Kondrup's Subs Part 2: Spiritual Condiments

So we talked about how the bread can make or break a good sandwich. The meat and cheese determines if you're having a Reuben, an Italian, or a Belly Buster. The bread is the first thing you taste. But there's more to a good sandwich then meat, cheese and bread.

See this is where things get hairy. I hate mustard. It looks gross, it smells gross and it tastes gross. Put it on a sandwich and I ain't gonna eat it. I also don't like onions, unless they are deep-fried into the shape of a big flower and I can dip it in ranch dressing. And I do NOT relish relish under any condition. When I order a #6 at Danny's, I want mayo, lettuce, tomato, salt, pepper, oregano and oil and vinegar. Lots of oil and vinegar! Some of you are gagging at the thought, but it's MY SUB and it's the way my parents, especially my mom, taught me to eat a #6 (well, except the onions. I choose to leave those out because after doing my own study, I've come to believe they don't belong on my sub, despite my mom's teachings otherwise.)

We run into this at church as well. I know how I want the service to be. If I were ordering a #6 for church, here's what I would want on it: lots of singing. Upbeat, joyous songs of praise, but also deep, moving songs of love and confession. Songs that I've only known a few months, and songs I've been singing my whole life. I'd also like some prayer time. Not so much where someone just reads over the announcement list, but where someone truly speaks to the Father from their heart and you are moved by their words. I love to see God's work through someone's testimony, or a video that moves people to think, or a special song right for the day. For me, it's all of these spiritual condiments (Jimmy's term, not mine) that take a service from being edible to being incredible.

But what if your #6 had pickles and extra onions, no tomatoes and not a touch of oil and vinegar? And what if you're service only had a few select songs, more prayer time and no testimony? Would that be wrong? No. But I wouldn't want to be there. Just as you might not want to be at mine. And yet we're told that "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Rom 12:1818) How can we do that when you want onions and I want tomatoes?

I know how we handle it when a bunch of us gather around the table at 63 Washington St. See, I mentioned above that my my mom likes onions on hers. So when we order our #6, we ask that half have the onions and the other half don't. And when we sit down, I eat my part and my mom eats hers. In worship, can't we do the same? Can't we admit that much of our service consists of onions and tomatoes. Neither are bad, they just appeal to different tastes. And maybe I could not roll my eyes when you sing songs I think are stupid but that move you closer to the Father, and maybe you could be happy to see that sometimes I want to give my life to God so much that I want to lift my hands to Him?

Well, now I'm hungry. Thankfully, I'm going to Jersey in ten days and I can enjoy my oil and vinegar soaked sub - without onions. But I wonder how long it will be before we can all eat at the same worship table and actually enjoy the food we're eating.