Seeker

Yesterday's Advent post was about night and its associated darkness.  To state the obvious: when people are in darkness they need light. On this 5th day of Advent the #AdventWord2018 is #light. In the Bible 'light' is often used as a symbol both of God and of the people of God. Light is used to describe God bringing salvation to people who walk in darkness  so they may have the light of life. The opening of John's Gospel describes Jesus is as the true light coming into the world and rejected by some who prefer darkness to light. Later, in that same gospel, are these words of Jesus: "...I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8: 12 (NRSV) You may be reading this blog because you are a follower of Jesus. Or you may wonder what it means to follow Jesus but are unsure how to start. You could start by planning to attend a Christmas service at a church near you . Meanwhile...

The 5th of the Advent 'O Antiphons' is inspired by these words of the prophet Isaiah, often read at Christmas services: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who live in a land of deep darkness - on them has light shined."  Isaiah 9:2 For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere it seems especially appropriate to read these words today 21 December, which has the shortest hours of daylight of the year. After today we can look forward to the nights getting shorter and the days longer. The deeper meaning for Christians is the association with Christ the Light of the World coming into its spiritual darkness. Even so, come Lord Jesus. "O Morning Star, splendour of light eternal and son of righteousness: come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death." Here's a beautiful Gregorian chant version with solo tenor voice: Image Credit: JustSimplePhoto06 on Flickr, CC License  

Salt and light are both elements with which everyone is familiar. They are essential to life. In the ancient middle east salt was sometimes added to fuel for cooking. Dried animal dung with added salt was shaped into fuel cakes, used in outdoor 'earth' ovens. The salt acted as a catalyst to help the dung catch fire quicker and burn brighter. Was this something familiar to Jesus I wonder? In the Sermon on the Mount he tells his disciples, "you are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5: 13). Was he thinking of salt as preservative? Or as the means of bringing out the flavour in food? Or salt as symbol of a covenant? Or was it also the dung-salt cakes for the earth ovens, the remains of which would be "thrown out and trampled under foot" ? Perhaps all those things, but I rather like the salt in the cooking fuel idea, as it links with what Jesus said next, "you are the light of the world ". So, for a community to be the salt of the earth is to help ...