Two young newlyweds were preparing to enjoy their first baked ham dinner in their new apartment. After unwrapping the meat and setting it on the cutting board, the wife chopped off both ends of the ham with a butcher knife, tossing the two small ends in the garbage can.
“Wait a minute,” said the mystified husband. “Why did you do that? Why did you just cut off the ends of the ham like that?”
“I don’t know. My mother always did,” answer the wife. “Maybe it helps bring out the flavor.”
Unsatisfied with this answer, the husband called his mother-in-law. “Can you tell me why you cut the two ends off of a ham before you cook it?”
“Well,” said the mother, “I’m not really sure why. That’s just the way my mother did her ham, and it was always delicious.”
As soon as he hung up he called his wife’s grandmother. “Grandma, we have an important question for you. Can you tell us why you cut the ends off of a ham before you cook it?”
“Oh, my yes, dear,” answered Grandma in her quiet, thin voice. “I cut the ends of the ham, so it would fit in my pan.”
Traditions shape our lives, but it’s important to know why we do them. “Because we’ve always done it that way” doesn’t provide enough meaning to keep our traditions from becoming stale and meaningless. Let us not let our traditions and the way we do something take over for what God really wants from us.
During the month of November, we will be finishing up our series “Tomorrowland: Facing a Future Without Fear,” and beginning a new series “What Jonah Learned About Stewardship.” We will have our annual Thanksgiving meal on November 18th with a special Thanksgiving service. On November 25th we will also conclude our Thanksgiving week with “Pie & Praise Fest” at 6 p.m. We are asking everyone to bring their best pie to enter our contest and we will have a special prayer and praise time as we crown our champion. Invite a friend and come join us!
