Jesus is my tortilla.

Want to see me take an analogy wayyy too far and still make it make sense? Walk with me, oh curious one…

The moment had come. The plastic red basket being carried towards me that any Texan would recognize. The waitress placed the salty chips and spicy, red salsa in front of me on the table and I was ready to pounce. The kill was instantaneous as I dove into the appetizer like an addict resisting no urge.

Salsa. My best friend. This salsa was hot, but oh so delicious. My muscle memory kicked in and without thinking my hand was in continuous motion – chip, salsa, mouth, chip, salsa, mouth… My mom was with me and she asked me a question that required me to stop my gorge in order to respond. It took these mere seconds of a pause to realize that my mouth was on FIRE. In vain, I reached for my water to fish out an ice cube. I let the ice cube cool my tongue, but it quickly melted and the pain returned. Everyone knows ice is never effective. Any good Mexican like myself knows that the only true remedy is a tortilla... but the tortillas wouldn’t come until the meal! Like any committed addict, I dove back into the chips and salsa at an increased speed – chip, salsa, mouth, chip, salsa, mouth. I dramatically blurted out, “AHH! My mouth is on fireee!!” My mother, in all of her wisdom, calmly responded, “Then stop eating the salsa…” I, in all of my stubborn idiocy, shot back, “I can’t! If I stop eating I realize its hurting me!”

Whoa.

I froze and cocked my head to the side in a “That’s So Raven” moment of profound insight. I’m the smartest in the WORLDDD! Did you pick up the insane truth that was revealed through Mexican food?

I was doing this thing that I didn’t want to stop because it tasted good, even when I knew it was hurting me. Everything I tried to soothe it with didn’t help because I didn’t use the one thing that could, in fact, make it better.

WHAT! WHY DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES ALL THE TIME!

Pick your salsa…

Unhealthy relationships that you know will only continue to hurt you.

Drugs or alcohol that are temporary highs and escapes.

Self-deprecation that you justify as bettering yourself but only tears you apart.

Depression that you feed because you have somehow found comfort in it.

Sexual impurity of any kind that fools you into thinking that is authentic intimacy or release.

Any person that you use as your affirmation.

Loneliness that has become your bitter trophy of independence.

The flavors go on and on and vary in spice…

These salsas hurt us. However, we don’t realize they do if we keep eating them. We still think they taste good, which they usually do… but they are burning our tongues. We start to think that the way we feel is the norm – all people hurt like this or this is what "good" is. When we take a second to step back and it hits us that something is not right, we CRAVE healing. This is a natural human response. We desire ourselves to be restored to peace, goodness, and wholeness – whether we think we are worthy of this or not is a topic for a whole different food analogy.

But here’s our main problem: when we seek that healing, which we inevitably all do, we turn to the “ice” that briefly cools it.

It would be like if you wanted to weed your yard by just mowing. Mowing just chops off what you can see, but the roots haven’t been ripped out so the weed will soon grow back full force. We say things like, “Yeah, I know it is bad, but it’s usually good”… we willingly blind ourselves to the problem because we are so busy cooling ourselves with the quickly melting ice of “but this part is good”.

The ice won’t help. And you know it.

You need the tortilla… that comes with the meal.

The tortilla takes away the burn of the salsa because it absorbs the heat. Jesus is our tortilla. Proclaim that from the rooftops – JESUS IS MY TORTILLA! Jesus is the Divine Physician, the ultimate healer. Be not afraid to eat the carbs… AKA quit making dumb excuses to not eat the tortilla. Let down your pride so you can surrender to the overwhelming reality the Jesus can and will fully heal you – from the roots. He can totally ABSORB the hurt from you. In fact, He is the only thing that can.

Better yet, the tortilla comes with the meal… Jesus allows us to literally eat Him in the Eucharist - the Mass is the Heavenly banquet. We get to sit at the table as He feeds us the bread of LIFE (John 6). We completely, intimately consume Him to be in full unity and oneness with our Creator and Savior. WHAT!!!! He absorbs and takes all wounds from us… that’s why He was crucified… so that by His wounds, your wounds could be healed and you could be restored to the Father. Receive this healing by pouring yourself into the Eucharist and surrendering yourself totally to His true, merciful, healing, loving Presence there.

Alas, my brothers and sisters, a dumb analogy made logical.

Salsa – addiction and hurt

Ice – things that won’t help that we want to believe will

Tortilla – Jesus

Meal – Eucharist

Resist the urge to go for another bite of the chip and salsa. Instead, DARE TO BELIEVE in the reality of a personal, loving God who desires your heart to be healed, rebuilt, and totally His.

The meal is always better than the chips and salsa anyways. Duh. That's why you went to the restaurant.