Devotion for Wednesday After Proper 3, Year C (ELCA Daily Lectionary)

Above:   Salt Shaker

Image Source = Dubravko Sorić

Salt of the Earth

MAY 25, 2016

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The Collect:

O God our rock, your word brings life to the whole creation

and salvation from sin and death.

Nourish our faith in your promises, and ground us in your strength,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38

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The Assigned Readings:

Proverbs 5:1-23

Psalm 1

Luke 14:35-35

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The wicked man will be trapped in his iniquities;

He will be caught up in the ropes of his sin.

He will die for lack of discipline,

Infatuated by his great folly.

–Proverbs 5:22-23, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

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The brief lection from Luke 14 is about salt:

“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?  It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

–Verses 34-35, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

Salt is indeed good.  It is also bad in excess.  Likewise, too little salt proves harmful also.  Salt is a preservative and an agent for amplifying favor.  It is an appropriate choice of material for a parable about what people of God are supposed to be and do.  They are here on the planet to add flavor, neither to shirk their responsibilities nor to get in God’s way.  Doing too little and too much are both negative.

Making those assertions is easy.  Recognizing the difference between enough and too little on one hand and enough and too much on the other hand, however, is more difficult.  May we, by grace, know what to do in each circumstance.  May we know what to do, and when to do it.  May we know when to act as God’s instruments of healing in the world and when to back off and get out of God’s way.  May we lead spiritually disciplined lives that bring glory to God and benefit our fellow human beings.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 27, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNE LINE AND ROGER FILCOCK, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT BALDOMERUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF GEORGE HERBERT, ANGLICAN PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINT VICTOR THE HERMIT

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/salt-of-the-earth/

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