"Thinking for the Ages"

“Thinking for the Ages”

This article, which  appeared  in the Christian Science Sentinel in Oct. 21, was written by Aimee Hermanson.   It was very helpful to me in understanding  what Jesus meant when he told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “Ye are the salt of the earth:  but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men”.

“It‘s important to make sure that there is nothing routine or stale about our prayers, “ the writer points out.  We must never let our prayers be formulas or routine repetitions, without inspiration and listening for what God is telling us when we pray. She also points out that, “…salt without flavor ceases to be salt. It becomes rock: cold, hard, ineffective.”

Jesus denounced the Pharisees because of their blind dedication to the letter of the law, even to the exclusion of demonstrating compassion. “ They were the guardians of the stale, hardened status quo.  The consequence of such thinking, Jesus warned, is that  it is cast out and trodden down into muddied world thinking.”

Even though salt seems to be a very small item in face of the world to be healed, think of its effect on your meal. What Jesus seems to be telling us is that each individual’s work has great value and purpose in changing the world.  And if you were missing, it would be greatly noticed!