We are a moving, changing world of everything all mixed up, inside and out. We profess to be in harmony, or we say we want to be. We’re a melting pot of a world, but do we really know what a melting pot is? It is the kind of pot with broth that melts butter, one in which meat falls off the bone. One with well-seasoned vegetables and meat making juice we can slurp loudly. Warm, meaty, vegetably juice that fills our bellies with warmth, encourages us to believe we’re being nourished, calls us home.

Do we think about who is doing the cooking if it isn’t being done by us? Are we helping this cook, this chef? Or are we pulling up to the table, waiting for them to do all the work, and expecting to be served, our bellies to be filled? These are some things to consider. Have we done any of the shopping for the meal? Have we helped the chef go from store to store for the best ingredients? Have we helped lift and lug the groceries and produce to the kitchen? Did we help to put the perishables away until they were needed? Did we reach up to that high shelf to place or pull a needed item? Did we exert ourselves even a little bit to contribute to the feast?

If we haven’t helped, then who are we to complain about the time the meal is served, the menu, others who come to the table when it is time to eat, the seasonings, how well done the meat is. Who are we to complain at all if we haven’t contributed anything to the melting pot?
If we have misgivings or critiques about these community-building meals, then what might we do differently next time to contribute to the work required to plan, host, and carry out the next one, and the one after that?