It is probably no accident that in the Sermon on the Mount the first words spoken by the Lord after the Beatitudes are: "Ye are the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13). What are the practical consequences of this call to be the salt of the whole earth? Salt adds flavor to food or improves its taste. Those to whom doctors forbid salt are well aware of this: for them, food is tasteless. In addition, salt preserves food. The Old Testament speaks of "the covenant of salt" (Num. 18:19). In this covenant, God made David and his descendants kings (2 Chronicles 13:5). If this Old Testament word is combined with the thought of the Gospel of Matthew, the meaning of the verse: "You are the salt of the earth" will be as follows: "The stronger your 'saltiness', the more you yourselves are the covenant between God and people. To the extent that you are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, peacemakers, so you yourselves become this covenant."

The connection between God and humanity is realized through this small blessed, chosen and loved remnant of God, to whom He is already opening the gates of the Kingdom.

The encounter between God and the people of God takes place through those who have understood that they are citizens of the Kingdom in the midst of the world. They preserve the world and give it taste. The world is not extension and multiplicity, the world is a small number of pure people. The world draws from it what it can draw, but those in whom God has created a dwelling already have everything.

These words were spoken by Jesus after He had chosen four of His disciples. Two left their nets to follow him, and the other two left their father. A multitude of people accompanied them because they loved Jesus and wanted to hear Him proclaim the Kingdom. But what kind of kingdom is it? What will be in it? What virtues do you need to acquire in order to go to it? In response to these questions, like Moses, who gave his people the law written on Mount Sinai, Jesus—in his capacity as the new Moses—led the people to a mountain in Galilee to give them a new law. Jesus "opened his mouth": the new law is Himself. I think that the mountain in question is Mount Tabor, where He will later be transfigured, since there is no other mountain in this area. Matthew seems to want to suggest that it is possible to be transformed into a new man only when one lives in accordance with this New Testament.

After finishing the sermon, the Lord descends from the mountain and performs ten miracles. He instructs His friends with word and love: both word and love lead to healing. Then he chooses the twelve apostles and sends them, filled with His power, in turn to instruct and heal. He makes them the salt of the earth.

The expression "salt of the earth" brings to mind two things at once. On the one hand, Jesus' apostles live in Him, on the other hand, He sends them not to withdraw into themselves and revel in their courage, not to create a Christian "environment," but to be with others and serve them. They are everywhere in the world, but they do not monopolize the world. They are like salt: it gives food taste, but it is not visible, it is not all food. The disciples of Jesus are not subject to the world, for they are not of the world. But they want the world to be imbued with their spirit, they call on it to recognize their Lord.

It is normal for Christians to form a community, for the Lord has united them to Himself, making them partakers of His Body and Blood. They are united with Him in His love for them and in their obedience to His will. His words shape them because they receive those words in order to live by them and be transformed into the words of the Lord. In this way, they become His presence in the world, and He works through them. They live permanently with the Teacher on Mount Tabor, for they are nothing if they are not transfigured in Him. It is through His transfiguration that they resist darkness, are freed from the oppression of the world and from its snares, as if they had never known them. They know them, but the simplicity of Christ allows them to fill all people with light. This is what wisdom consists of. They delight in nothing or anyone except their freedom. They are not guided by bourgeois morality, any laws or customs of a social group. They do not label people, for they know that even the righteous can apostatize, and the evil can reform. And, without condemning anyone, they realize that publicans and harlots will enter the Kingdom of Heaven before many who consider themselves pure.

The friends of Jesus heal people with their meekness. The world is full of cruelty, because people in it are afraid of each other. They are afraid that others will hurt them. Those who belong to Christ are not afraid of wounds, for they are already wounded by love, and love cannot be conquered. They are not afraid of those who are in power, for they themselves do not claim power. If the ruler thinks that power will give him stability, it is because he does not realize how shaky his throne is. The pure ones have no refuge in this world, but no one can harm them. They dwell in the heart of God, where they are received with infinite favor. Their greatness is in giving without counting, without expecting any return. They free things from their ugliness, and nothing can disfigure them. That is why, when He says, "If salt loses its savor, how wilt thou make it salty?" Christ does not conceal His fear for our instability. For if this happens, how can the world not be allowed to fall? How to preserve it?

The real trouble with Christians is that they no longer know the secret of their calling. They are attached to the world. They are afraid of becoming a small herd, while statistics show and predict a decrease in their number. Perhaps they do not know that the efficacy of Christianity is not necessarily greater when there are many Christians, for multitudes mean nothing if they are not spiritually awakened. They forgot that twelve of them, unarmed and without much eloquence, had convinced the world. They also forgot that during the first three centuries of their history, the number of Christians increased because their witness was confirmed by martyrdom. The death of the martyrs and their spiritual radiance then welded together the Church. Christians have now gone astray, thinking to find strength where it has never been. In fact, they are still not convinced that Christ overturned all the criteria when he overturned the tables of the merchants in the temple. Quantity, money, influence, and everything that follows can do nothing against the power of the meek and humble.

Когда те, кто ссылается на Христа, довольствуются буржуазными добродетелями, они сами становятся пищей, которую нужно солить, ибо сами они — абсолютное ничто без истины Божией, изливающейся на них в сиянии любви. Если они стремятся уподобиться тем народам, которые похваляются своей властью и внешним благообразием, то они скоро станут еще хуже тех, ибо те все же сохраняют хотя бы некоторое приличие и более или менее руководствуются разумом. Можно есть любую пищу, если к ней привыкнуть. Но соль, которая перестала быть соленой, потеряла всякий смысл существования. Ее выбрасывают вон на попрание (Мф.5, 13).

Большое заблуждение — думать, что если только казаться, можно и быть, и что этим возможно оказать воздействие на людей. Люди доверяют тебе не тогда, когда считают тебя могучим, а тогда, когда могут дотронуться пальцем до твоего величия. Народы воспринимают видимость могущества как средство выражения. Если они похваляются своими королями, дворцами, конями, солдатами, то это не потому, что они не знают о тщете всего этого, а потому, что стремятся выразить свое, мнимое, могущество через символы.

Совсем иное дело — христиане. У них нет ничего мнимого: истинного величия нельзя скрыть, нельзя и выразить его искусственными средствами. Люди либо живут им, либо чужды ему. Либо ты нищ духом, кроток, милосерд и чист сердцем, либо нет. Ты можешь попытаться обмануть себя и других. Но истины не скроешь от себя самого, не скроешь ее и от Бога, и от других людей.

Внешность придает ценности тому, что ее не имеет. Тот, кто заботится о ней чрезмерно, обманывает сам себя, а другим дает только крохи себя самого. Но это никого не обманет. Отказ от лжи и открытость стоят дорого, но такова плата за доступ к спасению. Кто не сеет Христа во всей его истине, тот пожнет один ветер. Если ты не постараешься жить по всей строгости Нагорной проповеди, то в тебе нет Христа. Тебе не нужно никого убеждать в том, что ты — соль земли. Земля примет твой запах и вкус, когда твоя любовь разнесет тебя по всем дорогам мира. Тогда человечество споет гимн небожителям.

Только свет, если он огнем вселится в тебя и станет самой твоей жизнью, может восставить людей из мертвых и с несомненностью возвестить божественную победу воскресения.