Laborare est Orare...Sometimes You've Got to Run
A meditation on Purgatory and a super-fast hummus recipe!
January is a bad month for pie stands.
All those New Year’s resolutions about getting into shape and eating better mean less pie in January. But pie is good, which means less pie is evil. January is quite a wicked time indeed.
But I get it. I also make fitness goals. I’ve aimed to break a 1000 mile total for the past several years running, which probably sounds less like a “goal” and more like actual “torture” to most of you.
You aren’t alone. On the fourth ledge of Danté’s Purgatory, we find the Slothful being purged of their lethargy in this strenuous way: “The whole great crowd were running at top speed.” Apparently Danté also considered running more of a punishment than a hobby.
The realm of the Slothful is also the only place on Mt. Purgatory where the believers are not heard praying. I would guess some of that has to do with being out of breath. But Danté also means to communicate something deeper:
Laborare est orare—To work is to pray.
The slothful failed to pursue the good as they ought. James says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). What is required of the slothful is not more prayer, more pontification, more inactive thought. It’s time to run. Their work is their prayer to God.
As the marathoners of Mt. Purgatory pass by Dante, they shout to him a word of warning, “The folk for whom the Red Sea opened died ere Jordan river beheld their heirs pass over and win home.”
I’d never thought of the wilderness generation of Numbers as an illustration of sloth. They fell short of the Promised Land; they quit mid-race; they missed the finish. Why? Because they failed to love the good and chase after it.
Sloth.
How does God purge the atrophy of love from our hearts? We have to get moving. Sometimes the hard thing is the right thing: Laborare est orare. To work is to pray. We do the good we know we ought, and our work becomes a prayer to God for love renewed: “In good work strive, till grace revive the dust!”
As we start the new year, some of you are looking for healthier options. Hummus can make a great snack during lunch or the afternoon if you have carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, or a spoon laying around.
Would you believe hummus is amazedly easy to make? A food processor, a couple cans of chickpeas, and a lemon, and you are less than 5 minutes from a bowl of awesome. This recipe is adapted from my all-time favorite chef Alton Brown.
Lightning Fast Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cans chickpeas (14 oz. each)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Juice of 1 lemon (about 5 tablespoons)
1/4 cup reserved chickpea liquid
1/3 cup peanut butter (or tahini if you have it)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Powdered sumac or smoked paprika
Make it:
Get out your trusty food processor. Add all ingredients except olive oil and sumac.
Buzz the food processor and drizzle in olive oil as it runs. Let the hummus process for a couple of minutes until desired smoothness. If the hummus is too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.
Serve with a sprinkling of sumac or smoked paprika and enjoy with carrots, celery, tomatoes, or pita chips!