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Mark 9:38–50
Salt has not always been cheap. In the ancient world salt was a valuable and scarce commodity. It was used as currency in some countries even into modern times. Historically it was the basis of great empires, making many people rich, because it was not cheap at all. To get salt from the sea was a difficult enterprise, involving multiple ponds, each one more concentrated in salt than then next, then the final harvest, sifting, packing and transport. Lots of time, lots of labor, lots of places for traders to make money.
We might call it common salt, and use if prodigiously – too much for the sake of our health, but has been recognized at the ultimate necessity and luxury for ages.
During an invasion of Ethiopia, in the late 19th century, Italian soldiers found blocks of salt stored in bank vaults along with other familiar forms of currency
(I Love You More than Salt)An ancient king once asked his three daughters how much they loved him. One daughter said she loved him more than all the gold in the world. One said she loved him more than all the silver in the world. The youngest daughter said she loved him more than salt. The king was not pleased with this answer. But the cook overheard the conversation, so the next day he prepared a good meal for the king, but left out the salt. The food was so bland that the king couldn't eat it. Then he understood what his daughter meant. The cook understood the value of salt. (King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com )
So, Jesus was paying his disciples a compliment when he called them salt. He was doing it in the context of teaching on discipleship – The disciples were pointing out the healing actions of someone who wasn’t in their crowd – who hadn’t been following Jesus, who hadn’t made the kind of sacrifices they had made. And that person, that magician – he was using Jesus’ name! Yikes! Jesus’ name and reputation are such that others are cashing in on him! Stop him!
Jesus is calm in the middle of the disciples’ anxiety. (do you even notice that – Jesus does not get excited about those irritations that the disciples do? He gets excited about deeper, more profound issues – we’ll see that in this passage too.) Don’t get your knickers in a twist, he says – look – if that magician is using my name, and something good happens – he’ll be thinking about it for the rest of his life.
You guys – you disciples – you want to draw a dividing line between the inside and the outside. Some people are inside – us – and others are outside – them. For Jesus the line isn’t so clear – even those outside can do acts of mercy and grace and good. They can give a cup of water to the needy – they can recognize the name of Christ – and they will find their reward.
This is quite radical stuff, then and now. We want to be sure that we’re in the right part of heaven (the old story – why are there walls in heaven? Well, it’s so – fill in the blank about whichever exclusive religious tradition you want to poke fun at – Missouri Synod, Southern Baptists, who ever – doesn’t know that anyone else is there.) Radical stuff from Jesus – the dividing line isn’t were you want to put it, disciples.
The dividing line isn’t out there, between us and them – it’s right here. It’s right here in the heart. It’s right here in the life and actions of those inside the community of faith. It’s right at the point where your actions may cause someone else to stumble.
And for many of us, it’s not that foreign. The desire of the eye for a pretty thing – and we covet. The desire of the mouth for that which tastes good – and we are gluttons who don’t know when to stop. The desire of the foot to get out of this situation, and we’ve hurt those we love. The desire of the mind for a thrill, for a risk, for a gamble- and we’ve spent too much money at the casino, or in the store, or on the drink. The desire to get everything under control, and we’ve said one too many critical things to our spouse, our children, our co-workers, and created rifts that may never be overcome.
That’s the dividing line. That’s where we need to remember the gracious forgiveness of our God. That realization – that honest self-assessment – that’s the fire. For everyone will be salted with fire. I really struggled with understanding that one line – but I think it means this: Each one of us will struggle with what it means to be Jesus’ disciple. That will be our fire. That will be our spiritual work – to be corrected and modified and ‘salted.’ It is through fire we become the good, the pure, the useful and necessary – salt.
Jesus knows that salt that is too contaminated is useless – it is only good to be thrown away. The salt that is good – is the disciple who is working at his or her self – the salt that is salty is the salt that has come through the fire of self-examination, of returning to the baptismal grace and finding that growth is still possible.
There is another experiment to that can be done with salt – take a plain piece of grapefruit and eat it. It will be sour and maybe even bitter. Add one grain – one grain of salt – and eat another piece. It will be sweet.
Salt turns the sour sweet. Have salt in yourself – the word of the Lord, showing the right path – and peace be unto you.
Amen.
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