Matthew 5:13-16 | Motoi Yamamoto | You are the salt of the Earth

Matthew 5:13-16 You are the Salt of the Earth

Church Labyrinth, Salt Art installation by Motoi Yamamoto, Executed in 2010, Installation at Jesuit Church of St. Peter in Cologne, Germany © Photo courtesy of Stefan Worring Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’ READ MORE Reflection on the Salt Art Installation Motoi Yamamoto is a Japanese ‘Salt artist’. He uses just salt to create monumental floor paintings, such as this labyrinth cycle inside the Jesuit church of St Peter’s in Cologne. Yamamoto began working with salt after his sister passed away from brain cancer. In Japan, salt is a symbol of purification and mourning, so his artworks were a soothing way of honouring his sister and expressing a sense of eternity with her. His art constructions are a meditation for him as he produces these elaborate salt paintings with great patience and dedication. The installation I am showing you a picture of was exhibited for 2 months. At the end, a group of children collected the salt and dumped it into the Rhine River, where eventually it will return to the sea… …so his artwork is just part of the salt going full circle… the seas give us salt, he produces his work, and then the salt goes back to the seas… Salt gives taste, salt preserves, salt is one of the very necessary ingredients we all need and use on a daily basis. Jesus is telling us in today’s reading that as Christians we need to add taste and colour to the blandness of the world around us... Jesus is calling us to rub our Christian salt into the secular world around us… by Patrick van der Vorst