A sprinkling of salt

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer

February 9, 2021

Psalm 8; 2 Tim. 1:1-14; Mark 9:42-50

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

As many of you know, I love to cook. And one of my favorite things to make is chocolate chip cookies. I alternate between traditional regular chocolate chip cookies and an “everything but the kitchen sink” version that is a chocolate cookie with nuts and three kinds of chips - dark chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter. I love them both for very different reasons. I recently made a discovery that the dark chocolate cookies were made even better if I sprinkled them with salt as soon as they came out of the oven. 

That’s the thing about salt. Just a little bit of it opens up a whole new set of flavors. But the “little bit” is key. I am sure we have all had the experience of eating something that has been over salted. There is a fine line between flavor enhancement and inedibility. A little bit is amazing. Too much is ruinous. 

Today’s Gospel is all about what gets in the way of us deepening our relationship with God. What are our stumbling blocks? What keeps us from living more fully into who God calls us to be? 

But it is that last part about salt. About having salt. About being salt. About finding peace that really caught my attention. It gave me pause, because I will admit that first portion about stumbling blocks felt like an admonition. Stumbling blocks, God? You want to talk about stumbling blocks, okay. No problem. I have a long list for you. There is a global pandemic. We are all working from home. We are utterly exhausted, and while there is a light at the end of this tunnel it is still too far away. Not enough people are getting vaccines fast enough. We miss being together - in person! We are weighed down by the enormous challenges facing our nation and our world right now. Poverty, Racism, Sexism, Environmental Degradation, name your issue. See God, we have plenty of stumbling blocks! 

But then I pause. Then I think about what some of the wisest voices I know might say to me. . . Molly, take a deep breath. Think about that list for a moment. What is notable about it? Oh. You mean the part where I have conveniently named only external stumbling blocks and failed to take responsibility for what I might do differently. You mean that might be part of the problem? Oh and externalizing everything might also cut me off from the gift of being able to connect more deeply with God and those around me? Oh, yeah, that’s not very helpful. 

And I go back to the salt. I think about how just a little bit makes a difference. What if that were true here too? What if I don’t in fact have to fix all the world’s problems today. What if I don’t have to make a seismic shift in my spiritual practices? What if, at least for today, it is not about transforming everything? What if, at least for today, it was just about the small steps, the sprinkling of salt that might be life giving? That might move us one step closer to the depth we crave, to the coming of the kingdom?

In my current state of pandemic overwhelm, coupled with my task oriented, achievement driven personality, I needed that reminder that it does not (and probably cannot nor should not) all be done today. Small steps are okay. For today, for now, they are enough. As the Carrie Nicewander song we listened to last week says, every small kindness shifts the balance toward the light. 

I hope that resonates for you. I hope that you feel your burdens lightened. I hope that you feel more glimmers of hope and possibility. I hope that you feel inspired to seek out the small ways that you might deepen your connection to God. A few more deep breaths. A little more quiet. A little more time outside. Choosing relationship over task a little more often. Reaching out just to say “hi.” A little more time for prayer. A little more time to feed our souls. 

I trust that all those sprinkles of salt, all those small steps, all those moments will enrich us and nourish us so that we might have what we need to be a part of the transformation of the world, together. Amen. 

Salt, Light, and Gregory the Illuminator

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Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom 

Gregory the Illuminator, March 23, 2020

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. And may that point us to the living Word, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” “Let your light shine before others.” Today I am grateful for these familiar lines of Scripture. We need salt and light right now. We need that which gives hope, depth, and richness to life. The fear and uncertainty are swirling. Many of us are in states that are now in a virtual or actual states of lockdown. We can make quick trips out for essential items, but we have basically been asked to stay home. In a matter of a few short days our daily routines, how we do our jobs, how our children go to school, how we get our basic necessities, and possibly even how we understand the world, has changed. Things look so very different than they did. 

And we may know many others for whom the impact of this pandemic is far more immediate and severe - those who are ill, those who are healthcare workers or first responders, those whose dire financial circumstances are represented in the ever increasing numbers at feeding programs and in unemployment claims. So much has changed, is changed, and will change. It is indeed a blessing to be gathering daily with you all for a time of prayer.

I always find the practice of communal worship to be grounding. It reorients me and helps me keep my priorities straight. I find myself in need of that all the more in these days. I need to be reminded to take a deep breath, to let go of my desire for certainty or definitive answers. I need to be reminded that God is here. God is with us. We will indeed get through this, together.

Indeed, the Gospel for today is so apropos. We are the light of the world. The fear and the uncertainty can feel overwhelming. And we cannot let them paralyze us from acting. Nor can we let the fear trick us into thinking we are powerless. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments when this whole thing is like a tsunami and I am just standing on the beach waiting to be caught up in its tumult. But then I pause. I breathe. I pray. I check in with a friend, and I am pulled back to the truths of our faith.

We are salt. We are light. We have power and agency. We can do good works in the midst of all of this. We can keep connecting with each other. In whatever ways are appropriate given our various contexts, we can do what the Church has always done in times like these - we can care for those who are most vulnerable. We can ensure that the light of God shines in the darkness. We can ensure that the flame of hope is never extinguished in our own hearts and homes and in our wider communities as well.

It is important for us to remember that we are not alone in this effort to embody light and hope for the world. We can do it together. We can bolster each other in our faith and in our work. And we can remember that we follow in a long line of saints who have struggled through challenging times, who faced difficulties and yet did not waiver in their faith. Gregory the Illuminator, who we remember today was imprisoned in a well for 13 years because he refused to participate in pagan rituals. Thirteen years! That is a long time. A few weeks or even months largely confined to our homes is not looking so bad after all. In Gregory’s shoes, it could seem easy to give up, and yet he did not. He persevered and was able to share the light of his faith (he is Gregory the Illuminator after all) with people throughout Armenia.

So, my friends, while the challenges before us are real, and they will test our faith and our endurance, they need not leave us disheartened or disillusioned. There is always hope. In the midst of everything, countless acts of kindness and generosity are being done everyday. We are salt. We are light. We are finding more and more ways to stay connected to each other, despite our physical separation. Through our faith, through our actions, through all the good that is being done around the world, there is light in the darkness. And together we can make that light even brighter. AMEN.