Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World is the title of a book by Rebecca Manley Pippert, first published in 1979 and re-released in 1999. The book’s premise can be found in it’s title: In order to do our savory gospel task, we Christians need to get out of the church (both the building and the community of faith) and “mix it up” with the world . . . with our neighbors and co-workers, with the “worlds” of the arts, business, education, even politics.
Pippert sold a lot of books and got a lot of mileage from her out-of-the-saltshaker metaphor. So I was intrigued by the title of her latest book – Stay Salt: The World has Changed, Our Message Must Not
(2019). Apparently, it seems that we “salty” believers have mixed it up a bit too much with the world, and so have lost our identity, our distinctiveness . . . a problem Jesus seems to anticipate in the second part of Matthew 5:13 – “But if the salt loses its saltiness how can it made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”But wait! Isn’t it the purpose of salt to lose its own identity in the food it seasons or preserves? It’s not about the salt, really. Neither salt nor light exist for themselves; they only fulfill their purpose when used, poured out, mixed in, lighting up dark corners of despair or illuminating the path to wholeness and holiness.
Perhaps all this only exposes the limitations of a given metaphor and the danger of overthinking these things. And maybe it calls for brainstorming new metaphors for our life and mission. What new images might Jesus use today to convey our value and purpose?
I’ll prime the pump for our creative thinking. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “You are the bridges of God
; be willing to let people walk over you across the chasms of division and hostility so they can experience peace with each other and with God.”? -or- “You are the tables of God, called to be the place where people from every nation, tribe, people and language gather to eat and drink together.”?Now, what new metaphors can you think of? Would you be willing to share one or two new images with others?
