Salt And Light

Jesus tells us that we must be salt and light. What does that mean? That is an essential question for us to ask ourselves, especially when you consider that too much salt can ruin your food and too much light can make it impossible to see. Sit with that question as we break open this Gospel passage from Matthew.

Gospel - Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

It is no longer good for anything

but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;

it is set on a lampstand,

where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your heavenly Father."

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus challenges his disciples to be what the Jewish people were always meant to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt was essential in Jesus’s time. The ancient Romans had a saying: “nil utilius sole et sale,” meaning there is nothing more useful than sun and salt. Salt was associated with purity, likely due to its white color. The Romans believed that salt was the purest of all things because it was derived from the purity of the sun and the sea. Not only was it used to flavor food, but it also provided a way to preserve food. If the disciples live out the beatitudes, they will be salt, but if they fail to internalize and embody Christ’s teachings, then they will be like salt that has lost its taste. Salt such as this becomes useless.

Similarly, the disciples are told to be like light. Again, the Jewish people were always to be a light to the world, as seen in the Prophet Isaiah, “And nations shall come to your light.” (Isaiah 60:1) The disciples again must live out the beatitudes. In doing this, their goodness will shine forth throughout all the earth, and God will be glorified.

There is also an eschatological (end times) component to this dialogue. It looks forward to the final purpose and mission of the disciples. The life the disciples are being called to is a life of sacrificial service. The good deeds referred to here are not theirs but rather the work of the Father that they do. There is a dedication to the mission of God that discipleship demands.

Daily Application

The calling of the Catholic to be Salt and Light is a calling to animate the world. Just as salt preserves food and gives it taste so that we can enjoy it, and light enables people to see and find their way to their destination, so too does the Catholic need to do the same in the world. Let’s look at each of these individually.

To be salt in the world is to give it taste and flavor. The Catholic does this by living an authentically Catholic life. Someone who lives the Gospel, embraces the Beatitudes, and follows the teachings of the Church, will be different. They will bring a spice to society around them, and they will change the culture, just as food tastes different when salt is added. However, the Catholic who is Catholic in name only but embraces the way of the world won’t change society and culture. They will be like salt without taste, salt that fails to flavor the food.

To be light in the world is to help the world find its way. The ultimate end of mankind is to spend eternity in heaven with God. So the Catholic must help those in the world achieve this end. We do this in two ways. First, by our lives being attractive. As we live an authentically Catholic life, we will become appealing to a world searching for meaning. They will be drawn to us as a moth is drawn to a lamp. When they find us, we may be like a street lamp lighting their path to God. We must share the Gospel with them and, to the best of our ability, walk with them on their journey to God: continuing to help light their way.

Of course, when it comes to being both Salt and Light, we must be mindful of going overboard. We have all experienced food that is too salty, making it almost impossible to eat. We have likely all been in a room that is too bright, and we understand how that impacts our vision. Similarly, the same thing can happen to us in terms of how we live our Catholic life. We can present the faith in a way that makes it unattractive. It can appear burdensome, as if living a Catholic life is a toil and not a source of joy.

The key to all of this is to ultimately remember why we are Catholic. In his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” We are Catholic because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship strengthened by the working of the Holy Spirit, and that ultimately leads us to the Father. The moment being Catholic ceases to be religion without relationship, that is the moment that we become salt without taste or a lamp hidden under a basket.