You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16, Common English Bible)
My son and I eat breakfast at about the same time (on days he has school, that is) so we sometimes have to do the Breakfast Two-Step so we don’t run into each other in the kitchen. That includes egg preparation. We both like to eat a couple of eggs in the morning, but because we prepare them differently (I like to put minced peppers in mine), we sometimes use different pans. That happened the other day and it reminded me of the beauty of the iron skillet.
While my son used our non-stick skillet, I pulled out the iron skillet that belonged to my wife’s family. As soon as I heard the satisfying hiss of the eggs hitting the skillet, I wondered why I don’t use the skillet more often. One reason might be because the clean-up isn’t quite as simple as a non-stick skillet. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to use regular soap and water and an internet search quickly reminded me of the key cleaning ingredient for an iron skillet: coarse salt. Just pour some of that salt into the pan (after it has cooled!), wipe it out with a paper towel and it’s ready to go for the next breakfast. It was the second reminder in as many days of the usefulness of salt.
I had been reflecting on Matthew 5:13-16 the day before. Normally when I read this passage, my attention is drawn to verses 14 through 16. How many times have pastors encouraged their parishioners by saying, “You are the light of the world! Let your light shine!”? Salt, however, often gets the short end of the stick in these verses. “You are the salt of the earth! Be salty!” doesn’t quite have the same encouraging oomph.
But I’ve been thinking about the need to be both salt and light. To be sure, there are moments when we we should let our lights shine so that those around us can see God’s illuminating grace and love. But there are also moments when we should be salt: integral and useful but hidden. We don’t usually see salt when we’re eating, but even a little bit of salt can make a big difference.
There are times when we must step up and be a visible presence and there are times when we must step back and let others’ lights shine. Salt is as important as light. Let your light shine, yes. But be salty, as well.