Ship of Fools: This little light of mine

Thread: This little light of mine Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

To visit this thread, use this URL:
http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=028319

Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A13-20&version=ESV

I was going to comment on the example of how a bushel being placed over a light does not put it out, but only diminishes it. I am trying to figure out how salt can lose its taste, though.

However, as I was reading the passage again today, I am truly puzzled how the second part of this passage connects to the first part.

What is your understanding?

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

Personally, I think the first part should probably be placed with the Beatitudes. As I said on the other thread, that forms an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, an overture for the symphony that follows, that outlines what is to follow. The Beatitudes are characteristics of discipleship, being salt and light is part of that.

The second part, 17-20, is an introduction to what follows that. Jesus has come to fulfil, not abolish the Law and Prophets. But, he then launches into a series of "You have heard it said, but I say ..." sayings that might otherwise be taken as abolishing the Law and Prophets.

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gramps49:
I am trying to figure out how salt can lose its taste, though.

Salt can lose its saltiness by being adulterated. Matthew's ecclesiology lives in a tension between two poles:

1) The church must keep itself pure, not letting impurities dilute its vital saltiness;

2) The church has as its field the world, and is responsible for shedding the light that is Christ (cf. 4:12-17) on the world as a lamp, so cannot live reclusively (like the covenanters at Qumran).

A question I've been pondering is this: how is the church like salt? Is it to do with salt's use to purify (2 Kings 2:19-22), preserve, be a necessity of life, represent sharing a table fellowship, represent wisdom, add flavor?

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hart:
A question I've been pondering is this: how is the church like salt? Is it to do with salt's use to purify (2 Kings 2:19-22), preserve, be a necessity of life, represent sharing a table fellowship, represent wisdom, add flavor?

All of the above?

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

While we are kicking that around, why "of the earth"? Is that to distinguish it from "salt of the water"? I mean, we know chemically salt is salt, but was "salt of the earth" considered something more precious than salt from the sea?

There are those who state that it is impossible for salt to lost its flavor (again, salt is salt). The last Beatitude discussed being blessed when persecuted for Jesus sake--to stay believing. Carrying on from that we get three comparisons:

(1) You are like salt. What if that salt loses its flavor (i.e., you lose faith). But salt can't; neither can you lose faith--or rather, you shouldn't because you should be like salt.

(2) You are like a city on a hill. Can it be hidden? No. Neither can you hide your faith--or rather, you shouldn't because you are like the city on the hill.

(3) You are like a light. Can a light be hidden? Well. yeah, but people don't DO that. Neither should you.

All three, then, are urgings not to hide your faith.

[ 04. February 2014, 20:26: Message edited by: Hedgehog ]

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog:
While we are kicking that around, why "of the earth"? Is that to distinguish it from "salt of the water"? I mean, we know chemically salt is salt, but was "salt of the earth" considered something more precious than salt from the sea?

I'd never taken it in that sense. The word (γη, gē) translated here as 'earth' is the same word often translated 'world,' as in Matt 13:36, "the field is the world."

If salt purifies water, the pure of heart are to purify the world. Salt is not salt for itself, but for what it is in the midst of. Similarly, the Church is not Church for itself, but for the world.

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :

Somebody explained to me that it was hard to make pure salt in the ancient world, so that salt often had grit in it. As with grit for roads in the modern world. If the rain washes the salt out of the grit then you're left with a residue of sand but it won't do any good as salt.

That's what I was told. It may come from the same source as the claim that Jerusalem had a gate called the Eye of the Needle.

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

An explanation I have heard is that in the reference to salt losing its savor, the word "salt" may in fact refer more generally to spices. Certainly old spices can lose their flavoring.

Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :

Alan, I tend to agree with you. The salt/city/light motif seems to be a better conclusion to the Beatitude saying.

Christ, the fulfiller of the law seems to be another section of the sermon.

Or where they independent says redacted into a sermon on the mount by Matthew?

Or did someone or group in the fog of time mistakenly disconnected the salt/city/light from the beatitudes when they were working on the Common Liturgy?

Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
Certainly old spices can lose their flavoring.

And as for Hai Karate....

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gramps49:
Alan, I tend to agree with you. The salt/city/light motif seems to be a better conclusion to the Beatitude saying.

Christ, the fulfiller of the law seems to be another section of the sermon.

Or where they independent says redacted into a sermon on the mount by Matthew?

Or did someone or group in the fog of time mistakenly disconnected the salt/city/light from the beatitudes when they were working on the Common Liturgy?

I think it all goes together. (Clearly, lectionaries have to divide somewhere). The beatitudes are indicative: you are blessed, because God will vindicate you. The salt/light passage moves from indicative to very general imperative: be what you are! Be transparent to the action of God in your lives! Most of the rest of the sermon gives more specificity to how to do that. The whole thing is predicated on Jesus' identity permitting him to stand on a mountain and give law.

Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :

Altogether now...

Posted by Anselm (# 4499) on :

I'd echo Freddy's understanding of the metaphor - ancient salt wasn't pure, so that it was possible over time for moisture to leach the salt out, leaving a tasteless crystalline residue.
The context points to the quality of taste that's in view with Jesus use of the image of salt

quote:
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

As to the reality behind the metaphor, I think the context (the preceding beatitudes and the metaphor of the light that follows) points us the idea of the people of God living out their faith. I think it is worth recalling that there is a sense that we are still "in the Old Testament", as it were, at this point of the gospels. Jesus is talking to "Israel" and one of the thrusts of the sermon on the mount is to warn that not all of Israel will be saved, but it will be the faithful remnant that the Messiah will gather into the restored Kingdom.

Posted by k-mann (# 8490) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog:
While we are kicking that around, why "of the earth"? Is that to distinguish it from "salt of the water"? I mean, we know chemically salt is salt, but was "salt of the earth" considered something more precious than salt from the sea?

AFAIK, they used salt partly as a fertilizer, so the ‘of the earth’ would then be a reference to its use, not its origin.

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

It seems unlikely anyone would use table salt (NaCl) as a fertilizer, as it tends to kill plants.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

But they may have used sea salt in dilute quantities. Or the surface mined evaporate. It contains some minerals.

Posted by k-mann (# 8490) on :

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=salt+fertilizer

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

"salt of the earth" I take to equal "salt for the earth". It might be that he has salt's preservative power in mind here. Jesus' followers are to be like salt on something that is otherwise decaying--they are to preserve it. Which is impossible to do if they have lost the very nature of being salt.

A more hopeful (?) way of looking at "salt that has lost its saltiness" would be to take it that Jesus is here intentionally using a metaphor of something impossible. True salt does not, cannot, lose its saltiness; don't you do something as preposterous as losing your nature as followers of Christ either.

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

quote:
A more hopeful (?) way of looking at "salt that has lost its saltiness" would be to take it that Jesus is here intentionally using a metaphor of something impossible. True salt does not, cannot, lose its saltiness; don't you do something as preposterous as losing your nature as followers of Christ either.

I like that reading, Lamb Chopped. Indeed, I suggested something of the sort above. But on further thought it strikes me as a little unsatisfying. It is (unfortunately) possible to lose faith, so why make an impossible comparison to it? More tellingly, Jesus doesn't just reference salt losing flavor, but then goes on to explain what one would do with the stuff after that--"here is what you do with something that can never happen." That strikes me as just a little too detached from reality for Jesus.

I am coming to prefer Anselm's theory. Ancient salt wasn't pure. The saltiness portion may leach out and the residue (which the ancients would still think of as part of "the salt") would have no taste. And what then is that residue good for? Nothing but throwing out under foot. This then makes Jesus' statement more of a true-life cautionary statement: if you aren't careful to preserve it properly, your "salt" can become just the tasteless residue of impurities. Just so, if you aren't careful, you could lose your faith.

I agree with you that the "of the earth" phrase probably was meant to be understood as "for the earth" or world--something of beneficial value to the world so long as faith is maintained.

