COMMENTARY — 24 APRIL 2014
In cultures throughout the ancient world, salt was a symbol of friendship, compassion and generosity. The people of Israel revered it as a sign of a covenant. Persians honored it as an emblem of virtue and grace. Arab culture cherished it is a gesture of goodwill. Jesus likened his followers to “the salt of the earth”[2] and told them to “have peace one with another.”[3] Christians understood these words as a call to support the societies in which they lived. We have always been relational creatures, and today this metaphor still has spiritual resonance. Religion, like salt, seasons the interactions between strangers, adds flavor to our civic relations and preserves the dear things of our common existence. To be the salt of society means to savor its success.
Societies are complex organisms with untold layers, dimensions, facets and sensibilities. Government, commerce, the arts, families and schools all play a part in vitalizing the body politic. And religion can help enliven these associations, instilling them with moral direction, charitable commitment and the force of dignity.
