Feasting and Community

Getting the skin off while it hangs on a tree
as children in new holiday outfits look on.

Last week people all over our neighborhood were cooking the meat of rams over fires on wooden frames. It felt like there was a layer of smoke sitting all across our area and even in our house. We did what our church partners do for this Muslim day of atonement festival, go and greet our neighbors and wish them blessings. I was surprised by a comment from one of our neighbors. He told me I needed to get a ram and cook it and share the meat with my neighbors too (which is what our neighbors who can afford something will do). I told him that I don’t need to sacrifice a ram because Jesus died to save everyone. He smiled and said that I still needed to do it so I could share the meat with my neighbors. I believe he was doing a little playful nudging because he wanted to see what I’d say, but he probably also thinks it would be appropriate for someone of our social standing to do what we can to give to the neighborhood in these ways. So I told him maybe for Christmas, since that was a time of celebration for us. Then he got excited and suggested we kill a whole cow to share with the neighborhood at that time! I thought these comments were interesting and wondered if it suggests he personally is less interested in the religious meaning of sacrificing the rams, and more interested in the social/communal aspects of eating and celebrating together, much like many secular observances of Christmas in the US where people just view it as a time to gather and eat with family.

The secret I will share with you is that since the meat is so heavily cooked grilled for hours, it’s usually quite crispy and from parts of the animal we don’t usually eat (like tongue and innards), so we usually try a piece and then give the rest to our dog/cat. But I did get caught one of the days at the weekly card game of Christian neighbors when someone offered the table some meat. In an effort to bond, I drew what I found to be a part of the intestines, though the fortunate news was that it tasted enough like bacon that I was able to get it down (#confessionsofapickyeater).

-- El Padre