Tuesday, 17 September, 2002

While Al Debelak is on vacation, we will be re-posting devotions from June of 2000.



Text: Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.



On of the baptismal practices that did not make it into the Lutheran Book of Worship for the rite of Baptism is the use of salt. As many of you have seen, several years ago we started placing salt on the lips of those who were being baptized. "You are the salt of the world." Last night I made a few ears of corn. I dripped on the butter and bit into the first piece....something was not quite right. Salt. Just a few shakes made all the difference in the world. That's it. In the name of Jesus - that is - carrying on through our day in a manner that could bear Jesus name and be identifiable with that name...can make all the difference in the world. Jesus is actually teaching his followers that they have the power and the potential to add a bit of seasoning to life. It is not someone else who can change our daily worlds...it is each and every one of us. WE say it is not simply because we do somethings. It is because we do a specific kind of thing: a God-revealed-in-Jesus kind of thing. We do it...yes, this is telling us that "works" are vital to our presentation to the world. "Works" are not a way to please God, they are the evidence to the world of God's Reign already present among us. Embody the presence of Jesus....salt of the world.



Connection: Acts of mercy...acts...all kinds...how can you add salt to this day?! Look at it this way, our little everyday interactions are held in high regard with God. We take the promises of life and we are invited to start breaking them open in our actions. No action is too small...all are grand events of God's Reign - so...



O God you have given us the ways of your glorious Reign. You turn us away from mere words and hand us the day at hand. You stop our eyes from soaring above the earth so that we can see the ways of your glory as they unfold with each step we take. Bless this day just as you have promised you would. Bless this day through us your beloved and blessed children. Amen.