Hitting the Sauce

Seeing our special sauce but not depending on it too much

05/24/2018

Mark 9:41-50 Jesus said to his disciples: "Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."

Everyone in the world is born with a special sauce they can add to give flavor to the banquet of humanity. I first learned about this special sauce business from my brother, Paul. Several years ago a headhunter (that’s a professional recruiter) wanted to talk to Paul about taking a job at another company. In the course of their conversation, the headhunter abruptly asked: “So, what’s your special sauce?” He went on to explain that Paul’s special sauce is what my bother adds to a company to make it more successful, and usually it’s something no one else can add (hence it is special). Ever since my brother told me that I’ve often wondered what my own special sauce is. I’ve concluded it’s my ability to schmooze meals at people’s homes so I don’t have to cook. I’m still waiting for my first call from a headhunter.

But I’ve also discovered that our special sauce can also be a weakness, not only a strength. That is, we can depend on it so much, it becomes a crutch and other parts of our personality fail to flourish. As an extreme example take Adolph Hitler. He was undoubtedly an electrifying speaker and a charismatic leader, whatever you may think of his politics and principles. But that special sauce of speaking and leading blinded him to other aspects of life and human nature. Did you know Hitler was born to a devout Catholic mother who baptized him as a Catholic, and in 1904 he was confirmed at the Cathedral in Linz, Austria, where the family lived? Hitler, however, sort of got drunk on his special sauce and rejected his faith and his family. When we depend too much on our special sauce, there can be devastating consequences.

In the gospel of Mark chapter 9, Jesus is also working like a headhunter recruiting his apostles, and helping them to discover their own special sauce. But Jesus also teaches them not to rely too heavily on it, not to hit the sauce too much and get drunk on it. In a somewhat cryptic passage, Jesus warns: “Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” Jesus, too, knows each person is born with a special sauce – he refers to it as “salt” – to enrich the banquet of humanity. But he’s smart enough to see how sometimes we can rely too heavily on it and cause it to “become insipid,” lose its flavor. We become drunk on it and it becomes our downfall, like with Hitler. Be aware of your special sauce, but don’t let it blind you to the bigger picture of loving your neighbor and loving God.

May I suggest three ways you can discover your special sauce and deal with it in a non-destructive way? First, pray asking God to know what your gifts and talents are. Since God gave them to you, he will know what they are better than anyone else. It’s urgent you discover them because the banquet of humanity will be missing an essential ingredient until you do. Second, be careful not to lean too heavily on your special sauce once you discover it. Don’t get drunk on it like Hitler did. Take me as an example: now some people run the other way when they see me coming because they know I’m just looking for a free meal! Third, get to know people who are different from you – or maybe even people with whom you deeply disagree – and try to see their special sauce, too. It might be hard at first, and it requires a little humility, but because God created each person with some special sauce (some salt and flavor), no one walks around empty-handed. Each individual is an ingredient in the banquet of humanity.

By the way, all the talk about special sauces and banquets is making me really hungry! Anyone free for dinner tonight?

Praised be Jesus Christ!