Why Are We Still Cutting the Ends Off the Ham?

Most of us carry patterns and habits we've never stopped to examine — passed down, absorbed, and accepted without question. In this episode, Father Aaron uses a simple story about a family recipe to open up the much bigger question: what are you doing just because it's always been done that way, and is it actually serving you? Faith begins with the courage to look honestly at the life you're living.

Transcript

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Good morning. This is Northwest. Have you ever done something just because that's the way it's always been done? Good morning. This is Northword, the Word, the North, your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron, and this morning I'm coming to you from Ottawa, the beautiful capital city of Canada. It's the first time I've ever been here. It's a beautiful city, and I'm here with my family. We spent a couple of days here after I got to gather with all of the clergy from the north, from Nunavik, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, for a time of refreshing, a time of encouragement, and a time of vision for the future of our diocese. So it was a beautiful time here in Ottawa. And I'm with you this morning, and I want to share with you this week this theme: change is key to Christianity. So there's this story about a little boy who watched his mother prepare ham for Sunday dinner. She cut both ends of the ham, though, always before putting it in the pan. And so this little boy, being very curious, asked her why, you know, why do you always do that? And she says, Well, that's the way my mother always did it. So the boy goes to the grandmother's house and he asks her the same question. He says, Well, that's how my mother always did it. And so the boy gets on the old little bus and he takes the bus downtown to the nursing home and he goes and finds his great-grandmother and he asks her, you know, why do you always cut off the ends of the ham before putting it in the pan? And the great-grandmother looks at him and she goes, Sweetheart, I always did that because my pan was too small. That story is funny, but if you sit with it for a second, it's also a little uncomfortable. Because most of us do the exact same thing. Not just with ham, but with the way we live. We carry patterns, habits, beliefs, and reactions that we've never once stopped to examine. They were handed to us, we picked them up, and now they're just ours, no questions asked. And here's the thing some of those patterns are beautiful, they connect us to something good. But some of them, some of them are holding us back in a way we don't even see yet. They are a cloak we didn't choose to put on, but we're still wearing. Christianity, at its core, is an invitation to examine those patterns. It's an invitation to ask the uncomfortable question, why am I living this way? Is this actually freeing me or is it just familiar? Because familiar and free are not always the same thing. Change is not easy. It never is. But the first step is almost always the same. It's just noticing. Noticing the habit, the pattern, the reaction you've always had, and asking honestly, does this still serve me? Does this bring me closer to who I want to be? Does this bring me closer to my creator? Or is it just to fit the pan I've always had? That kind of honesty, that kind of self-examination is exactly what faith asks of us. Not to tear everything down, but to hold our lives up to the light and see what's actually there. This has been Northward, the Word of the North your Week. Thank you so much for joining me today. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend. The more people we can reach with the word of encouragement, the better. And feel free to use the text us link to let us know where you are in this journey. Until tomorrow, God be with you. Amen.