Webster's dictionary refers to "witness" in such terms as "testimony ... to act as a witness of ... to give or be evidence of." It is understandable that Jesus would use such metaphors as salt and light when speaking of the Christian witness.

Salt. Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world, not uncommonly used as a bartering agent. As insignificant as the reference itself may seem, Jesus was actually dignifying the Church by referring to it in the sense of something rare and precious.

You are familiar with the expression, "That should be taken with a grain of salt." Sometimes things are said to us which are bland, tasteless, or even worse, in bad taste. Salt adds flavor which causes many items which we consume to become more palatable. The remark, "taken with a grain of salt" im…