I had a burrito at a famous Mexican restaurant last
week. It had all the ingredients I love,
grilled chicken, southwestern corn and black beans, and guacamole inside. And I was hungry! With great anticipation –
this place was featured on “Triple D”/ Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – I raised
that first forkful of burrito to my mouth, and was greatly disappointed. I tasted no guac, no spices, no
anything. My famous burrito was
absolutely tasteless! I asked my server
for some hot salsa, mixed it with the avocado ranch dressing already on the
table, and added the mixture to my burrito so I could bear to eat it, half of
it anyway. It was huge! A huge tasteless blob.
I later overheard other diners ordering what they called “smothered
burritos”, and I realized my error in ordering.
I like the burritos at La Tenampa in Toms River, NJ that come soaking in
a hot, spicy red sauce, and just assumed that my burrito at this famous place
would be as wonderful. And maybe it
would have been if it was soaking in the right stuff. After all, the same ingredients are in La
Tenampa’s burritos. But my memories of
those burritos are not so much all the good stuff inside, but the warm
afterglow of the spicy sauce that lingers after the meal is over.
So, who do I want to be?
A knowledgeable, filled up, experienced person, looked up to for having
all the right ingredients for success, or a somewhat messy, unabashed lover of
God, soaking in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The first one is a forgettable part of the
meal of life. The second leaves a warm
and lasting glow of having been with the Father, not unlike how the two disciples
felt after meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus.
The Bible says their hearts burned within them all the while they were
talking with Jesus. They didn’t remember
the burrito – they basked in the soaking sauce of the Holy Spirit that lingered
after Jesus had left them and couldn’t wait to tell their comrades about it,
and to experience that presence again.
Yes, dry can be neater.
No sauce on the shirt or running down the chin. Smothered is never predictable – you may end
up laughing hysterically, or crying, or laying down on the floor. But the warm afterglow is worth the unpredictability.
Yeah, make mine smothered!
