Gospel Commentary: Salt and Light

By Fr. Paul Scalia
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 2/3/05)

Think back to the last time you had a power outage. You probably fumbled your way through the house with a flashlight or a candle, instinctively and vainly flipping the light switch in every room. And if the outage continued for a while, you started to worry about your food. Without power, you would eventually have sour milk, spoiled meat and (worst of all) melted ice cream. With this situation in mind, we can appreciate the importance of light and salt in the ancient world, where there was no electrical power to lose.

People then, as now, used salt to flavor food. But unlike us, they also used salt to preserve food from corruption. Without refrigeration, meats would soon spoil. So they salted meats to keep them longer. Of course, they used lamps for the same reason we do today — to see when it is dark. Unlike us, however, they did not have street lamps, floor lamps, desk lamps, etc. They relied on the smallest flame to provide light for the whole house.

Our Lord uses these two images, salt and light, to describe His followers. With the Beatitudes, our Lord gave a summary of the Christian’s interior life (Mt 5:1-12). Now He describes what Christians ought to be for others: "You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:13, 14).

As salt, the Christian keeps the world from corruption. Because of both original sin and our own particular sins, the world is in decay. Sin tends to infect every human endeavor and effort, slowly corroding and spoiling it from within. We see this decay in marriages, families, parishes, entire societies and nations. For us personally, only the grace of Christ serves as a check on this corruption. And for the world, only Christians — those living the life of grace — can prevent such decay.

As salt, the Christian should also bring flavor to the world. The secular view of life is dull and tasteless, centered on worldly happiness and fulfillment: food, drink, power, pleasure, wealth … and nothing more. "The one who dies with most toys wins," as one bumper sticker states. Christianity, on the other hand, provides this life with meaning, indeed with eternal significance. This life is our preparation for eternity, the vestibule of heaven, where grace is received and merit obtained. That truth should flavor our daily living.

As light of the world, the Christian has the responsibility to reveal the truth. At home, we turn on the lights so that we will not stumble and fall, so that we will not mistake the coat rack for the bogeyman or a visitor for a burglar. Most of the world lives in the darkness of error, about God and man. The truth of Christ, as lived by His followers, scatters that darkness and makes known the truth about God and man. By way of faithful Christians God sheds light on the world and reveals the truth — so that people will not stumble and fall, or confuse good and evil.

Without salt, and without a lamp, the ancient world was a frightening place. A man’s food would soon spoil, and his nights would be dangerous. So also our world would be a terrifying place without Christ’s followers — the salt and light that keep it from corruption and error. May God preserve the saltiness and turn up the lights.

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