Salt that has taste
Sermon for Pentecost XIX, 2024, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY Text: Mark 9:38-50 A while ago, a Facebook friend of mine posted a question, “Why does my box of salt have an expiration date on it?” There were several responses, one being “it’s an FDA thing; any food item has to have an expiration date,” and another response was actually a question “can you still use it past the expiration date?” I finally posted “I’m still working on how salt could go bad.” Chemically, table salt is one of the most stable things we have to eat. You don’t have to worry about getting it wet, you don’t get bugs in it like you do with sugar or flour, and you can’t burn it. There's bourbon smoked salt, sure, but have you ever seen fire-roasted sea salt on the grocery shelf? Even at Trader Joe's? So, when I read in this morning’s Gospel where Jesus asks how can you use salt that has lost its saltiness, it stood out to me. How can salt not be salt, and not taste like salt,