"You are the salt of the Earth." Some of us have a problem with that. My doctor tells me to lay off of the salt. And health experts tell us that salt is not good for us. And many of us spend a lot of time looking for low-sodium products and salt substitutes.

Obviously, Jesus does not mean "salt." What He means is "flavor." He says that those who follow Him and let their lives be shaped by the values and wisdom of the Gospel should make a difference in the world, should bring a different flavor to the people, the situations, the relationships, the world around them. Now, what flavor is it? If you had to name the flavor, what would you say? I think a lot of Christian people would immediately say "love." I don't think so, first of all, because there are too many different kinds of love. There's parental love. There's romantic love. There's tough love. There's unconditional love. There's limited love. There's friendship love. And there's love that means, "I like my pets." There are all kinds of likes and loves. And also, it's too easy to say, too easy to deal with, like a Hallmark card on Valentine's Day. That should take care of that flavor. So I don't think "love" is good enough. I think it needs at least.... that salt that we are to be, that flavor that we are to give to the world, has to be broken down. So today I am going to try to give you a spiritual or a religious visit to Baskin and Robbins. I am going to share with you eight flavors that I think are the flavors of the Gospel, that we are supposed to be digesting and giving as a taste and difference to the world around us.

The first flavor is CONCERN. It has to begin there, that we look beyond ourselves, that we are a people who are not concerned just with me, myself, and I, with my things, my family, my neighborhood, my church, or my country.... that we are a people who look beyond. So, the first flavor that we need to bring to the world, as Gospel people, is concern.

And the second flavor is close to that. The second one is COMPASSION. Now the Gospel talks about compassion a lot. In fact, it says "You need to be compassionate, just as your God is compassionate." But, let me tell you. I think the challenge to be compassionate means mainly with people who are different from us, and people who are close to us. People who are different.... You see if someone is the same as I.... looks like me, acts like me and has the same opinions as I do, I don't need compassion. All I need is self-interest. All I have to do is like myself. I don't think that's the flavor we are talking about. It comes to bear, we need this flavor when people differ with us, and are different from us and secondly, not just people who are so distant that we have nothing to do with and can do nothing about, but people who are close enough, (And they are all over the world.).... people who are close enough that we can do something. Otherwise, who cares? So, the second flavor is compassion.

The third flavor is JUSTICE. And by justice, I don't mean "fair is fair," "even-steven." I don't mean "tit for tat." John McCutcheon, the folk singer, has a great line in one of his songs: "It's an easier road to revenge than to mercy, But an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind..... It's an easier road to revenge than to mercy, But an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." Justice means to set about right relationships in love. And, in practice, I think that means it calls on us to be a people who want to bring the flavor in the world that those who have gifts, and those who have things to share are responsible. And those who are wrong-doers are held accountable. And that every human being has their basic needs met, and that everyone has the opportunity to grow and to prosper, not the guarantee, but the opportunity. Now if we look at the world around us, that's not the situation. That's not the structure. And we have to bring a different kind of flavor. You know, I'd want to mention, the eight flavors I am going to share with you (I'm up to number three.) I do not include peace. I do not think that is one of the flavors. I think it is here. As Pope Paul VI said, "If you want peace, work for justice." The flavor we have to bring is justice.

Number four is FORGIVENESS, forgiveness that is not easy, forgiveness that doesn't just mean "Forget about it," forgiveness that does not allow injustice to continue, but forgiveness that genuinely recognizes that people are larger than their particular mistakes and larger even than their deliberate faults and also generously recognizes and wisely recognizes our own need, for our own welfare, to be able to let go of anger and resentment and hatred and hard hearts. So those are the first four flavors: concern, compassion, justice and forgiveness.

Here come four more. Number five is INTEGRITY. We need integrity especially in small things, because small things quickly and easily become large, large, large things. We need integrity. I can give one example of that, small things becoming very large, in one word, Enron.... Enron. We need integrity.

Number six.... Number six.... I think this is the most church-y, religious, spiritual of my eight flavors. HUMOR. We need a sense of humor, because humor is the closest thing to that wisdom and insight that we call faith. You know, you tell somebody a joke and they don't get it.... Do you get it? Same thing with faith..... Do you get it? Do you have the insight to get what's really going on? Someone has said it is also necessary to be fully human. In fact, of all our creatures, who we reverence and honor on our planet, the only one that laughs and cries is the human being because we can see the difference between what is and what ought to be. We have to be a people who get it. And a sense of humor also produces a mellow and grateful spirit that leads to thanksgiving and even to eucharist.

Number seven, the seventh flavor, as Gospel people, that we are called to share with one another and with the world, is CREATIVITY. We have to have imagination, the ability to vision and the ability to dream. Didn't Jesus have that? To move beyond where we are and leap into the future, rather than to let relationships that we may be stuck in, situations we may not approve of, or a world that needs to be in a different place.... rather than let that become a blind alley or a hopeless road block. In fact, what creativity does, that flavor, it leads to hope.

The eighth and last flavor is JOY, my favorite flavor, joy.... Actually it isn't. My favorite flavor is humor. Joy is my second favorite. And it means zest and enthusiasm for life, for creation, for people, that signals a thankful heart, a spirit that gives praise. And it leads to love.

So there they are, the eight flavors of the Gospel: concern, compassion, justice, forgiveness, integrity, and humor that leads to faith, creativity that leads to hope, and joy that leads to love. Make no mistake about it. This is a tough message. This is a very hard saying. Remember what Jesus says, if we lose our flavor, what we are good for.

I have a poem that is filled with delightful images, but also a stern, tough reminder. It may not be classic in its form, but I think it is pure Gospel: