I made a bramble mousse for the first time the other day. I
made it in honour of my sister-in-law, who was celebrating her Golden Wedding
Anniversary: it reminded me of my early years here, when we spent a good amount
of time together and every year she made bramble mousse.
It was the first time I have ever used gelatine. It seems
there is a knack to it.
I didn’t use quite enough, as I was doubling the recipe and
only had enough gelatine leaves for one recipe, used the powder for the second
amount, which fell short by 1/5th. I reasoned that I don’t like
things too solidified, but what in fact happened was that it split slightly,
with the bottom layer being more like jelly and the top majority a little on
the soft side.
Tricky to get the right proportion of gelatine: something
that will give the pudding cohesive body so it doesn’t remain runny, but not so
much that it hardens.
Awake in the night, I was drawn to read a passage which
spoke of the anointing of joy. Hebrews 1:9 talks of the anointing of the oil of
joy setting Jesus above all others.
Is it too wild a flight of fancy to think of the oil of joy
as a sort of gelatine in the Christian life? In the challenging times in which
we are living, it is natural and tempting to be hardened into cynicism and / or
pessimism. Filled with the Spirit of God, though, we can receive the anointing
of the oil of joy which can balance us and keep us filled with peace, hope and
love.
In a world rocking with violence and environmental upheaval,
joy is a rare thing.
May the Lord anoint us all with the oil of joy, so that we
can sit at God’s table in the presence of our enemies, fully focused on Jesus
and trusting in his promises.
Joy is at the heart of the gospel.
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