Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen! (Luke 14:34-35)
Salt was an important part of ancient societies. With its ability to draw out moisture, it was essential for preserving meat in the days before refrigeration. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid at least in part in salt. It’s where we get the phrase, “worth a grain of salt.” In fact, the word ‘salary’ comes from the same Latin root.
In Luke 14, Jesus is talking about discipleship and the importance of being all in for the God’s beloved community. Like salt, if the disciple loses that total commitment, they are no longer fit to be a disciple. They are no longer worth their salt.
There’s just one problem, though. Salt cannot lose its “saltiness.” The chemical compound NaCl is one of the most stable compounds known. Sodium and chlorine love to share their one electron and do not part easily. It’s not at all like nitrogen trichloride (NCl3), which can be a real blast!
Now maybe Jesus/Luke didn’t know how stable salt is. Or maybe they were thinking of salt dissolved in water, which is still salty but isn’t good for much more than soothing a sore throat. Certainly, we don’t want to lose our ‘saltiness’ as disciples.
But maybe it’s also true that disciples may fall away, or may be less-than-totally committed, but still retain a kernel of faith within. Maybe no disciple ever loses all their ‘saltiness.’
It seems to me that would be good news for those who find themselves questioning their faith, or those who have been hurt by the church and swore they are never going back, or those who have been lured away by other desires. They likely still have a little salt in them. Surely God can cook up a good stew with just a little bit of salt.
May they have the ears to listen.
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