Lift Us Up, Send Us Out

The words to this song were written during an exceptionally cold Canadian winter, which was often accompanied by freezing rain. At times, road salt to melt the ice was hard to find and many roadways and driveways became dangerously slippery. Coincidentally, the lectionary reading at the time dealt with the lesson that we are to be the "salt of the earth" and those words were on my mind as I worked on the song lyrics. Ironically, winter in Canada offers the opportunity for salt to be useful (in contrast to scripture) even when "trampled underfoot" in icy conditions. Otherwise we easily lose our balance and our relationships slide into only being concerned for our self-interest. This song was written as a commissioning ("sending-out") song for the end of worship, when we are often encouraged to extend our worship into the rest of the week through our service to others. In a stressful and busy world, that isn't necessarily easy. So perhaps the salt metaphor can also be extended to melting our cold hearts so that we can find a way to be truly caring in our relations with others. And to use the other metaphor employed in this gospel lesson, that will truly be a light to all.