A Covenant of Salt

F

irst, you are the salt of the earth (Cf Mt 5:13-16).

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth" (Mt 5:13).

We hear the word salt so often that we may no longer notice how remarkable it is. Why salt? Why not gold, or silver?

The answer becomes clearer when we remember that, in the ancient world, salt was not an ordinary seasoning. It preserved food, sustained life, enabled travel, and was so valuable that it even gave rise to the word salary. The story of salary is a reminder that ordinary words often carry extraordinary histories. Every payday, without realizing it, we use a word born from salt, survival, and centuries of human labor. This is not just any laborer. A salaried laborer is a laborer who is valued enough to be compensated regularly. To receive a salary means that someone considers your labor as "worth your salt," in a manner of speaking. Your person is considered necessary and valuable.

Jesus chooses this humble but indispensable substance to describe his disciples. Jesus has already declared us valuable. But the question is whether we are aware of this inherent value that God gave us when God created us into existence, like the precious salt.

Imagine if salt could forget why it exists. It would still be salt, but "not worth its salt." It no longer preserves, seasons, or gives life. So the biggest tragedy is when salt forgets what it is meant for. So too with us when we forget who we truly are.

Second, salt is valuable in itself but not for itself.

Salt does not exist for its own sake. Its value comes from what it does for something else. Salt preserves food and not its own self.  It is good when it brings out and preserves the goodness in another. But this cannot happen if the salt remains in the salt shaker.

St Thomas Aquinas teaches that every creature has a goodness proper to itself, but its perfection is found in fulfilling its purpose (finis). In the same way, Christians are not called to draw attention to themselves or dominate others. We are called to preserve what is good and bring out what is true.

That is why when Jesus talks about salt "losing" its taste, what he means is that the salt no longer functions as it was intended. In the same way, a disciple who does not go out to do his or her mission can no longer bring life, hope, or goodness to others.

But there is another danger when salt overwhelms everything else. Just as food suffers when there is too little salt, it also suffers when there is too much. In the same way, a disciple can fail not only by doing too little, but also by making everything about oneself.

The question for us today is simple: Does my life bring out the best in others, or do I overpower them? Do I help preserve what is good and true? Or have I become so much like the world around me that the flavor of the Gospel can no longer be tasted in my life?

Third, salt is a sign of covenant.

In the Bible, salt is not only valuable and useful. It is also a symbol of covenant. Several times in the Old Testament, God speaks of a "covenant of salt." Every offering was to be seasoned with salt, and God's promises to the priestly family of Aaron and to the house of David are described as a covenant of salt.

So, what is the connection between salt and covenants that endure?

One reason is salt’s preservative qualities. It keeps things from spoiling. In the same way, God's covenant is meant to endure. It is faithful, lasting, and reliable.

But there is another reason. In the ancient world, sharing salt at a meal was a sign of friendship, trust, and communion. To share salt was to enter into a relationship.

Finally, let us hearken to Jesus telling us: You are precious as the salt of the earth is precious. But salt can both preserve and destroy. The right amount brings life and flavor. We are not only called to simply preserve what is good. We are called to be people of covenant—people who build relationships, keep commitments, and remain faithful to God and to one another. Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ

Nota Bene: Rabbenu Bahya (on Lev 2:13) conceptualizes salt as the product of sea water and the heat of the sun. I quote:

In the essence of salt is the power of water and the power of fire, which signify two of the attributes on which the world is established: the attribute of Compassion (midat rahamim) and the attribute of Justice (midat hadin), and for this reason . . . it is called “the salt of your covenant with God”... And just like [the Rabbis] said [in Midrash Bereshit Rabbah], God saw that it could not endure with Justice, so God combined it with the attribute of Compassion. Relatedly, salt preserves and destroys, it preserves meat for a long time and gives flavor to food, and it also destroys, as vegetation cannot grow in a place that is very salty.