Friday, May 4, 2018

No Pork

Hill near Gerasernes
There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. "Send us into those pigs," the spirits begged. "Let us enter them." So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened.  Mark 5:11-14

At Gerasernes Jesus had commanded the evil spirits to come out of a demon possessed man (Mark 5:8). So then the spirits asked…begged….Jesus to send them into the pigs that were feeding on the hillside. Little did they know that would be the end of them as they ran over the hillside into the great Sea of Galilee. Glub—glub—glub. I thought maybe pigs can’t swim, but Google that and sure enough you’ll see that they can swim. Those near Gerasernes were in such a turmoil—and there were probably about two thousand pigs in that herd—that they may not have been able to escape the crowd and so they drowned. Imagine how devastated the pig owners and herders were. Two thousand pigs is a lot of pigs. Since that was a Gentile area the swine would have been an important food source. On the other hand, Jews would not have eaten them according to the Jewish dietary laws.

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron concerning foods that the Israelites could and could not eat. The unclean animals…not appropriate to eat…are listed in the verses below.
You may not, however, eat the following animals that have split hooves or that chew the cud, but not both. The camel chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax (rock badger)chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you. Leviticus 11:4-8 (underlined for emphasis.)
From that time of teaching the Israelites have not eaten pork—and even some Christians follow the laws given to Moses and will not eat pork. Later God gives Peter a vision of foods that could be eaten.
The next day as Cornelius's messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat them." "No, Lord," Peter declared. "I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean." But the voice spoke again: "Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean." The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. Acts 10:9-16
We can see in both the Old and New Testaments instruction given for dietary guidance—foods forbidden and allowed.  I personally don’t have a problem with eating pork—but I would not serve it to Jewish guests. I think that God wants us to respect others dietary habits. That could be part of love your neighbor as yourself.

Prayer ~ Lord Jesus, allow us to see others through Your eyes—those around us who may have suffered a loss—even if it is not two thousand pigs. Help us to be compassionate to others and considerate of others so that we can show Your love to any who would be our neighbor for a few minutes—like in the line at the grocery store—or a few days or weeks—like those in a short class or work situation…or many years—like those next door. Give us grace to see their needs and let them know we care.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 13-16

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
As usual every Friday is Feast Day—Feasting at the King’s Table. We can’t live on just spiritual food …nor can we live on bread alone. We’ve got to have some meat, veggies and fruit. What food gives you fuel? I’ve discovered that sugar is poison to my body and starches, like pasta and potatoes, are not my friends. I can exist very well on some fruit, veggies and a nice lean portion of meat—nothing deep fried. What would Jesus eat? Probably some hummus with unleavened bread, some figs—in season of course—or some raisins or dates, and some fish—if a little boy with fish left over from his lunch happens to be nearby. But you never read of Jesus eating pork. Here’s a favorite of mine.

Curried Chicken Salad
1 lb chicken (cut into tender-sized pieces, breasts work best)
2 tbsps olive oil (plus more for searing)
1½  tsps curry powder
1½t sps ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
¾ cup plain yogurt
½ cup hummus (prepared)
1 apple (small, diced)
½ cup golden raisins
2 scallions (thinly sliced)
salt
pepper

Mix together curry powder, cumin, and turmeric in a medium-sized bowl. In a container or gallon sized plastic bag, add chicken, olive oil, ½ spice mixture, plenty of salt and pepper, and ¼ cup yogurt. Stir or shake to coat, and marinate for at least 20 minutes (or overnight).

Grill chicken or cook in a frying pan.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Sear chicken until cooked through, approximately 5 minutes on each side (depending on size). Remove chicken from skillet and place to cool on a cutting board for approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add to the remaining spices, ½ cup each plain yogurt and hummus, the diced apple, the raisins, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When chicken has cooled a bit, shred meat with two forks into bite-sized pieces.
Add chicken to bowl and stir to combine. Refrigerate overnight before eating for best results.

Serve on salad greens or in a pita with lettuce or spinach.

Note - You can use already cooked chicken meat if you want- just skip to the other steps and use all of the spices when mixing the chicken salad, instead of reserving some for the marinade.

© 2018 Text and photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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