September
26. 2021
At the end of
today’s gospel, Mark’s Jesus tells his disciples—AND US!—“Salt is good; but if
salt has lost it’s saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves,
and be at peace with one another.”
The next part of
this sermon will be a lecture on Sodium Cloride—what we call “salt”. You might
want to take notes.
(Just kidding….)
Salt is one of
the most marvelous and useful substances on earth. It comes from salt
mines—usually where a salt lake has dried up. There were lots of them, eons
ago.
Salt prevents
fruits and vegetables from turning brown by putting them in salt water. You can
also peel potatoes the night before them and save them in salt water and they
won’t lose their color.
Salt is an
excellent exfoliant and deodorizer—that’s why your skin feels so good when you
come from the ocean beach.
Salt water
relieves itches from bites and stings.
Salt is great
oral care—salt and baking soda make a great organic toothpaste and gargling
salt water heals sores and freshens the breath.
Keep salt nearby
you stove or grill for grease fires.
You can scrub
with salt on burned on debris.
Salt removes
stains from fabrics—even blood and wine. Salt in washer keeps clothes fresh and
bright by removing sweat stains and odors.
Salt down your
sink ends odors.
Remove water
marks from wood with salt water.
Put old sponges
in salt water overnight to give them new life.
Of course, we
all know, salt removes ice from roads.
Store cheese in
napkins soaked in salt water. Cheese makers have done it for many decades.
Salt sets colors
in fabrics when ¼ cup is added to first few washes—also prevents them bleeding
on other fabrics.
Put salt on
paper and run your warm iron over it to clean smudges from the iron.
Many plants and
creatures live in salt water that couldn’t survive in fresh water.
Finally, though
it’s not for everybody—salt Tastes Great! It gives flavor to everything it
touches.
How wondrous
salt is!
And Jesus tells
his disciples—and US, my beloved—to have salt in ourselves and be at peace with
one another. But we must not lose our saltiness for we won’t be able to
re-season ourselves.
If we have salt
in ourselves, we can give healing, we can clean up messes, we can preserve what
is good, we can give flavor to the world and give life to others who need it.
We must keep our
saltiness to do all that and be at peace with one another.
We must keep our
salty faith to do all that and be at peace with one another.
Be salty, my
friends. Be salt for the earth.
Shalom and Amen.
