e-piphanies

A Tortellini Soup Epiphany

We are having tortellini soup today. The aroma itself is nourishing. Here's the story of our special Tortellini Soup Recipe.

Download Tortellini Soup Recipe.

About this time in 1987, I came down with a horrible case of the flu. Gay confined me to the house and that is where I stayed for a week. Toward the end of that week, when my fever had broken, I was improving but was weak, bored, and had absolutely no appetite.

Our friend, Jerry Jones (the REAL Jerry Jones, not the owner of that Dallas football team) called to say he’d be dropping by with a pot of soup. I was grateful but unsure what kind of soup would restore my faith in my poor, dead taste buds.

Jerry arrived and delivered the soup to the kitchen stove. On his way out of the house, he said in his finest United States Marine tone of voice, “This is tortellini soup. Heat it up, eat it, and you’ll be on your feet in no time. I left the recipe.” With that, he was out the door and headed off on the next mission of mercy. Semper Fi!

I followed Jerry’s instructions, heated up the soup, sat down at the table, and put a spoonful in my mouth. Instantly, my dead taste buds were restored to life! It was the first time in a week I had tasted anything. The flavor was amazing and I don’t think I’ve ever had any kind of “comfort food” that can equal that bowl of soup. It was an epiphany for me.

I cherish that recipe. The soup and the act of kindness that brought it to me did indeed have me on my feet in no time. And the flavor of both has remained with me all these years. I love Jerry’s Tortellini Soup! Whenever I prepare this soup, the memory his gift is rekindled in me. I always hope that anyone who tastes it will detect the subtle flavor of the primary ingredients in Jerry's unwritten recipe – generosity, friendship, compassion, kindness, and love. Those are the ingredients that make Jerry’s Tortellini Soup such a healing concoction.

I love to share it with others and always do so in the spirit of Jerry, one of the world’s finest examples of a faithful friend and brother in Christ. Semper Fi, Jerry!

I'll see you in Church!

 

 

 

 

Take comfort in rituals

On a Sunday morning in September, while we were visiting our son in Vancouver, I walked to the Anglican Cathedral for a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.  Along the way, I noticed an inscription etched in the glass door of a Starbucks shop.  I have since realized that it is on most Starbucks doors.  The inscription read, “TAKE COMFORT IN RITUALS.”  It struck me that I was on my way to participate in a ritual because I do indeed take comfort in them.  So, I took a photo.

When I arrived at the Cathedral, there were many things that comforted me – the holy water in the stoup, the Compass Rose insignia of the Anglican Communion, people kneeling in prayerful preparation, the processional cross leading the choir, liturgical ministers, and clergy down the aisle. There were familiar hymns, the opportunity to make an offering, the exchange of the Peace, the bread and wine, the Celebrant making the sign of the cross during the absolution and the blessing, the dismissal by the Deacon.  I took comfort in those rituals!

However, I also realized a certain amount of dis-comfort.  The sermon pricked my conscience at several points.  The degree of inclusive language was far beyond what I am accustomed to and, although I happen to agree intellectually with their choice of words, I was startled nevertheless. I was likewise approving of, yet surprised at the dis-comfort I felt in, the multicultural diversity represented in the worshiping congregation.

So, it was an epiphany for me to realize that there is also DISCOMFORT in rituals.  That is true of just about any rituals, religious and otherwise.  Even a visit to Starbucks or a morning cup of their great coffee, which are rituals for many, can be discomforting.  But this leads me to another epiphany: the word comfort has more than one meaning.  Our modern use of the word comfort has to do with “solace.”  An earlier meaning is to “strengthen intensively.”  And an even earlier meaning is “together strong.”  That’s the one I like best!

So many times I have guided people through rituals at some of the most uncomfortable moments – ministration at the time of death, funerals, prayers before surgery, sermons about the “hard sayings” of Jesus, and fall stewardship campaigns, to name a few.  The desired outcome is always to help them find comfort, solace.  Beyond solace, however, we hope they find the strength that comes from the rituals we do together – strength to go on, strength to face an uncertain future, strength to do the right thing.  COMFORT – together strong. 

The rituals Christians experience together often make us uncomfortable in the process of making us strong.  That is an important reason God calls us to gather week by week in worship.  In one of our Eucharistic prayers, we ask God to “Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only and not for strength.”  That’s what I am getting at!

Let us indeed take comfort in rituals, religious and otherwise.  But let us remember that comfort is not merely solace, as important as that may be.  Comfort is also strength – the strength we gain from engaging together in the sacred rituals of our faith in the One who is the source of that strength.

The Value of Taking a Second Look

Our family from Russellville, Arkansas visited us in Lawrence over the Thanksgiving holidays.  On Friday, we had an outing that took us along the "Farmers Turnpike" over to Lecompton, the territorial capital of Kansas, just west of here.  Since neither of our vehicles could acomodate six people, we took both cars.  The two nephews, Jake and Jon, were with Gay and me and their parents, Joy and Gregg, followed in their car.

