Personal conversion is central in today’s readings. All of the injunctions against sins, against leading others astray, against centering our lives on material goods and power, against continuance in sinful lives while presuming the forgiveness of God are all summed up in Jesus’ statement about salt. Our vocation as Christians is to be light and salt for the rest of the world – not just for ourselves. Salt is used to heal, cleanse, preserve, scrub, and most commonly today to spike up the flavor in food.
Every so often it is necessary to go through the spice cabinet and clear out the salt and spices that no longer have any flavor. Salt that does not put a kick into the flavor of a soup or a steak is just useless. Usually, we look at the expiration date on the label or we do a little taste test on our tongue to see if the salt or spice still has some kick.
In the same way a Christian life or a Christian community that does not kick up the Spirit in others and publicly show the Risen Lord and this love for all is just useless. As Catholics it is easy for us to pray privately, go to mass, or do some good devotional practices but not really change our lives, not really enter into conversion, and give no public signs of conversion. It is easy to go to mass and then go home and treat the family with the same violence. It is easy to go to mass and then go to work and economically or emotionally abuse the workers. Jesus says that Christian life (salt) is that deep service to others or renouncing ourselves to the extent of producing peace.
For Christians our expiration date is every day. Every day we are called to deepen our relationship with God and our devotion to serve other. The world would be completely lost without the spirit of salt from us as Christians.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.