Salty

[A reflection based on the readings for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Sexagesima), February 8, 2026]

For those of us confronted by the latest round of youthful slang, we frequently hear Gen Z speak of someone being "salty" or a sentiment being "spicy". Now, "salty" is not a new thing...it's an old Navy slang term as well for pretty much the same thing. Regardless, it is a description that really needs no generational interpreter. When we say these words, we are conveying a meaning of blunt, mordant, colourful, and even coarsely vivid communication that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.

In engaging in this reflection, I of course ran across other blogs, Reddits, and Substacks taking this and comparing it with today's Gospel (Mt. 5.13-20, which may be found here). The general tenor of some say, "Yes, go ahead, be blunt and even vulgar," whereas others say, "No, do not be crass or crude, let the words of Jesus speak for themselves." That is very typical of today's cultural climate, where polar opposites are engaged, and no one makes any attempt to understand the other.

Still, we have to consider what Our Lord really means here. For those who read the Gospels, the Law, the Prophets, and the Epistles, we see that these people did not shy away from blunt and vivid. Even Our Lord could be very direct ("Woe to you..." is not exactly a diplomatic opener). Our Lord is telling us in this passage to dilute nothing of the message, no matter how uncomfortable, irritating, or even enraging it is for the hearers. He is telling us to let that light shine forth and not to put a shade or damper on it to soften it. He is telling us not to soften the message so it becomes palatable to those not looking for heavy, biting spiritual food.

Our Lord is telling us in no uncertain terms that when it comes to the Word of God and the saving message of the Gospel, people are starving because the food offered is so bland as to be disgusting. People are blind to the Truth and yet still stumble and fall because the Light of the Gospel is veiled, and the shadows lengthen because we do not want to dazzle (that is, offend). Now is the time to speak, now is the time to be blunt, now is the time to be vivid. Now is the time to proclaim justice, to proclaim mercy, to proclaim righteousness, and to shine the light on those who pervert justice, ignore mercy, and declare wickedness to be righteousness to show all how far from Grace they have wandered. We do not even have to name them, because their deeds are self-evident, even more so in the past year. Still, we do, from the Oval Office and throughout the land and in the lands beyond, mercy and justice and righteousness have been abandoned for ruthlessness, oppression, and wickedness. Not to do so would be to be considered the least in the Kingdom of God.

Where is your salt and your light? It is time to use them in greater quantity than before.