Fig-Hoeffer Monday
Monday night was my night to cook, which included telling the story of the cursing of the fig tree and Jesus' symbolic destruction of the Temple, combined with reclaiming Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the night before (alas, he was omitted this year because the day of his martyrdom happened to be on Palm Sunday). With so much to tie in, I had no choice but to attempt a multi-course meal, each course paired triumphantly with an a complimentary beer sample:
Course 1: Field Green Salad with oxalis and spinach leaves from the garden, gorgonzola cheese, toasted walnuts and diced figs. Paired with the Passionfruit Witbier I made especially for Passion Week. Discussed Jesus' "living parable within a living parable" with the incident of the fruitless fig tree being declared useless directly tied in to Jesus' symbolic action in the Temple - no fruit in Jerusalem? God's judgement is immanent.
Course 2: Brie with garlic and crackers. Paired with my other current homemade concoction, Kolsh - a light and refreshing German summer ale. This led us straight in to discussion of the life and thought of Bonhoeffer, a man who, as a member of the underground "Confessing Church" gives us a rare example of cryptic Christianity in the midst of a so-called Christian nation, a faith that was acted out in such practical and ethically stimulating ways, that it ultimately resulted in being hung naked in a concentration camp 3 weeks before Hitler's demise.
Course 3: Grilled German sausage and hot potatoe salad (made by the beloved Jolie). Paired with Celebrator, an award-winning German "doppelbock," invented 500ish years ago by Paulaner monks who needed a heavier and richer beverage to keep them nourished during their Lenten fast from solid foods. Capped off with a brief reading from Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship.
