Ok, a little late, but I started this journal entry over a week ago, and its contents are still timely.
The pleasure of little things.
Pascha season fasting rules.
Difference in services in the Paschal season.
Repetition is necessary.
The safe way to saut? with Olive oil.
Rutabagas are great.
A recipe that has no name.
As I was eating one of my creations and enjoying it with relish tonight, realized that the dish was so good because of the onions and garlic that I had browned in a mixture of olive oil with a little water.[1]
Adding oil to the pot is a little thing, but it can give so much pleasure during certain seasons.
During “Paschal-tide”, which is the period from Pascha till the day before Ascension, all fasting days are lessened; on Wednesday and Friday, we fast from the usual stuff, but can have wine and oil. This is not the usual case; during the rest of the year, all Wednesday and Friday fasting days are so-called “strict fast” days.
Most fast days we do not eat animal products, which include any kind of mammal, reptile or avian flesh you can mention, and anything they produce, such as milk, or eggs. This prohibition also includes fish, but we have always considered “shell fish” to not be fish (they do not have scales) so they can be eaten any day (but no lobster with butter or fried shrimp!). If it is a “strict fast” day, we also refrain from oil and wine (basically all alcoholic beverages, but some will drink beer on any day)
It was such a pleasure to have olive oil in my food today precisely because it is Friday, and this is a rare occurrence in the year. We can benefit from fasting and also not fasting, but only if we fast. The old adage “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is very true.
The temperate person actually finds more enjoyment out of less. The indulgent man is never satisfied. In many ways, our entire struggle against ALL sin is summed up by: “Do not indulge yourself! Learn to be satisfied with less!”, therefore, fasting is a particularly useful “tool” to teach the soul to avoid ALL sin.
If a person does not fast, or rarely fasts, or often does not fast when a “temptation” occurs (such as a business meal, or a meal out of the house), then their “normal” is to not have any extended period when they do not eat something. It is not a “new” thing for such a person to have olive oil; this is just “business as usual”, or “SOP” (standard operating procedure”).
The Paschal season is full of little treats that the observant person notices and takes great pleasure in. These things can only be noticed if we know what the “normal” is. If a person does not fast, or has not attended matins and vespers many times, these little treats would not be understood; they could not be savored as the delicious morsels that they are. Even Divine Liturgy, which a person may be more familiar with, has subtle changes that are not fully understood and enjoyed unless a person has attended the liturgy and prayed attentively MANY times.
We human’s miss a lot; we are constantly distracted; we are constantly thinking about and valuing ephemeral and useless things. This is why we understand so little spiritually and why constant attendance at the services is so important. We come, and sit at the Lord’s feet, and pay attention as best we can, and even if it is five minutes in a two and a half hour vigil, we have “redeemed the time” well.
As a pastor and a person, I try very hard to be a “glass half full” kind of guy. A vigil spent with little attention is not stellar spiritual work on our part, but those five minutes are precious and will help us save our souls (and they were the most important minutes of the entire day!). Besides, maybe next time, we will pay attention for SIX minutes!
Over the course of time, the outstanding beauty and intricacy of our theology seeps into our souls and softens them, and we begin to understand and to be the things we are listening to. This process takes years; it never really ends, and it gets sweeter and gives us more peace as we change from carnal to spiritual persons.
Commonly, people who love the services and attend them often notice the ebb and flow of the church year. Every period just “feels different”. There are great and small differences in the services, and over time, one begins to savor them., much as a mother savors the last, subtle “baby things” her youngest child does as they leave infancy and grow into being a young child.
Maybe another time I will go over the “all” major and minor changes in the services during the Paschal period. There are a lot of them. One was already mentioned: we fast less strictly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Of course, we sing “Christ is risen” a lot, and usually three times. For instance, “Christ is risen” (3 times) replaces “O Heavenly King” in all prayers. Anybody care to reckon why?
One of my favorite changes is that the dismissal given by the priest for any service always begins: “May He Who rose from the dead, Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ…” Usually, on various days, we start the dismissal without mentioning the resurrection, which is reserved for Saturdays and Sundays only, but the Pascha period is like one big Sunday. There is a special commemoration for most days, but I am poor at details, so I like the simple privilege of mentioning the resurrection every time.
There are especially a lot of differences in Bright Week services (the first week after Pascha), and sometime I will go over them.
Now, what we have all been waiting for, the recipe for my creation. Anytime I create a recipe, one must use the term “recipe” loosely. I sort of throw things together usually in a big saut? pan.
“The recipe with no name”
The principle flavor in this recipe is a great Indian flavoring sauce:”Patak’s GARAM MASALA Curry Paste, with Ginger and cinnamon (Hot)”. You can get Patak’s sauces and pastes at most groceries, but Indian store will have a zillion of them you cannot find elsewhere.
It consists of just about any veggies you want, as long as you include lots or garlic and onions, and black beans, or some other protein source, like shrimp or scallops.
Ingredients
Onion, as much as you want, but at least a large onion, diced. Let it sit for 15 minutes before saut?ing it, because it allows really beneficial sulfur containing phytonutrients to form. They stop forming as soon at heat is applied.
Garlic, several cloves, diced (NOT pressed through a garlic press). I used 6 cloves.
Rutabaga, at least half of a large one, diced. This is an awesome vegetable, with a taste like a potato and turnip at the same time. It takes on flavors real well in dishes, just like potatoes. You could also add or substitute any of these: potato, turnip, sweet potato, but do try the rutabaga sometime!
Fresh Jalape?o’s diced. Get rid of the seeds if you don’t want it to be too hot. I used two fat ones.
Anise bulb, diced. I had it, so I used it. Tastes like licorice.
Fresh spinach, a big handful (from my garden), cut into reasonable pieces. You could also use collards, but they need to cook about 2 minutes longer than the spinach.
Cilantro, lots, diced (again from the garden, I’m bragging now).
Black beans, 1-2 cans, drained.
Diced tomatoes, with the juice, 1 can or fresh if you have them.
Directions.
All cooking is done with the cover on the pan except the browning of the garlic.
Saut? the onion with medium heat in a TBS (or more, during Pascha, oil does not have calories) of Olive oil and some water until the onions are soft and brown. Add water as needed.
Move the onions to one side of the pan, put a bit of olive oil on the other side, and brown the garlic. Keep turning it over and over until it just gets brown. This takes only a minute or two. Do NOT use a metal utensil if you are using a Teflon pan, unless you want to get in a lot of trouble!
Mix the garlic and onions together. Add Indian sauce, rutabaga, jalape?os and diced tomatoes, mix real well, and simmer until the rutabaga is soft, but not mushy. This is the time to put in long cooking vegetables, such as the ones I used, or carrots)
Add black beans and anise and cook for a couple of minutes, then the spinach, and cilantro, and cook on high for a couple minutes more.
If at anytime the mixture seems too dry, just add a little but of water.
I saut?ed some scallops in Olive oil and added them in later, my wife does not like scallops; she just ate it without scallops. I always make a lot, and this kind of dish gets more flavorful and hotter with age, so it does not go to waste.
This dish can also easily be made without oil. I just saut? in water, and skip the browning of the garlic.
You really do not need to use oil for saut?ing on fast days. Try it, and you will see.
Priest Seraphim Holland 2009. St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas
http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2009-05-01.doc
http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2009-05-01.html
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[1] I usually saut? with oil by adding water and keep adding it, so the mixture never gets hotter than boiling water. When olive oil or any oil is cooked at high temperatures, it breaks down into toxic free radical containing compounds and some of the beneficial compounds are lost as well.
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3rd Week of Pascha – MONDAY. The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son, JOHN 4:46-54
Monday, May 4th, 2009Hw does one glean deep and subtle meanings from scripture?
