A Pickle & Jam

There is a famous saying, “you don’t use cucumbers to make strawberry jam.” Well, it’s not yet a famous saying, because I just made it up. However, it’s good advice and it can be applied to lots of situations.

Whatever your planning, be it a trip, a party, a meeting, or even a worship service—you start with the right ingredients. For example, strawberry jam required strawberries, not cucumbers. Cucumbers make great pickles, and I would imagine, lousy jam.

Come to think of it: a pickle and a jam are the same thing, they are sometimes used to describe a difficult or tricky situation. You could say, I’m in a pickle, as easily as you could say, I’m in a jam.

Some might say that the Church is in a pickle (or a jam) and I guess we are, but all is not lost, neither pickles nor jams are permanent. The way out requires the right ingredients because you don’t use cucumbers to make strawberry jam.

One ingredient we need is hope. I really don’t know what to do for people that have lost all hope. And when it comes to the life and future of the Church I’m reminded that the valley of dried bones is not about bones, but community, and the resurrection is the very foundation of hope for the Church.

Recently, I was asked how St. Paul’s is doing, are we a winning or a loosing cause. I said that we are alive and well, we are going to be a vital part of the wider community for generations to come. Sure a pickle (or a jam) can be a difficult situation or a delicious opportunities to learn and grow and become more of what God intends us to be. Our struggles help build our faith.

Just like you don’t use cucumbers to make strawberry jam, you need hope to build a hopeful community.