🧂 Matthew 5:13: "You Are the Salt of the Earth" [Part 1/2]

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men." -- Matthew 5:13

We've all heard it: "You are the salt of the earth." But have you ever stopped to think about what Jesus really meant? As Catholics, we know these words are profound, a part of the Sermon on the Mount, but they're so familiar they can almost lose their punch. Father Albert at Logos Retreat Center reminded us that to truly grasp this verse, we have to look beyond the surface. It's not just a nice saying; it’s a covenantal statement.

The Value of Salt: More Than Just a Flavor

First, let’s consider salt itself. It’s one of the most basic, yet most valuable, commodities on the planet. You can’t make food without it as it adds the necessary flavor and makes everything taste better. But its most important historical use was as a preservative. Before refrigeration, salt was essential for keeping meat from spoiling. It also had a medicinal use, purifying water and healing wounds. Jesus, in calling us the "salt of the earth," is saying that we are incredibly valuable and precious to Him. We are meant to add flavor to life, to preserve goodness, and to bring healing to a broken world.

A Covenant of Salt: An Unbreakable Promise

But the real depth of this verse lies in the concept of a "covenant of salt." In the Old Testament, a covenant was more than just a contract; it was a binding, solemn oath. 

"You shall season all your cereal offerings with salt; you shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your cereal offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt." -- Leviticus 2:13 

Here, salt wasn't just an ingredient; it was the symbol of an everlasting, sincere, and unbreakable promise between God and His people.

Jesus is making a new covenant with us in this very statement. When He says, "You are the salt of the earth," He is essentially saying, "I am eternally offering you to God the Father." This isn't a temporary arrangement; it’s a permanent bond as He spoke to Aaron in

"All the holy offerings which the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you." -- Numbers 18:19 

So the only thing we share is God Himself; He is our sole possession and inheritance.

The Danger of Losing Our Saltiness

This is the stark warning Jesus gives:

“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is not fit for the land or for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” -- Luke 14:34-35

He’s talking about us. This new covenant with Christ requires covenantal fidelity from us. We are called to be pure and sincere, just like salt. Our faith must be genuine, preserving goodness and fostering true friendship with God and others. We become useless (lost saltiness) when we break our covenant with God. 

Everything in Moderation

Sin, in its many forms like addiction, adultery, apostasy can make us lose our spiritual flavor. An excess of anything like money, pleasure, food, technology can poison us and break our relationship with Christ. Just as too much salt can harm the body and make soil barren, material excess destroys us and our ability to bear fruit.

So, the choice is ours: do we want to be a pinch of salt, adding flavor and preserving life, or a useless pillar of salt, like Lot’s wife, who looked back on her past sins and was petrified? (Genesis 19:26). Her story is a powerful reminder that turning back to a life of sin makes us spiritually useless to be "trampled underfoot" and discarded.

A Call to Mission

Our mission, as salt of the earth, is to add flavor through our works of charity and virtue. By being the salt, we are fulfilling the promise of Genesis 12:3, "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." We are called to be a blessing to the world through our goodness and our faith.

Let us pray that we never lose our flavor, that we remain faithful to our covenant with Christ, and that through our lives, we may add flavor to the world and preserve the goodness that God has entrusted to us.

Link to LogosVoiceTV where Fr. Albert's preaching can be found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InDsozVXdGA