The superior faith of the Samaritans
Signs and Wonders
The Nobleman compared to the Centurion
The meaning in Scripture is often very subtle, and not immediately obvious on the surface. Today’s reading is especially subtle in one of its important messages.
Blessed Theophylact comments that St John made a point to remind us about the miracle in Cana (a ciy of the Jews) to underscore the superiority of the faith of the Samaritans, as he had just finished recounting the story of the woman at the well, and how the Samaritans gladly received Jesus and believed in Him even though He did not do any miracles in their presence:
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. (41) And many more believed because of his own word; (42) And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:40-42)
The superiority of the Samaritan’s faith to that of the haughty Jews (who hated the Samaritans and considered them to be unclean heretics and inferiors) is further emphasized by our Lord’s rebuke, spoken to a Jew (for the nobleman was certainly a Jew in good standing among his people):
48. Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
The nobleman’s weak faith also shows a marked contrast with that of the Samaritans:
49. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
He could not believe that Jesus could heal without seeing his son, and blessed Theophylact further tells us that he was very afraid that his son would die, and that Christ would be unable to raise him. He only believed Jesus power to heal after he heard from his servants, who met him as he went back to his home:
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
Of course, it is wonderful that the man’s weak faith was made strong by the incident, and his entire household believed.
At the end of this incident, St John again stresses the weak faith of the Jews, by again mentioning that Jesus had done two miracles among the Jews. The Samaritans had believed with no miracles, and the Jews needed two miracles, and only a few believed.
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
There is nothing in the Gospel which explicitly exalts the faith of the Samaritans over that of the Jews, but in several ways, the Gospel makes this point strongly, although subtly.
How does one glean such deep meanings from the Scripture? There are several ways; we must do them all.
We must be students of the Scriptures; it must be familiar to us because of long time association with its content. In other words, we must read it, a LOT.
We also must be “doer’s of the law and not hearers only” – no amount of reading the scripture divorced from trying to follow it will give us understanding in things that matter.
Of course, anybody who reads and studies something enough will know much about it, but the knowledge that saves is only available to those who read and attempt to follow the scripture!
We also must be liturgical people. Our services explain the hidden points of the scriptures every day. A person who reads the scriptures for understanding and neglects frequent, attentive worship in as many services as possible is like a man who studies physics but does not understand algebra. The services explain everything, either explicitly, or by framing and shaping our minds in a way which make us able to understand the Scriptures.
It is also very helpful the read the Holy Fathers, but without the first three, above, reading the Fathers is an endeavor that can only lead to deficient knowledge and boasting.
A few other things about this scripture selection.
A “sign” is something that does not contradict the usual laws of nature, such as healing the sick. A “wonder” is a miracle that appears the contradict the usual laws of nature, such as making the blind see, or raising the dead.
This healing is similar to the healing of the Centurion’s servant (Mat 8:5-13), but it is not the same. Blessed Theophylact goes to some pains to explain this. The differences are many. The nobleman was a Jew; the centurion, although a man of faith, was an officially pagan Roman soldier. The nobleman’s son was ill with a fever, the centurion’s servant with paralysis. The location of the healings was different: the centurion encountered Christ after he had come off the mountain following His transfiguration and entered Capernaum, and the nobleman saw Christ after He left Samaria and entered Cana. The most important difference, of course, is that the centurion had stronger faith, which the Lord praised:
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. (9) For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. (10) When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Mat 8:8-10)
JOHN 4:46-54 46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
Bibliography
The Explanation of the Holy Gospel according to St john, by Blessed Theophylact, published by Chrysostom Press – http://www.chrysostompress.org/. ALL FOUR BOOKS ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Priest Seraphim Holland 2009. St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas
http://www.orthodox.net/scripture/pascha-monday-03_2009-05-04.doc
http://www.orthodox.net/scripture/pascha-monday-03_2009-05-04.html
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