PRAYER MOMENT
Saturday
6 December 2014, St Nicholas, ‘Santa Claus’
SALTED
FODDER
Pause. Enter into the stillness of God
within.
Reading: “Your cattle will graze,
that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted
fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork.” (Isaiah 30:19…26)
Reflection. The scriptures are full of
sharp images, keys to a store room for us to visit. Those of us who have not
totally cut our ties to our rural roots know the value of fodder and can appreciate
what salted fodder could mean to a weary animal. The ancestors had to travel to
the Dande valley in search of salt. There were no SPARs in those days. Jesus
too uses the image to describe his disciples and to call someone, ‘the salt of
the earth,’ is the highest compliment. Yesterday was the anniversary of Mandela’s
death and he was one such. Isaiah’s metaphors in today’s reading pour out in
describing the new Messianic age of nourishment and plenty. Even nature and the
animals will benefit from the overflowing bounty of the Lord. Our task is to
bring this home to our lives this Advent.
Prayer. Lord, we thank you for your
overflowing kindness to us. Help us to lay hold of the gifts you offer. Amen.
David Harold-Barry SJ
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