Tuesday of the
Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 1:18-22; Matthew 5:13-16)
Former Peace Corps volunteers remember the time they
visited an Iban family in upriver Sarawak.
Knowing that the people lacked food supplies, they gave them some canned
foods that they brought along. They were
served back to them. When they asked
what the people ate with their rice, they were told “salt.” They left amazed at how generous these simple
people were. The Ibans seemed like
Jesus’ disciples, “the salt of the earth.”
Jesus calls his disciples “salt” because they are to make
life savory for others. They are not to
live for themselves but to spread the joy of the gospel. They engage others in conversation as a means
to acknowledge the other’s humanity.
Their goal is not to convert others to Jesus but to love them. If they lose this saltiness by becoming
self-centered and arrogant, they render themselves as unfit for the kingdom of
God.
Some of us to our peril might reject the idea of being
considered something as common as salt. We would like to think of ourselves at
least as sweet as sugar if not as exotic as an oriental spice. But humility and respect for all wins friends
for Jesus and promotes us in God’s eyes.
To be “the salt of the earth” is a worthy aspiration for anyone.
