7 June 2022
Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
You are the salt of the earth. By saying this in Matthew 5:13, Jesus is telling his disciples that they must give flavor to this world. Although this world has a dizzying variety of features, as we get older, we inevitably find things to be dull. We can only distract ourselves for so long. What gives this world its true flavor is the infinite grace of God. By divine decree, heavenly grace is mediated by one man, Jesus Christ, who chooses followers for this task, who are, therefore, the salt of the earth.
If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. This means that if a follower of Christ finds the infinite grace of God to be dull, there is no way for God’s grace itself to become more appealing, so a nominal Christian casts grace aside and tramples it under foot, turning to a life of sin and pleasure. In doing so, though, a poor Christian is really casting himself aside and letting himself be trampled underfoot.
God’s grace cannot become any more appealing than it already is. Salt cannot become any more salty. If divine grace doesn’t seem appealing to you, then you need to change your taste. If fresh, ripe pineapple tastes dull to you, then you need to retrain your taste buds. Spiritual tastes can be retrained by regular prayer. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:9).