by Jennifer Hockenbery
I know that I am! I grew up in the generation that thinks that being salty means using the language attributed to sailors. And some days, that language just seems all too appropriate. Gosh dang it, how do we change this darn world for the better! I am sick of waiting for the world to change, and I have no fricking idea how to be the change I want to see! Okay, that’s from a very PG-rated sailor. Fill in your own language.
So here is the deal. When we are anxious and upset, God tells us that the first thing we need to do. . . is to turn to God with full trust that God will give us what we need to meet the moment. Says Jesus to his disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1) If you are thinking to yourself, “Well that’s easy enough to say when things are going well, but right now things are in crisis,” you might remember that Jesus is saying this on the night that he is to be betrayed, on the night he is to be arrested, on the night before he will be publicly humiliated, tortured, and crucified. His disciples are going to have to watch that. They are going to live through this. And Jesus is telling them to not let their hearts be troubled.
Jesus tells the disciples, and us too, that if we love God, we will keep the commandments: to love God and each other. And Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to abide with us. Jesus promises on the eve before so much tragedy, “Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14: 27)
This is amazing. Jesus promises that he is with us, all the time, and that enveloped in his love we ought not fear. What a message of freedom! I don’t need to worry and ruminate and use salty language. I can go forward with what I believe I am called to do. I can just do it! I don’t need to be all stirred up in anxiety in order to obey Jesus’ commandments to love my neighbor and feed his sheep.
Rather than using salty language and feeling fed up, I can use SALT-Y language (sharing abundance, love and thanks) in all that I do. I can offer the gifts God gave to me to others. This includes my time, my talent, and my financial resources. I may feel stretched thin, but secure in the promise of Christ, I can add a little more salt—a little more from my abundance of love and thanks—to my work and to my offerings.
Women of the ELCA encourages you to engage with us in our SALT-y work. Join our ministries, use our resources, share your gifts.
To add a little SALT (Share Abundance, Love and Thanks) visit the Donate page NOW.
Dr. Jennifer Hockenbery is interim executive director for Women of the ELCA and editor of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.