Our route took us over the oxbow lake.  As we crossed over it, I noticed a bald eagle sitting on a tree limb.  I pointed out the window so Joy and Greg could see the eagle.  They nodded and after a minute or so, we drove on.  When we arrived in Lecompton, I said, "wasn't the bald eagle a surprise?"  They replied, "what bald eagle?"  They thought I was pointing at the lake.

On the return trip, we went back to the oxbow lake to see if the eagle was still there.  When we arrived, there were two of them!  They were calling to each other.  Joy took this great photo of one of the pair.

There's an epiphany in this event.  Sometimes, we have to revisit an experience in order to get the full effect.  Often, the experience is twice as rich as the original when we look again.  Even more so if we miss the point the first time!  It's the same when we catch a glimpse of God's hand at work in our lives.  If we'll look closely, it becomes a moment of wonder, an occasion of praise, an opportunity for transformation, an experience of love divine.

My friend, Deacon Patty Minx, and I had a Facebook chat this morning regarding the subject of Advent waiting.  She pointed out that while we are waiting on God, God is also waiting on us.  That, too, is a very helpful insight, and one that came because we revisited the matter of waiting, seeing past our own experience to God's experience of us.  Moreover, it is moving to be reminded that Advent and Christmas have to do with God coming to us and arriving when we least expect it.

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
he moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;
it was not I that found, O Savior true;
no, I was found of thee.

Full text and music

Gathering around the family table is good for us!

Many of us have just spent some time gathered around the table with our families and close friends for a Thanksgiving feast.  This may be a teachable moment, when we can connect the dots that form a picture of family life and family identity.

Families seem busier now than when I was a child.  It's easy to understand, particularly with more two-career households, more activities for children and youth, and significant shifts in cultural values.  When something has to give, family meals may fall by the wayside. And yet, family meals are not only a time for strengthening family ties and keeping track of your children's lives, they can actually lead to better physical and mental health for your children and for the entire family.

Studies in recent years have concluded that family meals are a central feature in better nutrition, mental health, academic achievement, vocabulary, parenting, and family life in general.  Many of us can recall how we learned the story of our family and came to an understanding of our place in that family while sitting at the table with our families.

Have you noticed that as the trend away from family dining has increased, worship patterns on Sundays have also changed?  I suspect the same factors that make it more difficult to gather the family around the dinner table also make it more difficult for Christians to gather around the Lord's Table.  I invite you to consider that the health and well-being of the Church is impacted by regular worship in ways that are similar to ways our families are impacted by regular family meals.  When God calls us together as to recall the family story and share in the family meal, we are nourished and formed as Christians.  We remember who and whose we are.

Maybe the adage, "The Family That Prays Together Stays Together," is not so trite after all. I do understand that many people do not have good memories of family and home.  Many have not found the church family all that wonderful either.  However, there is universal hunger for a sense of belonging and identity that we might call "family feeling."  Those who have found surrogate families will tell you how much it means.  Those who have returned to their church families or found new ones will tell you how it has impacted their spiritual journey.

Now is a good time to pause and reflect on the busyness of our lives and consider what valuable times with our families and our church family have been crowded out.  If we are too busy to gather around the table - at home or at church - maybe we are just too busy for our own good and the good of those whose lives are closely linked with ours.  At home and at church, we need that time together!

Gumbo Epiphany

There’s an epiphany in making gumbo!  God, like a chef preparing a wonderful batch of gumbo, following a wonderful recipe, takes exactly the right ingredients, in exactly the right proportions, stirs it for exactly the right amount of time, never stepping away, and finally blends all things together into a harmonious, delicious whole.


A Recipe For One Batch of Great Gumbo to Serve 6-8 Hungry People

1.  The Day Before - Prepare the Stock:

Into a large stew pot, pour five cups of broth – chicken and/or fish
Add approximately one cup each of onions (white and green), bell peppers, and celery
Add at least 10 oz of okra (essential if you want to call it “gumbo”)
Bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook it slowly at least 30 minutes.
Cover the pot and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
You will remove the stock from the refrigerator the next day.
And add approximately 2 lb. of fish, shrimp, crab (or chicken and andouille sausage) as the stock is reheating.

2.  The Second Day - Prepare the Roux:

Into a cast iron skillet
Pour one-half cup of oil
When the oil is hot, add one-half cup of white flour
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, controlling the heat, and NEVER STEP AWAY, until the roux is dark brown

3.  Blend the Stock and the Roux:

When it is time for the roux to stop cooking, ladle stock into the skillet and stir.
Combine the roux with the stock in the stew pot and stir.
Add seasoning, such as salt, pepper, Tony Chacheri’s Cajun Seasoning, or Tabasco to taste.

Serve in bowls with rice, saltine crackers, and/or French bread.