CHRIST LIVED IN A DIFFERENT ERA THAN OURS

The title is not reference to A.D. 30 as compared to our era. It certainly WAS a very different era. It is not referring to the fact that ‘salt’ in those days was not as good as the ‘salt’ we use nowadays, because our salt never loses it savour and flavour.  That would be a false assumption. Though according to Christ’s words we are bound to think on those lines.

When Jesus says that ‘if salt loses its flavour, it’s of no use any more, but to be thrown out in the street, to be trampled upon’, He was referring to the salt when applied to certain uses.  He had in mind the salt used in their ovens. The Jews used to make their own oven to bake. This was a hole in the ground, about two feet deep and a base of about one foot square. In the bottom of this pit they used to put layers of salt, on it pieces of wood and dry branches. They covered all this with clay tiling. When they set fire to the wood, the salt helped in keeping the fire going; the tiles would become hot and then place the dough on them to bake, turning it every now and then.

Why did Christ mention this as an example? For the simple reason that every family had this home-built oven. It is a fact that after days of burning, the salt would not retain the power to remain hot, so it would not serve the purpose any more. They would change the old salt with a new amount and, presumably throw away the old salt into the street, ‘to be trampled upon’. So Christ was not talking rubbish. One has to know about the culture of the people Christ was living.

Now what is more important is the reference and application Christ had in mind. We all know the importance of salt, even nowadays. But in the days of  it was more widely used; to give a pleasant taste to food, to keep meat from going bad, and, besides others, to use in contracts. When signing a contract the Jews used to exchange a fistful of salt as a sign that the contract is to be respected and remain binding. It is still used nowadays in the Sacrament of Baptism. The word ‘salary’ is derived from the word ‘sale’ which means ‘salt’, and the Roman soldiers were even given an amount of salt with their pay.

The importance of salt has to be applied to every Christian. It is we, who believe and follow the Teachings of Jesus Christ, are addressed as ‘the salt of the earth’. It is we who have to give flavour, leave a good taste, a good impression if we are true witnesses of Christ. If we fail in our duty, in word and action, we shall be thrown out ‘to be trampled upon’ in other words we will become worthless.

WE have to keep in mind that Christ had to speak and apply the imagery understood by His hearers. For this reason His examples are taken from His everyday life, about things, incidents and happenings in the daily life of the Jewish people.