Daily Prayer

Sunday, February 9, 2014

You are the salt of the earth

Jesus, you are the light of the world.
You are the pillar of fire that lit the way
for the Israelites in the desert.
You guide and show me the way.
And through baptism and Eucharist,
you give me the power to
bring your light to the world.

But salt, Lord? How am I salt?
I cannot think of this passage
without thinking of the cultural historians
and Scripture scholars who argue
that your salt reference here
has nothing to do with seasoning.

They tell me that people of your time cooked
in earthen ovens, using animal dung as fuel.
These ovens, they say, used a thin block
of salt at the bottom as a catalyst to make
the dung burn hot and strong.
When the salt’s ability to catalyze the fire
was used up, it was taken out
and thrown away,
to be “trampled underfoot.”

It’s a powerful image
for me to ponder:
In this earthen oven of the world
I am here as your catalyst,
to help turn even the basest things
into the hottest flame of your self-giving love--
so that you may be food for a hungry world.

You bring the spark, Jesus; you light the fire.
Help me to help it burn brightly.
Amen.