Salt of the earth

 

Sermon by Father Jonathan E Moore for the 

Fifth Sunday of the Year 2026

Dear friends, here's my reflection for the fifth Sunday of the year, 2026, and I'm meditating this morning a little on just one phrase from the gospel, “you are the salt of the earth”. Now it's said that the eminent Victorian physicist Michael Faraday, when lecturing at the Royal Institution, used to begin by saying, gentlemen, first of all, I will tell you what I'm going to do, then I shall do it, and then I shall tell you what I've just done. This technique is still recommended to teachers and preachers.

If you say the same thing slightly differently three times, the average human listener has more chance of remembering what you've said. One of my favourite icons is that of Christ the Teacher. Jesus was the best of teachers and preachers, so we need hardly be surprised to find Him in Matthew's fifth chapter employing exactly the same technique in his great Sermon on the Mount, where first of all he announces the values of God's Kingdom in the Beatitudes, then tells us what living those values will make us, salt of the earth and light of the world.

He then finishes with more detailed and practical examples of how we live the Kingdom's values, transforming both the world and ourselves too. But for today, we just concentrate on one of those two powerful images, salt.

Last year I was called back to the local surgery after a blood test because the level of sodium in my blood was far too low.

I was told to go away for a fortnight and eat lots of salty things like peanuts and crisps and all the things you shouldn't really be eating. I did as I was told and two weeks later the sodium was back to an acceptable level. These days salt is on the food fanatics blacklist, but eating too little is as dangerous as too much.

Salt is necessary for life, which explains why it was often used as currency in past years. Roman soldiers were often paid in salarium, their word for salt, from which we derive the word salary.

Seventy years ago when I was a child in rural Lincolnshire, few people had a fridge at home, let alone a deep freeze.

Meat and vegetables such as runner beans were preserved in salt. I well remember the taste of home-cured meat and salty beans. My sodium levels must have been off the clock back then.

Salt both flavours and preserves. When Jesus calls us salt of the earth, He is telling us that lived Kingdom values enhance the quality of human life, both our own and that of those around us. Kingdom values will preserve us and our society from moral decay, whatever the prevailing climate in the world around us.

It might also be good for us to remember, labourers in the Lord's vineyard as we are, that salt is a very good weed killer and is effective in getting rid of some garden pests too. Now, those of you who know me will generally expect me to need no excuse for diving back into the Old Testament. There is in the book of Leviticus, a salt is prescribed as part of all animal and grain offerings to the Lord.

In Exodus, it's included in the recipe for sacred incense. And after the exile in Babylon, Ezra needed to remind the Jerusalem priests of the need to use salt with all of their temple offerings. Salt stands as a powerful symbol of faithfulness, purity, incorruptibility and loyalty to the covenant.

Our faith, Jesus teaches, should not be just outward show, but a reality permeating every aspect of our lives, sustaining and strengthening our commitment to God and neighbour. Jesus then issues a stern warning about salt losing its savour. This is especially applicable to the present day.

I think there exist two temptations for Christians living in this post-Christian society. The first is what I like to call chameleon Christianity, by which I mean we change our colours, the strength of our moral attitudes to suit present company. And this is bad enough.

But there's a worse one, and that is what I call camouflaged Christianity, where we keep those kingdom values hidden just in case they might offend someone. In both cases, we stand to lose our ability to preserve and to transform. Our world needs the distinctive witness of Christian love, mercy and justice.

Being salty means being willing to stand out, to challenge injustice, to call others to a higher standard, even when it is unpopular or uncomfortable. This is a daunting prospect, but let's remember that Jesus never means us to do this alone. He speaks of Christian life as a Kingdom, not a hermitage.

The image of salt reminds us that our faith is to be lived in community, where we support and encourage each other. As Christ's body on earth, we gather in worship and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, drawing strength from Christ and the Church, nourished and sent forth to be the salt of the earth, daring to be His presence in the world. Amen.

God bless you.

NOTE: You can find more sermons from Father Jonathan in his books entitled "With Him ... in Him" published on AMAZON. Please click HERE