You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. Matthew 5:13

There was a time when I interpreted being the salt in the world as meaning that Jesus wanted us to keep the world from decay.

You know, salt was used to preserve food in Jesus’ time and still is used as preservative in some parts of the world.

I heard preachers say that we are to keep the world from self destruction. It would be great if it was true. The world seems to be falling apart at the seams. This is not a recent occurrence. The world wasn’t any better during Jesus’ time, perhaps even worse. Moreover, it didn’t get better during our Lord’s lifetime either. In fact, there is no indication in His teachings that we should be encumbered with the task of making this world better. The world has and will always be bent on self-destruction.

I am not saying that we should throw in the towel and completely give up on this world. I am saying that maybe we should not take upon ourselves something that is too difficult for us to bear. Jesus did say:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29-30

Having the task to keep the world from decay seems to be a heavy yoke. Jesus would never place this responsibility upon us. Perhaps, we need to think about what it means to be the salt the world in another manner.

I grew up Roman Catholic and I joined the Anglican Church when I was 15. One of the things which drew me to the Anglican Church was the local priest at that time. He was a saintly man and extremely interesting. Nevertheless, I could never stay awake during his sermons. I was a teenager then, perhaps my immaturity had a part in my lack of attention. I don’t remember any of his sermons except for one. He preached about the events which led to his own spiritual renewal. He had many health problems. One day, his doctor told him that he either give up salt altogether or he was going to die. He said that this brought to his knees for the first time in his life. He asked God to take him. He would rather die than eat tasteless food for the rest of his life. I remember these words as if they were spoken yesterday. He wasn’t a shallow person. He just didn’t think Life was worth living if he had to forego salt. I know it sounds frivolous. Let’s go a little deeper with this.

A little salt does wonders to food. Even the most tasteless food can be brought to life with a little salt. Food plays an important role in our spirituality. In fact, all the major events in the New Testament and the Old Testament occurred around the table. Some of them were mandated with a threat of punishment. God was serious about feasting.

The philosopher in the Book of Ecclesiastes states,

So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15

Perhaps I am stepping into dangerous ground here.

Strangely, I know that this verse makes some religious people a little uncomfortable. It seems like enjoyment of life is a controversial topic. Somehow and somewhere in our spirituality, enjoying life is considered taboo. We forget that Jesus came to give us abundant Life. Enjoyment of Life is an essential part of having abundant Life. This joy of living is not reserved for the afterlife. It is for the here and now. The philosopher of the Book of Ecclesiastes is not saying anything which it is not written into the spirituality of the people. The Jewish faith is one of festivity. The Old Testament makes it a Law for people to enjoy themselves if not, they would be punished.

I have to admit that it is strange but it is there.

The Law of Sabbath, for example, is simply a day for us to sit back and enjoy Life and all its beauty like God did after He created this world.

Being the salt of the world is bringing joy into a tasteless existence of pain and suffering. This does not mean we, as followers of Jesus, are obligated to become the Life of the Party. This would be a shallow interpretation of this text.

When Jesus commanded us to become the salt of the world, He is asking us to bring joy into this world. His ministry was one of joy despite the suffering and injustice surrounding Him. He brought healing to those who suffered. He brought sight to the blind. Most importantly, He brought hope to those whom society considered as hopeless. Joy cannot be found without hope and hope cannot be perceived without faith.

Joy is found among those who can through their faith see hope even in the most seemingly hopeless situations. The joy of these people renews their zest for life.

When we first started this ministry in the mid-nineties, we were many things except the salt of the world. We tried to be social reformers. We tried to be personal counsellors. We tried to rescue the young people from homelessness. None of these efforts were very successful. Maybe one or two managed to leave homelessness. However, we are talking about hundreds of homeless young people. Now we realize that we were carrying a burden which Jesus never asked us to carry. When we try to do things beyond our capacity, joy slips through the cracks. Service unto our Lord becomes burdensome and consequently we are unable to transmit hope to those whom we serve.

A wise clergy once advised me upon my ordination to just love the people under my charge. The Holy Spirit used these simple words to communicate to my soul the meaning of being salt of the world. God sent us out into the world to just love the people whom He puts in our lives. Not just our family members, not just our friends, everyone who comes into our lives; our co-workers, the person whom we meet at the grocery store, at the library, the person living next door. We don’t have to impose ourselves on people. There is nothing joyful about being an irritant.

Jesus wants us to be the salt of the world. We are to be always open and available to be God’s channel of Love to those around us. In our case, it is the homeless young people.

This is what Jesus did in his earthly life. He loved the people around Him. He did not try to change society nor reform the corrupt religious system. He loved the people unconditionally. His Love stirred in their souls faith and hope and these gave them the courage to challenge the situations and circumstances oppressing them. However, none of this would be possible without Love.

St Paul writes,

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. I Corinthians 13:13

This is found in the famous Love chapter which has been mistakenly restricted to marriage ceremony. It is the definition of what Jesus means by the word, charity. He has also showed how to live out this charity in practice. It was His last act before His suffering. It is only recorded in one gospel; the gospel of John, the apostle who is also affectionately known as the apostle of Love. Jesus took the role of a servant and washed the feet of his disciples.

In Jesus’ time, most servants, if not all, were slaves. We try to avoid this term in our readings for obvious reasons. However, it is worth nothing that an enslaved person did not have a choice whom one served. In the same way, Jesus did not just wash the feet of those who were nice to Him. He also washed Judas’ feet. In our our judgment, we might think that Judas did not deserve His feet to be washed. However, our Lord washed his feet because He loved Judas. He hoped that His action would reveal to these disciples how much He loved them. These simple men who came from humble backgrounds and were even despised by their society had their feet washed by the King of Kings. This simple act would have stirred their faith and given them hope. It added joy to their life. Their life was given a generous pinch of salt.

Our homeless youth have really dirty feet. There is no way I am going to wash them, let alone touch them. Even we did, they would be weirded out by the experience. However, they want to be loved and this love has to be expressed in a practical manner. The most important way we share this with them is spending our time with them. We have spent 12 years with them. During this time, we play games with them. We talk with them. We listen to them. We help them get their documents. We visit them in the hospital. We allow them to cry in our presence. In some cases, we have buried their friends. Now, they ask to pray with them and help them find some meaning in their lives. Most importantly, we allow them to become special and important to us. We allow them into our lives. Recently, when we were planning to go the cemetery to visit the grave of one of our street friends, a complete stranger walked by and was curious to see this strange group gathered together and making plans. He asked one of the young people who we were. The young man said these people are our parents in the streets. They take care of us.

Simple words. They were salt to my soul as much as we are the salt they needing their lives. They need a good pinch of parental salt in their lives. Divine charity made this possible.