Church Fathers Commentary Luke 14:34-35

"Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: [men] cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." — Luke 14:34-35 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: He had said above that the tower of virtue was not only to be begun but also to be completed. To this belongs the following: Salt is good. It is a good thing to season the secrets of the heart with the salt of spiritual wisdom—indeed, with the Apostles, to become the salt of the earth.

For salt in substance consists of water and air with a slight mixture of earth, but it dries up the fluid nature of corrupt bodies to preserve them from decay. Fittingly, then, He compares His disciples to salt, since they are regenerated by water and the Spirit. Living altogether spiritually and not according to the flesh, they, like salt, change the corrupt lives of people on earth, and by their own virtuous lives, they delight and season their followers.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But He requires not only those gifted with the grace of teaching, but also private individuals, to become like salt, useful to those around them. But if the one who is to be useful to others becomes useless himself, he cannot be restored, as it follows: But if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

The Venerable Bede: It is as if He is saying: If a person who has once been enlightened by the seasoning of truth falls back into apostasy, by what other teacher can he be corrected? For he has cast away the sweetness of wisdom that he tasted, being alarmed by the troubles or allured by the attractions of the world. Therefore, it follows, It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill.

For when salt has ceased to be fit for seasoning food and preserving meat, it is good for nothing. It is not useful for the land, because when cast on it, the land is prevented from being fruitful; nor is it useful for the dunghill to enrich the soil. So too, the one who falls away after knowing the truth is able neither to produce the fruit of good works himself nor to instruct others. He must be cast out—that is, separated from the unity of the Church.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But because His discourse was in parables and difficult sayings, our Lord, in order to rouse His listeners so that they would not treat what was said about the salt with indifference, adds, He that has ears to hear, let him hear. This means, let the one who has wisdom understand. For we must take "ears" here to mean the perceptive power of the mind and the capacity for understanding.

The Venerable Bede: Let him also hear not by despising what he has learned, but by doing it.