Interdependence and summer salsa

Independence is an illusion. If you look at any aspect of your life you will find it attached to every other thing. — Heather Wolfe

As a counterpoint to the nationalistic Independence Day celebration, I choose an interdependence theme each July for our Wild Church gathering. We live in a country where the “self-made” person is put on a pedestal and so much is about the individual. I think this has caused great harm and contributed to many of the challenges of our time. Independence is an illusion. If you look at any aspect of your life, you will find it attached to every other thing. The food we eat is one way we easily see this interdependence. 

Even as someone who makes an effort to be a “self-sufficient” homesteader, growing our own food as much as we can, I am dependent on so much and so many. Take the salsa I enjoyed this afternoon just before I sat down to write. My body depends on nutritious, wholesome food for energy and health. The tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, lime and cilantro that went into the salsa required water for their well-being. The water fell from a cloud. Just in this short chain of relationships we can see that without the cloud, there would be no rain, no plants, no food, no me and no you reading this article right now. 

Think about the last bite of food you ate today and consider your own web of relationships as relates to what you eat. One way to do this is considering food as an edible story (see my April 2024 Edible Stories article). As you keep going deeper with the story, it ends up weaving in the entire world. Chief Seattle, a Suquamish chief who lived on the islands of the Puget Sound, is attributed as saying, “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

Interdependence is dependence between things. We can’t make it on our own. We depend on each other, both human and more-than-human communities and God. In the very beginning, we have the story of God creating Adam and declaring it is not good for him to be alone. Adam was given a companion and the community of creation to care for. After Jesus’ ascension, we were not left alone but given the Holy Spirit, who bestows gifts to be used for the common good, for the health of the whole body. A song in Hymnal: a Worship Book based on 1 Corinthians 12 pops to mind: 

There are many gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are many works, but the same God,
and the Spirit gives each as it chooses.
Praise the Lord. Praise God.   (HWB 304)

1 Corinthians 12:12 says: The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. (BSB)

We are created for and called to interdependence. Let us celebrate our interdependence!

NOTES: My Interdependence Day worship plans were published by MennoMedia in their Summer 2024 Leader magazine section on Wild Church worship resources. There was a Wild Church webinar with Leader magazine that is available as a recording if you are curious to learn more about Wild Church.

Summer Salsa

So simple and fresh, homemade salsa cannot be compared to jarred. If time allows, you can make this ahead to allow the flavors to meld.

We are dependent on so much and so many. This salsa was dependent on water from a cloud for its growth in the garden. — Heather Wolfe

Makes about 2 cups        

Ingredients

  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced small 
  • ½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced red onion
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2  teaspoons lime juice, to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste

 Instructions

  1. Combine everything together in a bowl. You can put the mixture  into a food processor and pulse a few times, if you wish for a more blended, less chunky texture. Enjoy!

Heather Wolfe

Heather Wolfe is deeply rooted in Vermont, USA, is in the Mennonite faith tradition and is part of a family Read More

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