Breaking the ionic bond of good old sodium chloride, salt

Chemists and physicists will tell you that a sodium atom (Na) and a chlorine atom (Cl) form an ionic bond, becoming thereby a substance called salt.

In the previous chapter of Doctor Luke's gospel, Jesus also has plenty to say about salt, how one ought not to lose one's saltiness.

But what does saltiness mean, for a Christian?

The following questions will help us understand Jesus' teaching in Chapter 15 about not losing salt.

1. Jesus associates with sinners who want to listen to His teachings, but the Pharisees and scribes get burned up and accuse Jesus of being a hypocrite. Are they accusing Jesus of having lost his salt?
2. Jesus invites sinners to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy. In the parable of vv. 4-7,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
3. In the parable of vv. 8-10,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
4. In the parable of the prodigal son, vv. 11-32,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
5. Looking back, does the Our Father appear to be a prayer of a Christian holding his salt?
6. It is most profitable to compare the answers to the three questions b, above. What do you make of the combination of persons who did NOT lose their saltiness?

As I have noted before, there is a lot to learn in these chapters of Luke. Let's get to it tomorrow morning, asking for God's grace.

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