So this was a tasty dinner tonight: barley soup, from a recipe a friend gave our family for Christmas (along with a few of the ingredients: barley, broth, basil, thyme, canned chopped tomatoes).
Add to this a pound of ground or diced beef, carrots, celery, and spinach, then do some magic.
Only as we were making the soup we were reluctant to follow the recipe. “That’s a lot of carrots! Let’s use half.” and “I don’t think we want that much celery. Let’s use half.” And finally “Way too much spinach!…” We thought that the proportions were wrong, and we were being directed to put too much into the soup—we knew better than the recipe.
We didn’t adjust the tomatoes, barley, or beef proportions, and when we were done it was all very tasty. The salt from the meat and the canned tomatoes was enough, and the spiciness of the basil and thyme was there without overpowering the soup flavor. But the tomatoes themselves overpowered everything else, and the barley-ness of the barley soup didn’t seem to come through.
In the end we were satisfied, but it’s not the recipe our friend gave us. Which is fine, really. We’ve added it to our rotation of meals that we really like—but if our friends come over for dinner and we serve this done our way, they won’t recognize it.
Now why do I bring this up?
Because this is often what we do when we get information about things that are missing from our lives, and then that the information provides what’s missing.
I’ll use just one example, because it’s something I’m really working on: the racism of the white American church, and my place in perpetuating that racism.
I get lots of information about what to do. Lots and lots of information, to be honest. In some cases, I pick and choose because the information is overwhelming, and I’m not sure how to adjust the proportions. But in other instances, I don’t think I really need “all that much” of certain things, or that I don’t need to follow the directions on the ingredients. “We can do the work as white Americans without listening to the voices, opinions, and advice of black Americans,” or “We don’t need to bring in black Americans as leaders and advisors; maybe just as participants or guest speakers, but certainly with no authority,” or even “We don’t want to disturb the community of our church family by bringing in controversial ideas, certainly ideas that might threaten our programs and our donations.”
I’m afraid that’s how we are. At least, that’s how I am. I like to be in control, to figure out how to do it on my own, to take advice and adjust it, and to make it my own. Which is a good thing. I’m making something that reflects me and my ideals.
But it’s not the set of resolutions that many, many people have struggled to synthesize, and it’s not the methodology that many, many people, through years of experience, have discovered works most effectively to identify and uproot the deep issues.
Like most people, I think it is this: we want to have advice and counsel that we can choose to follow, according to our tastes, but not that we are required to follow.
It’s all very American and independent and even white-centered, and it can result in some changes—but it’s not going to result in the effective changes that will uproot racism.
I can’t really tell you all the things that will produce effective changes. I just know that half-measures and low-key commitments and appeals and pledges and promises by themselves are not the actual change. The actual change is that we, as white Christians, have a radical transformation of ourselves to abandon whiteness and embrace wholeness. We stop acting like racists, and we start acting like loving, whole, joyful humans.
And that is a recipe I just don’t have yet.
Adaptable Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients:
1# lean beef (ground or diced)
1 onion, med
3 stalks celery
5 carrots, med
1 bunch Swiss chard/spinach, med
1 can crushed tomatoes, 28oz.
4 c. beef broth
1/3 c. pearl barley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
Salt to taste
Directions:
Peel and chop/dice the onion. Cook the beef and onion in heavy pot (ex: Dutch oven), stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onion is limp. If fat is needed, add a bit of olive oil for browning.
Clean and chop the celery, carrots, and chard/spinach
Drain off fat from beef. Stir in celery and carrots, then cook for 3 minutes.
Mix in tomatoes, broth, half the chard/spinach, and all the barley, basil, and thyme. Salt to taste. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes
Stir in remaining chard/spinach, adjust salt to taste.
Cover and stir for 3 more minutes.
Serve with a crusty bread, sweet butter, sharp cheeses, and apples or pears. A good red wine is optional, but very tasty.