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I wonder if you have
heard this said of anyone: "They are so heavenly minded that they
are of no earthly use?" It is usually said of a person who has their
head in the clouds. But it can also be said of theologies, of the way
we understand God and explain what He is about. You may feel that about
some sermons sometimes - that they are so heavenly minded that they are
no earthly use! If you say that after this one I will have failed!
For many years I was a victim of this imbalance. I had my theology of
Redemption fairly well worked out. My theology of Creation was too - or
so I thought. But they were separate. It's only been in the last few years
that I have understood that the two go together. Creation and Redemption
are two sides of the same coin. It's there embedded in Scripture and I had
missed it. Look at Ps 132 which the choir sang for us:
Vs 14 says 'the Lord has chosen Zion to dwell in'. How will it be evident
that he is blessing His chosen people? See vs 16 - 17 "…"
The word 'health' there = salvation. i.e. God's blessing is known because
the poor are fed well and the priests are well. That is very earthly.
And it's there in the first lesson, from Isaiah. God is the Creator, in
vs. 13 "My hand laid the foundation of the earth…" and
a few verses later in vs. 17 "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer…"
and in vs. 20 "The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob." And
what is the evidence of his redemption? Is it a 1st class ticket to heaven?
No, it was (next verse) that "they did not thirst when he led them
through the deserts." God's redemption, his salvation (i.e. his health
giving life) is proved by the hungry being fed and the thirsty being satisfied
with clean water. Paul is trying to get this same point across to the
church in Corinth. Be generous, you Corinthians, because God has been
generous to you. See vs.8 - 9 "…"
I have to confess that for many years I thought God was more interested
in my soul than in my body, in my spiritual health than in my physical
health. I understand now they are not to be separated. Jesus didn't separate
them. After he had spent time teaching the crowds it bothered him that
they were far from home and any shops, and they needed feeding. At the
lakeside when Peter and the crew were hungry and discouraged after a poor
night's fishing he made breakfast for them. Jesus himself had enjoyed
the fruit of His Father's creation so much that he was accused of eating
and drinking too much. He had grasped that food and drink were heavenly
food - given to be enjoyed to the full and not just as necessary fuel
for the body. As Paul says to Timothy, "God has provided us richly
with all things to enjoy." Look around this building and enjoy the
beauty of living things - of flowers, plants, crops - those who have lovingly
shaped them are drawing us closer to God's heart through their creativity.
What is it Psalm 24 says? "The earth is the Lord's and everything
in it." Yes, heaven is the Lord's too but the earth is the Lord's.
And in Genesis we are commanded to take care of it, to look after what
is on the earth, because he made it and declared it "very good."
So with all this in mind, as someone who claims to take God seriously
I am obliged to ask myself, what am I doing to take care of the earth
and all it produces? The answer is "almost nothing!" But I am
not a farmer and don't have a garden, so surely I can be excused? NO,
because I consume! And I live in a country where ¾ of the land
is farmed. I benefit from other people's work. For me to enjoy, let's
say a bowl of porridge in the morning, someone else has prepared the ground,
planted the seeds, tended the ground, sown the oats, harvested the crop,
milled the oats, refined it, packaged it, transported it, stocked it,
and sold it. And someone else has cared for the cows that produced the
milk I pour on my porridge; others have milked the cows, pasteurised it,
bottled it, and delivered it to my doorstep early in the am. And that's
only two products! Here's another one I might have for breakfast. A loaf
of bread. This IS one I made earlier. (I'm not sure whether to be proud
of it or embarrassed that it is only the 4th loaf I have made in my life)
I've decided to take up bread-making - partly because it is good kitchen
therapy, and partly to remind myself that someone has to work to get food
on the table. (It is a tiny symbolic step). I am shamefully so far removed
from food production. In the course of a day I must be dependent on hundreds
of people for my food and drink. Others are closer to fulfilling God's
command than I am. So at the v least, I think, I have a responsibility
to take an interest in where my food comes from. Do I know? Is it local
or have many tons of carbon been used to get it to me? Did the people
who grow it get a fair price?
Or did the powerful supermarkets dictate a price to suit them in order
to compete with their rivals? These sort of questions are beginning to
bother me. I am trying to be a little earthly minded to be of some heavenly
use. The earth IS the Lord's but He has invited us to be his managers.
How well are we doing? Here are a few facts which I offer, not to make
us depressed but to stir us and provoke us to action… In the last
10 years, ¼ of farm jobs have disappeared in the UK. The suicide
rate among farmers is double that for any other professions.
Last year, a DEFRA report stated that the average net income for farmers
is under £14K and 60% earn less than a clergy stipend.
For diary farmers life has got harder. In 2000 the price they were paid
for milk dropped by 8p per litre; at the same time the retailers margin
rose by 14p. Some diary farmers have given up. Others resort to other
means of survival. One farmer in Cornwall lets out his farmhouse to holidaymakers
and he and his family squash in to a caravan for the tourist season. Flooding
this summer has long-term consequences. So too of course does Foot &
Mouth and Bluetongue disease. E.g. in Yorkshire the cancelling of the
2 day sheep auction in Hawes meant a loss of £2million to the local
economy. 30K sheep were left unsold. I could go on but this is only Part
1 of this topic - Part 2 comes after the service - if you can stay for
a discussion over coffee please do.
Let me end by offering 3 ways of responding: Turn on the TAP…
1) Take an interest. Get informed. A leaflet at back called 'Why Fair
trade begins at home.' Basic facts are given. Look at web sites.
This is British Food Fortnight so there's plenty of press coverage. Talk
to those involved at any stage. If you are staying for the harvest lunch
look out for Alan and Sandra Charnock - they are a butchers from Oastler
market and use locally supplied meat. (The the chicken,lamb, beef and pork for today's Harvest lunch has been supplied by Charnocks)
So, T = take an interest and talk
2) Act in whatever way you can. Think about where you shop and where your
food comes from. A = Ask your supermarket to be accountable - where do
they source their food and how do they ensure fair treatment of their
suppliers? With a crisis in farming, how do they justify huge profits?
(e.g. in April Tesco announced yearly profits of £2.55 billion)
3) Pray… for farmers and their families, for all producers, wholesalers
and retailers.
And most of all let's pray for ourselves. Let's ask for wisdom and grace
to respond, and courage to act even if it involves inconvenience. Let's
ask God to show us how we can care for His world, His earth, and enjoy
it to the full. Let's find the heavenly in the earthly. Let us find ways
of being of some earthly use so that we are of some heavenly use. TAP,
Take an interest, Act and Pray. Let us pray now…
Creator and Redeemer, guide our thoughts, our words and most of all our
actions so that the richness of all You have given is enjoyed and cared
for as You directed. For your name's sake. Amen.
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