In biblical times, salt was treasured almost as much as gold. Among its many uses was preserving food and other perishables. In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us salt, by which He reveals how much God values us. Sometimes people outside the Church also see our worth and offer their support. It is nothing new! Moses valued two men who received the Spirit even though they were missing from gathering with the seventy elders. Jesus valued a man healing in His name, though he was not one of the Twelve. We are worth our salt, our relationship to Christ, so much that a person receiving us receives Christ. And within the Church, our saltiness supports, prays for, cheers up, confesses, and forgives our fellow members. We are worth so much that God does not want anything to cause us to stumble. “Have salt in yourselves,” He says, “and be at peace with one another.”
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