Mark 9:50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

What does peace between people have to do with salt? According to the covenant they made with God, the ancient Israelites are to offer all things to God with salt (see Leviticus 2:13). These offerings of food with salt should look to us not only like a religious ritual but also an act of hospitality, particularly of table fellowship. To "have salt in yourselves" could mean to act in community according to this notion of covenant and hospitality - to be at peace because we are in hospitable friendship with one another.

We may not always think of being at table together, of sharing meals, as an activity in peacemaking or community building, but they often have this function in our society. There is an ancient custom in many parts of the world where bread and salt are offered in welcome or to cement an alliance. Whether it is a holiday dinner, a church potluck or a diplomatic banquet for heads of state, "having bread and salt between us" express the desire for friendship and collaboration as a community. Here, Jesus calls us to put aside our division, to "have salt" and make peace.

-Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,