Posted by W Hyatt (# 14250) on :

Given that "you are the salt of the earth" in verse 13 parallels "you are the light of the world" in verse 14, it seems eminently reasonable to me to take it to mean "salt for the earth." And given that the metaphor refers explicitly to salt's flavor (at least as far as I can tell from looking at various translations and at Strong's reference), I take the metaphor to be referring to the use of salt as a way to make food more palatable.

I would imagine that other spices generally would have been prohibitively expensive for day-to-day use in the average household, and that salt would have been pretty much their standard flavor enhancer. I also imagine that their diet as a whole would have been much more bland than what we are used to, and without salt it would have been extremely bland and even unpalatable by today's standards.

Based on these assumptions, I look to John 4:34 to help guide me in how I view this salt metaphor:

quote:
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

If spiritual "food" is doing the will of God and accomplishing His work, then that indeed tends to taste pretty bland and unpalatable to us as a possible focus for our life. We do not naturally love our neighbor without effort. We are by nature not inclined to serve others at our own expense: we'd generally rather not give up our place in line or that good parking spot for someone who looks like they are more in need of it than we are. It is not naturally appealing to us to spend our days doing things that benefit others rather than benefitting ourselves. So it is very difficult for us to accept the idea that focusing our life on such things would lead to any real joy or happiness. We need spiritual "salt" to make it more palatable for us.

I think examples of this kind of "salt" might be worship, prayer, reading the Bible, or anything that reminds us of Jesus's teachings and exhortations regarding a life of service as a kind of life that leads to joy. Anything that makes us feel connected to God and interested in pleasing Him. Such things make the idea of self denial and service to others more palatable to us so that we can begin to apply that idea to our life and thus gain some spiritual nourishment.

Now the actual salt that Jesus was referring to may or may not have been able to lose its flavor, i.e. it's ability to enhance the flavor of food, but I think the metaphorical meaning is based on the idea that spiritual "salt" can lose its ability to make spiritual food more palatable. If we allow ourselves to lose touch with the real purpose and meaning of things like worship or prayer and to simply go through the motions without any real thought as to why it's important, they lose their ability to motivate us to act contrary to our natural inclinations and "do the will" of God and "accomplish His work."

Getting back to the text, I take Jesus to be referring to the idea that Israel was supposed to be a blessing to all the nations, providing an example for the whole earth of how living in accordance with God's will leads to a happy, productive, and peaceful life. They were supposed to be the "salt" and "light" for everyone, showing the benefits and blessings that come from living within God's covenant and law. But instead, the leaders of Israel had turned God's law into mindless ritual for an insular culture that had lost its ability to motivate people to want to live as God wanted them to. And the same way that salt that has lost its flavor cannot be made salty again, but is instead thrown out and trampled, so Israel would lose its position as God's church and be replaced with a new church.

Now I do not by any means think that there is any single way to view the text, let alone a single "right" one, but the above is a view that I have personally found useful as a starting point.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

quote:
Originally posted by W Hyatt
I take the metaphor to be referring to the use of salt as a way to make food more palatable.

Salt is vital to life. Here is an explanation of why it is so essential.

Nowadays salt is plentiful and pure, but in Bible times this was not the case. Therefore it was more highly valued.

Moo

Posted by W Hyatt (# 14250) on :

Thanks for that, Moo. That's a more general way to think about it since it explains why our sense of taste evolved such a strongly positive response to salt. I'd be interested in hearing how you think that might affect the way we can understand the "you are the salt of the earth" metaphor.

Posted by blackbeard (# 10848) on :

just a bit more on non-salty salt;
I was told that salt in this area tended to come from the Dead Sea, as it just needs picking up from the sea shore! the brine is already so concentrated, and the climate so hot, that salt just crystallises out.
But this salt is very impure, contains all sorts of chemicals.
If it's left in a damp place, the sodium chloride tends to deliquesce and run off, leaving a residue of less soluble material which still looks like salt, but of course doesn't taste like salt.
If that helps.

UBB.classic^TM 6.5.0