You are the salt of the earth. But 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.
How salt might lose its taste is not really the issue. We're concerned about the Christian individual or institution that loses the Spirit. The metaphor pronounces a heavy penalty for their loss; they're "good for nothing."
The New Testament often reminds us of this spiritual principle. We must develop and maintain a sense of immediate urgency.
In the hospital ministry I notice with sadness that some people have "put off" the practice of religion until a later time. The attitude has a medieval feel about it. By the old customs, the "Last Rites" are administered by the priest who is called when the doctors have given up hope. With "Extreme Unction," the patient dies in God's grace and the arms of the Church, despite everything that happened before that blessed, final moment. The angels rejoice.
But, in the new world of modern medicine, minds often drift away into Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or dementia months or years before the bodies die. If they ever intended to return to the Faith, it's too late. They cannot hold a thought more than a few moments. If they suffer regret, guilt, or remorse -- and many people do -- they cannot talk it through to a resolution; nor can they hear words of comfort, forgiveness, or absolution.
No one can or should pronounce judgment on souls lost to this Confusion, but I feel sad about the opportunity missed. Judgment is supposed to come when we die, but the cast of one's life is settled as the mind fails.
You just don't know when your last day will come."Now is the acceptable hour!" Saint Paul said.
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate!" Jesus said, using another metaphor for the same urgency.
Avoiding pain, confusion, complexity, and conflict often invites those very troubles. I may be wrong but it seems that pain medications make us more sensitive to pain, and increasingly dependent upon ineffective treatment. The Big Pharma company that can find a non-addictive pain relief will make trillions of dollars, until they get sued for marketing addictive substances. Life is not supposed to be free of pain.
True, we must use pain relief medications on occasion. I see this in the hospital. But the misery will return and we should be neither surprised nor upset about that.
Being human is not easy. And we often make it harder by searching for an easier way. And those easier seductions are beyond counting.
It's been a long time since I read Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer but I think I recall his advice for dealing with brier patches. if you try to avoid every prickle and remove every thorn, you'll suffer much and never get through it. Young Tom advised, just push through as fast and as hard as you can. And go on your way.
The Crucified Lord who invites us to "Take up your cross daily and follow in my footsteps!" assures us this will be difficult. And then the Lord gives us Holy Spirit, who fires us up and drives us through. We've got better things to do than avoid pain and discomfort.
We have a mission to invite others to go with us. "Take up your cross!" and come with us. Our Spirit will set you free.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.