To be salt

"You are the salt of the world!" (Mt 5:14). Am I supposed to be salt?

In fact, there is some salt in our body. Salt as a mineral exists in our body fluids to maintain osmotic pressure and to help the fluids to be alkaline. Being one of the most essential commodities, salt is used as a seasoning, a preservative, a disinfectant for the wounds, a purifier, and a component of ceremonial offerings. Above all, salt adds taste and enables food to be conserved.

Catholics use salt against spiritual decay by sprinkling salty water to drive out the evil. My mother used to sprinkle salty (holy) water at home when she was disturbed. There is a superstitious saying on spreading the salt to ward off the devil. When someone comes back from a funeral, some people still spread salt on that person to feel secure.

Of course, "sun salt" dried under sunshine is more effective because it has positive energy called "yang." In western society, they believe that the angel stays on the right shoulder while the devil stays on the left. So, they throw salt over the left shoulder to blind the eyes of devil.

In general, "spreading the salt" refers to complaining about something. So, we still spread salt to protest against injustice. We also spread rock salt to melt snow or ice. We add salt on top of bean paste to prevent it from rotting. However, spilling salt means to bring disaster.

In general, salt is used metaphorically to signify many useful and helpful values such as endurance (durability, enduring covenant), fidelity (devotion, friendship), purification (releasing unwanted influences, spiritual protection), wisdom (intuition, insights), spiritual rebirth (abundance, vitality) and balancing the emotions (hospitality, physical well-being).

The Egyptians put corpses in salty water to make them mummies and exchanged salt for their weight in gold. The word "salary" came from "salarium" as the Roman soldiers were paid in salt. The Israelites used salt as a fertilizer to make the earth rich and productive and offered it to God.

The word "salt" appears 48 times in the Bible. Among them, "a covenant of salt" (Lev 2:13; 2 Ch 13:5) signifies an everlasting covenant and a strong agreement of enduring qualities. In Ez 16:4, the newborn babies were rubbed or powdered moderately with salt to purify them. In 2 Kings 2:21, Elisha cast salt into the spring to heal water that was causing death and unproductivity.

Jesus advises us to have "salt in ourselves and to be at peace with one another" (Mk 9:50). Here, the salt refers to the goodwill that seasons positive relationships, friendship and compassion among people. In Col 4:6, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one", salt is meant to season our speech with intelligence and consideration.

We shall have to remember the destructive power of salt as in killing weeds, corroding, and making water undrinkable. How symbolic it is to see Lot's wife who was changed into a pillar of salt as soon as she looked back at the destruction of Sodom (Gn 19:24-26)!

Nevertheless, to be the salt of the world means to be spread as salt is and to be a shining light in darkness and confusion.