The Images of Salt and Light ...

Wednesday, August 23, 2017. Often, Jesus uses images from everyday life. It seems that he wants to be in the middle of our life, and wants us to understand his spiritual message in a way that it is as concrete and lively as everything in and around us. And indeed, he wants to be there, day by day, morning, afternoon, evening. He wants to be there as the salt which we put into our food, as the light which we need to carry out all what we do.

Salt …

The first image Jesus uses in his sermon on the mount is the image of salt. We are meant to be like salt - the salt of the earth. Everyone who likes to cook knows that you need salt to cook. Without salt, food does not taste well. You cannot eat it, it is just terrible. Without salt, we cannot live, we need it, in exactly the right dilution. As people who trust Jesus we are needed as much as salt - and we need to keep our trust, our faith, which is what makes us salt. Without faith we loose what makes us alive.

Take some time to read the sermon on the mount yourself. Here is our current passage:

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that2 they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (from Matthew 5, 13-16)

Light …

The second image here is the “light”. He does not say that he is the light, but that all who believe are the light. You are the light.

The further remarks here are quite exciting. Some seem to be trivial: a city on a hill cannot be hidden. If you are light, and you are openly visible, how could you be overlooked?

Of course, you might say, light can be covered. And yes, Jesus takes up this thought. You would not cover a light, but use it to give light to the whole house. That is your role, you are meant to be light for others. You are meant to be good, to be tasteful, to be helpful, to be enjoyable.

The role which Jesus gives to people is a fully good role. They are meant to be truthful, reliable, joyful, helpful. All are meant to be full of love, full of forgiveness. His concept for our relationships is just fantastic, it leads to sustainable eternal relationships, to eternal friendship. And all this starts now, in the middle of our life, just here. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts