning a family-like relationship, instead of a hierarchy with them at the bottom) in dire contrast to those who strived to be on top of the social order and hierarchy, whose selfish ambitions were never satisfied, enough to corrupt what was good in them and in their world. In other words, salt of the earth people would not be easily contaminated or compromised by the corrosive elements of large scale greed, deceit, bribery, abuse of power, fraud, putting self-interest above everything else because it wouldn’t be in their interests to do so. Certainly, this wasn’t because salt of the earth people were perfect and unblemished in their character. But central to Jesus’ teachings, it was because they were inclined to value community life, 5 share what they could, and treat their neighbors well. The power games of political hierarchy and social order, of wealth and privilege, all contributed to the distrust and hypocrisy of the public institutions, where the level of corruption eroded public confidence in a system that protected private interests over public ones, and where those in power made certain it always stayed that way. Sound familiar? On a daily basis, all sorts of unethical conduct was evident and tolerated— in the marketplace, in the politics, in land and property transactions, and more, even among the religious elite who were serving Mammon instead of God—something that still seems to be true in just about every human society, particularly ours. Yet, if you were salt of the earth people, you didn’t participate in this common practice and corruption as a rule, mainly because you weren’t invited into those circles, other than being impacted by their injustice; so, you were never in a position to do any of this.