Two of my favorite things in life are cooking and family antiques. Sometimes, those two things are in the same scenario. Recently I experienced such a scenario. On Easter, we all met as a family at my parent’s home for a meal after church. In recent years, I have been tasked with being the one to bring macaroni salad to family gatherings where we share a meal. Now, you may be thinking, “what is so magical about your macaroni salad”? I am so glad you asked! Macaroni salad has been a staple at family gatherings since I can remember. The version that we are most familiar with in American culture is not the typical for our family. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some macaroni salad no matter the recipe! This recipe however, though not proprietary, is a family treasure! My great Aunt Ann made this recipe, and it is a long-time family favorite. I will not be sharing the recipe here, but feel free to ask, I will gladly give it to you. This is where two of my favorite things work together. A few years ago, my mom’s cousin Pam, the daughter of this great Aunt of mine, gave me a bowl as a gift. Yes, a bowl. Not just any bowl, THE bowl! The macaroni salad bowl to be exact. It is red, it is square, it is Pyrex from the 1950s.
My aunt Ann only used this red Pyrex bowl for the macaroni salad, not an exaggeration, the bowl’s sole purpose. When I received this bowl, I was beyond honored to be its recipient. We lost Ann in 2003, but the macaroni salad lives on. And it continues to live on as I serve it in the red Pyrex bowl for family gatherings. The only thing I serve in the bowl, that tradition continues.
These two things have worked together for generations. The macaroni salad cannot be served without a vessel. The red Pyrex bowl is the perfect size for the exact recipe my aunt Ann left behind for us to enjoy. Thus, the bowl helping the macaroni salad’s delivery to the people. Yes, the salad could be served in any old bowl but for this analogy, the red bowl is king.
Much like the salad and the bowl, our body’s parts work together to help us function. If we have failing eyesight, it is said that another of our senses becomes heighted to help us navigate. The Bible tells us this:
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So, it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:21-28
All our body parts work together, each having a unique and destined purpose. As the end of this passage states, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Our bodies rely on each part for function. If we lose sight in one eye, our other eye takes over. If we lose sight in both eyes, our hands and ears become activated to help us feel and hear to get around. All working parts functioning together. The red bowl can work for serving other things, and the macaroni salad can be served in any old bowl. But because the two have always been used together, that is the way it is. Working parts working together. We were knit together in our mother’s wombs and set apart for a purpose. Purpose that takes ALL of us, ALL our parts to work together to pull it off. Just like our body’s parts working in harmony, all of our bodies work together to make Christ’s church function.
I serve as our volunteer coordinator at church, and I know all too well how we all work together to make a Sunday morning service happen. If one of our volunteers cannot serve, and we struggle to find a replacement at the last minute, other parts of the ministry come together to make up for the lack. Sunday service stays intact, and all is well. But sometimes we have instances when more than a few volunteers are unable serve in the same service, and we just do what we can to keep it all together.
You can see how it all comes back to all the parts working together for success. Bowl/macaroni salad, both eyes in full function/we see clearly, volunteers all present/Sunday service smooth sailing.
When you think about it all, at the end of the day it comes down to this; our body’s’ parts work together to aid in our human function, our collective bodies work together to serve the Lord and serve the church. Christ loves us, and He loves His church. Let’s keep our bodies well, work them all together to serve Him and serve His church, well!
Carol Frear