Lent

A good Ash Wednesday to those of you who celebrate it. Now begins Lent, a long season of suffering from attempts to be even slightly better.

The Quest for the Sangrail began on Pentecost, and I won’t question the liturgical appropriateness of that: Sir Thomas Malory was much more deeply embedded in the Catholic world than almost anyone living today. It occurs to me, though, that it well fits our American approach of Mardi Gras — the appearance of the Sangrail and the Feast associated with it — followed by Lent. The Quest was a time of great trial and suffering, when the best knights of the world tried to live up to the fullness of their faith’s demands. All suffered; most died. Three succeeded in some measure. 

Good luck. 

Consensus II

The Opinion section of the Washington Post is up to 100% noncompliance and rejection of Bezos' guidance. I wonder if he can find a buyer for a newspaper whose authors refuse to accept editorial guidance from the owners? Maybe he can get pennies on the dollar for his investment from someone who is also in alignment with that viewpoint, and doesn't want it to change. 

His problem, I guess. 

Consensus

For years it has seemed that nearly every contentious issue in U.S. politics polls at 50/50. I wondered whether that meant parties were deliberately skating close to the edge, or even whether voters and poll respondents were responding entirely at random, a coin-toss. How could a country stay divided on a knife edge on so many controversies for so many years?

I still don't have any idea, but lately there appears to have been a preference cascade. The talk of 80/20 issues may have been exaggerated, but suddenly a GOP that seemed unable to break though on any issue is garnering poll responses in the 60- and 70-percent range. Even last night's quasi-SOTU speech had an astounding impact. CBS, of all outlets, reports that with an audience composed of about half Republicans and half a mix of Democrats and Independents, President Trump won over 3/4 of his viewers. Results were similarly impressive on a range of hot-button issues from immigation to government waste to tariffs to the expulsion of Rep. Green from the chamber.

Grim's Red Seasoning

Some years ago I developed a chili powder recipe using datil pepper. 

This week I was reflecting that, with just a touch of salt, it would make a good seasoning like Tony Chachere's creole seasoning, but bolder even than their bold. So I added just a bit of salt, and now you can use it to season your food -- once it's salty enough, it's seasoned enough as well.

Grim's Red Seasoning

1 oz. ground New Mexican Red Pepper  (or, alternatively, guajillo molida works well too).

1 heaping tsp. cumin 

1 level tsp. Mexican oregano 

1 tsp. ground Scotch Bonnet, Datil, -or- Habanero pepper (your choice of one, not all three, but the Datil works very well here; level to heaping tsp as you prefer) 

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp. salt

UPDATE:

My wife made me eggs and cheese-jalapeño grits for breakfast. A little of this seasoning added a lot of delicious flavor. 

The Lord Is a Man of War

I don't plan to post systematically on God Is a Man of War, but as I find interesting things I may put them here. The beginning of the book refers to the following victory song, which is quite striking.

Exodus 15:1-18

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
    the Lord is his name.

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea;
    and his picked officers are sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods cover them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
Thy right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of thy majesty thou overthrowest thy adversaries;
    thou sendest forth thy fury, it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of thy nostrils the waters piled up,
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them;
    they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like thee, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like thee, majestic in holiness,
    terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
Thou didst stretch out thy right hand,
    the earth swallowed them.

“Thou hast led in thy steadfast love the people whom thou hast redeemed,
    thou hast guided them by thy strength to thy holy abode.
The peoples have heard, they tremble;
    pangs have seized on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of thy arm, they are as still as a stone,
till thy people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom thou hast purchased.
Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thy abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
The Lord will reign for ever and ever.”

The themes of salvation of the slave and destruction of the army of the enslavers echo down the millennia, along with the theme of steadfast love for His people.

It is interesting here that God Himself destroys the Egyptian army. This sort of violence in the Old Testament never really bothered me. I feel sorry for Charioteer First Class Snuffy who was just trying to pay off his new personal hot rod chariot at the low low rate of 20% APR and have a few brews on the weekend with his army pay, but wiping out an army set on re-enslaving a people doesn't seem terribly unjust. I'm sure, though, my specific concerns will be addressed further on in the book.

Fighting Man

 What other kind of man is there? 

Prayer and Fasting

The Sunday before Lent begins is Forgiveness Sunday in the Orthodox Church. It is a day to ask everyone for their forgiveness for any offenses we may have committed against them in the past year, and a day where we also forgive everyone who has offended against us.

Ramadan began March 1st, the Eastern Church's Great Lent begins tomorrow, and Western Lent begins Wednesday. It seems that a couple billion of us will all be fasting and praying for the next month, then some of us for a bit longer. It is always a blessing to me when Eastern Pascha and Western Easter fall on the same day. Since most Christians in the US belong to the Western churches, it puts me out of synch with my Western brothers and sisters when it doesn't.

For the East, the fast is from meat, fish, dairy, and alcohol, from tomorrow until Pascha. However, in the tradition of feast days which fall on fast days, alcohol is allowed on the Sabbath and Lord's Day each week. It was suggested in services today that we also fast from controversies this Lent, and that seems a particularly good addition this year.

I have decided to read two books during this season. Some of the violence in the Old Testament has troubled me for decades, so maybe Fr Stephen De Young's short God Is a Man of War: The Problem of Violence in the Old Testament will help me at least understand it. As I love poetry, I think poet and professor Donald Sheehan's The Shield of Psalmic Prayer: Reflections on Translating, Interpreting, and Praying the Psalter will be a good balancing influence after the study of ancient wars.

There is a great deal to pray for this year. In addition to America's attempt to renew itself, which is by no means guaranteed to succeed, there are the conflicts involving Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza, and many other tribulations around the world that we don't hear as much of. And then there are our civic leaders and warriors and clergy and faithful, the sick, the old, the newborn, the catechumens, the lost, the travelers by sea and land and air, and personal prayers as well.

And so, in the short time before Great Lent begins, I ask all of you for your forgiveness for any offenses I may have committed against you this past year, and I ask your prayers for me, all of you who pray. I look forward to hearing about everyone's Lenten journey, all who care to share it.