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| Image by jcookfisher |
Land and Resources: 3
Fruit Farming
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A Greeting
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
(Psalm 63:1)
A Reading
Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
(Luke 21:29-33)
Music
Meditative Verse
Heal me, O God, and I shall be healed; save me,
and I shall be saved; for you are my praise.
(Jeremiah 17:14)
A Reflection
What I heard and continue to hear, is a voice that can crack religious and political convictions open, that advocates for the least qualified, least official, least likely; that upsets the established order and makes a joke of certainty. It proclaims against reason that the hungry will be fed, that those cast down will be raised up, and that all things, including my own failures, are being made new... And it insists that by opening ourselves to strangers, the despised or frightening or unintelligible other, we will see more and more of the holy, since, without exception, all people are one body: God's.
from Take this Bread: A Radical Conversion, by Sara Miles
Verse for the Day
May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.
(Psalm 72:16)
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| Image by Konrad Summers |
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In today’s reading, Jesus compares a budding fruit tree to the realm of God. The flowering of fruit trees is a sign of a new season, a time of new life, he tells us. Prior to the passage, Jesus has been describing the catastrophic state that the world will be in when the "Son of Man" returns. And following the parable is the exhortation to keep watch so that we will be able to know both the time of trouble and also the moments when the first fruits of human kindness and compassion flowering in our communities and lives is a sign that we have transformed ourselves. These are dramatic concepts that might feel abstract within our own lives. What does Jesus mean? The Central Valley area of California is home to some of the poorest Latino communities in the whole state. The impact of climate change on this fruit-growing region has seen rising heat in the growing season, which causes the flowering of trees earlier and later than expected and also causes a significant decline of the water table. The families and migrants who do the work of the orchards do not have running water in their own homes, because the water that is available has been diverted to agriculture. When Jesus speaks of a flowering tree, he is suggesting that the realm of God cannot take place where there is not an abundant wellbeing of all people. In the deadly cycles of climate impact, we are more likely to steer away from building the realm of God, such as when dwindling water reserves are prioritized for crops, leaving those who do the work of tending to them driving for miles to buy bottled water. This kind of injustice is what choreographer KT Nelson describes, in the video below, as “dead reckoning”: when our normal sense of how we navigate has been disturbed or dramatically altered. When we are “driving blind”. ‘Dead Reckoning’ is the name of her ballet, in which dancers personify, and also respond to, a climate-panicked reality. How do we move from “dead reckoning” our climate crisis into a season of working toward abundant life for all? How can we help make a world where human beings come before profit, and water flows in nourishing abundance for all? One way is to remember how Jesus himself cared for people and how he cares for us. When we are focused on our own love for our neighbours who tend to our food, and on our neighbour Creation, we discover that we ourselves need to make changes in our own lives. We accept that we may not have the fruits and nuts we enjoy available to us all year long: we willingly sacrifice that availability so that farmers do not thirst. We disturb our own routines, educate ourselves and find ways to uphold those who live with injustice. Perhaps you are already trying to live this way. Even one step toward reviewing our expectations of comfort, and educating ourselves further, can affect the lives of others, and is one step toward building the realm of God. What is the step you might take today?
A CREATIVE PROJECT
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LC† Reimagining Justice is a project of
Lutherans Connect / Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto,
supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
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