Image: Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light
© Jan Richardson
Reading from the Gospels, Epiphany 5, Year A: Matthew 5.13-20
Jesus’ words this week are meant to wake us, to remind us of what we carry in our bones: the living presence of the God who bids us be salt in this world in all our savory particularity; to be light in the way that only we can blaze.
—Jan Richardson, from Epiphany 5: Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light
The Painted Prayerbook, January 2011
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You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world, Jesus tells us in the gospel passage for this week. So this is a blessing for you, for this time, with such gratitude for you who are salt and light in this world.
Blessing of Salt, Blessing of Light
By the time you come
to the end of this blessing,
these words will be barely enough
to fit in the palm of your hand.
But fold your fingers around them
and take them
as an offering,
a sacrament,
a sign.
Touch the words
to your tongue
and taste how
they have traveled
through marrow and bone
to reach you,
how they have passed
through each chamber
of your heart,
how they have come
through the layers
that make up your soul—
the strata of stories
and questions,
longings and
dreams.
Savor the way the words
are not mere residue
or dross,
the bitter leavings
from the refining.
By their taste,
you will know instead
they are the essence,
they are the core,
they are what has come
through the burning,
holding still
the memory of fire
and the imprint of light,
holding the clarity that comes
when all that is not needful
passes away.
So take these words
as a blessing;
touch them
to your mouth
(may you taste)
your eyes
(may you see)
your ears
(may you hear)
and then let them go;
let them fall to earth
where all salt finally returns.
See the path they make
for you,
the path that blazes
inside of you,
lighting the way
ahead of you
that only you
can go.
—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief
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