I didn`t think the stairs were ever going to stop. In short sets of ten and spiraling down anticlockwise, the steps had me dizzy. By the time we reached the bottom, at least the first level of the depths, my legs had turned to jelly.
I was in Poland visiting my friends Arek and Sara and the one thing I really wanted to see were the
Wieliczka Salt Mines just outside of Krakow. These mines have been operating since the 13th century and are famous for the hand carved sculptures and chapels mad by the unschooled miners themselves. As a visitor, I found myself on the long list of guests including many noted historical figures such as
Copernicus who also ventured through the mines in their respective times. The timber used in constructing the mines has been well preserved by the salt and despite its fresh appearance, dates back just as far.
The journey took us as far as 135 metres underground, or under-salt I should say. Everything was salt, the floors, the walls, the ceilings... The miners had cut groves in the ground so as it became smoothly polished with wear, it would look like marble tiles. Most of the salt was dark and grey. Veins of white "cauliflower" salt bulged out of otherwise smooth surfaces. This was the salt we could taste. Just the small amount I picked from the wall shocked me as to just how salty salt can be. As we walked along, there were chunks that looked like ice frozen in the grey walls. This was salt in its purest and saltiest form, transparent and beautiful. This was the salt they used to make the beautiful chandeliers in the cathedral.
That night, after a lovely traditional Polish dinner in Krakow, I thought it only appropriate to reflect on Christ`s words in
Matthew 5:13. The phrase "salt of the earth" has become so commonplace as it represents the good of the common man. We all have heard the sermons preaching on the value of salt in ancient days, its preservative nature, and its role as an important mineral in our own bodies. For me, I suppose I just thought it beautiful to be in the dark of the earth and see something as pure and clean as that saltiest of salts, crystal. I began thinking about how our own transparency in life, in both our trials and our triumphs reveals the testimony of Christ in us. I thought about how salt produces a thirst that only water can quench. Then I thought about the underground lake whose waters were so supersaturated with salt that it produced even more crystals floating through it and snow white "cauliflowers" growing along its edges. And isn`t this the call Christ was giving all along...
My salt crystal cross that I purchased to remind me of the experience came out of a freezing cold room today for the picture. The elements had caused condensation and some of its saltiness was dripping away. I thought of the verse and recognized how if I let it be so corrupted, it would no longer be wearable; it would lose its usefulness and end up in the bin. God help us to live as the salt of the earth - repentant and transparent, effective in our call to "go and make disciples of all men." (
Matt 28)
