The Traveling Onion

Dear Friend,

In three weeks, we begin the pilgrimage of Lent and with precisely that in mind I discovered the poem “The Traveling Onion” - yes, the onion has a travel story and it might help us understand ours. In Lent, as a community, we’ll be embarking on a journey with Christ, who emptied himself and revealed the power of God. He calls us to do the same. In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear about salt and light, which, like an onion, enhance what they touch and then…after their long journey….well, read on!

The Traveling Onion

“It is believed that the onion originally came from India. In Egypt it was an  object of worship — why I haven’t been able to find out. From Egypt the onion entered Greece and on to Italy, thence into all of Europe.” — Better Living Cookbook

 When I think how far the onion has traveled

just to enter my stew today, I could kneel and praise

all small forgotten miracles,

crackly paper peeling on the drainboard,

pearly layers in smooth agreement,

the way the knife enters onion

and onion falls apart on the chopping block,

a history revealed.

And I would never scold the onion

for causing tears.

It is right that tears fall

for something small and forgotten.

How at meal, we sit to eat,

commenting on texture of meat or herbal aroma

but never on the translucence of onion,

now limp, now divided,

or its traditionally honorable career:

For the sake of others,

disappear.

— Naomi Shibab Nye

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm, Pastor