Pie

Recently four Sisters of Notre Dame from Germany visited our Sisters in the Toledo area. On their last evening before traveling on to the Cleveland area the sisters had dinner at one of the Sisters’ homes. The pork loin meal ended with raspberry pie. Although some of the German sisters spoke English, “pie” was not only a new word, but a new experience. This delectable dessert was a tasty way to learn what pie is, and I’m wondering whether the convents in Germany will try to create American pie.

Jesus didn’t talk about pie, but he relied on concrete words to teach spiritual things. Treasure. Wheat. Weeds. Seeds. Farmer. Pearls. Merchant. Coins. Like pie, these things are tangible, part of the experience of his listeners. Those of us who have opportunities to share our faith need to be as concrete as Jesus. Plain words. To-the-point messages. Succinctness. And just as Jesus’ medium and message created desire for more, we too need to make the message of Jesus desirable. How can we create the desire for more? How can we make following Christ delectable?