Baked Together As One

Friday of the Thirteenth a Week in Ordinary Time

Ephesians 2:19-22

Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Yeah!  Another holiday weekend has arrived which means more binge reality-TV watching!  I know I should do something worthwhile like exercise, read, study, or pray fifteen decades of a rosary in one setting. But, I can't help but sit and relax in front of the "stupid tube" for a little while until boredom hits...

For this weekend's Independence Day marathon, I'm enjoying Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen.  It's a highly entertaining show with very clever sabotages which throw chefs off course.  By far my favorite episode is the chef who had to make a strawberry shortcake using a kid-size kitchen set.  It reminded me when I played with my own Easy Bake oven set as a child.  I laughed seeing a grown man cook using miniature sized cooking utensils. I was surprised when he won the competition.  It just showed his amazing cooking skills trumped any challenges thrown in his direction.  

Once again, Saint Paul's writing shines through like slice of chocolate cake. His beautiful words remind us that we are all built together as one through our mutual faith in Christ Jesus. After watching Cutthroat Kitchen, I think of each member of the Catholic Church as part of a cake. Some of us are the eggs.  Some are the sugar.  Some are the baking soda or flour.  Some are the strawberries and whipped cream.  Our Lord takes each of our components and "bakes" them together to create a delicious cake.  However, it's not just any ordinary cake. It's a community cake sprinkled with love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.  It's mouthwatering and delicious, ready to serve anyone in need.  It could never have achieved such culinary perfection without the effort of every believer.  What makes Catholic Christianity so powerful is how we all become "one" through the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist.  If we only possessed eggs without the flour and water, we could never bake a cake much less share it with others.

This afternoon my sweet tooth influenced me to buy a carton of Braum's peppermint ice cream with waffle cones.  I ate three helpings.  Yikes!  Sugar rush indeed but boy did it taste yummy.  I'll blame Cutthroat Kitchen for the food craving. ;)

Happy 4th of July!

-J.