Counting On … – Page 20

Counting on … Lent 17

27th March 2025

The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘When you enter the land I will give you, let it have a special time of rest, to honour the Lord. You may plant seed in your field for six years, and you may trim your vineyards for six years and bring in their fruits. But during the seventh year, you must let the land rest. This will be a special time to honour the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards. You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after harvest, or gather the grapes from your vines that are not trimmed. The land will have a year of rest. Leviticus 25:1-5

Overworking the land drains it of its nutrients and intensive cultivation damages its fertility. UNESCO warned in 2024 that 90% of the Earth’s soil’s at risk of degradation – yet with appropriate farming practices and care this could be avoided.

“‘’Several practices associated with intensive agriculture, especially tilling, disrupt soil structure. They accelerate surface runoff and soil erosion, loss of organic matter and fertility and disruption in cycles of water, organic carbon and plant nutrients. These practices also have a major negative impact on soil biodiversity.

‘When soil degrades, the processes that take place within it are damaged. This causes a decline in soil health, biodiversity and productivity, leading to issues at all levels of many ecosystems, and resulting in large environmental consequences such as floods and mass migration.’”

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/soil-degradation.html

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-raises-global-alarm-rapid-degradation-soils

Counting on … Lent 16

26th March 2025

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it? For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.”’ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over until morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them.

Exodus 16: 4, 14-20

Taking only what is sufficient for our needs is the best way of ensuring we don’t damage the future supply of food and resources necessary for daily life. Most of the world’s problems are a result of our over consumption and over polluting of the environment.

Counting on … Lent 15

25th March 2025

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you wine-drinkers, over the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.

The fields are devastated, the ground mourns, for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails. Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vine-dressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined. The vine withers, the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people.

Joel 1: 5,10-12

If you consume too much, you will find that there is nothing left to enjoy.

Over consumption in a world of limited resources is unsustainable. The Earth Overshoot group calculates that to sustain our current levels of consumption we would need the equivalent of 1.75 earths!!

https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/

Counting on … Lent 14

24th March 2025

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’ John 6:5-14

The feeding of the 5000 occurs in all the gospels and in the Hebrew testament, Elisha feeds a 100 prophets with barley loaves (2 Kings Chapter 4 42). These stories tell us that when we have the desire and will, we can feed everyone with food to spare.

There is enough food to feed the world, even as the total population is still growing. The problem of hunger stems from inequalities in accessing food – poverty, oppression, the impact of wars etc – the power of big businesses in controlling prices, problems of food waste, and ethical questions about growing vast amounts of food to feed to a growing industrialised livestock programme when such food could be fed to people.

God has given us all that we need to eat, but it is we who fail to distribute it fairly.

https://www.ft.com/content/99204d14-a585-4743-ba95-c5fca64cb4a4

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/hunger-global-citizen-festival-advocacy-food/

Counting on … Lent 13

21st March 2025

“The sprit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners ….They will be called oaks of righteousness , the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.” Isaiah 61: 1 3b

Again we are reminded of God’s calling that we should care for all those in need so as to create a world that in its flourishing reveals the glory of God. And in truth it is that same glory we see when we look at great oak trees, or ancient woodlands or when we see the first green shoots appearing on a local tree – just as it is when the sick are healed, the oppressed released, the broken hearted restored and the whole world sharing in the good news of God’s spirit.

Counting on … Lent 12

20th March 2025

We have a growing understanding of the many ways in which flora and fauna in the natural world support and aid each other. On the Knepp Estate nature was given free reign to re-wild what had been poor grade farmland. One observation highlighted the importance of brambles in providing a protective barrier around sapling trees that protected them from being grazed and/or being trampled as they sprouted from seeds.

“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.” Deuteronomy 24:19-21

Just as in nature, so in God’s kingdom we should not take every last for ourselves, but leave sufficient resources in place to allow others to thrive. It is important to learn how we can live in systems that benefit not just ourselves but everyone.

Counting on … Lent 11

19th March 2025

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

According to Suzanne Simard, professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia,

“Trees are “social creatures” that communicate with each other in cooperative ways that hold lessons for humans.”

She explains “Trees are linked to neighbouring trees by an underground network of fungi that resembles the neural networks in the brain.”

In one study, Simard watched as a Douglas fir that had been injured by insects appeared to send chemical warning signals to a ponderosa pine growing nearby. The pine tree then produced defence enzymes to protect against the insect.

“This was a breakthrough,” Simard says. The trees were sharing “information that actually is important to the health of the whole forest.” In addition to warning each other of danger, Simard says that trees have been known to share nutrients at critical times to keep each other healthy. She says the trees in a forest are often linked to each other via an older tree she calls a “mother” or “hub” tree.” (1)

Good communication and the value of interconnectedness are key to flourishing communities.

(1) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too

Counting on … Lent 10

18th March 2025

“If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?” Deuteronomy 20:19

Whether it is Psalm 1 or in God’s planting of the garden of Eden, the Bible presents trees to us as the means of providing what is needful for life. It is a gift we often overlook – and as demonstrated in Deuteronomy, something we should not destroy.

The following quote comes from the NHS Forest website.

“Trees, hedges, shrubs, meadows—they are all excellent for biodiversity and creating healthy environments, but trees in particular offer unique benefits not found in other planting options. In fact, humans need trees for health, which means the benefits of tree planting reach far beyond nice-looking grounds.”

Do read the full article which lists the many ways in which we benefit from trees.

Why do humans need trees for health? Here are the benefits of tree planting

Counting on … Lent 9

17th March 2025

“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Psalm 1:1-3

The psalmist holds up a tree as a metaphor for the person who delights in God’s law – in God’s way of doing things. Would we see it as a source of pride if we were likened to a tree?

The tree of the Psalm is is fruitful in season and doesn’t wither with age. We might also recall that trees can be known for their strength such as oaks, or the slender beauty such as a silver birch, or the longevity such as a yew, or their flexibility such as the willow.

So yes it sounds like a good metaphor and one that describes who we are rather than what we earn.

Counting on … Lent 8

14th March 2025

I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after false profits . Jeremiah 2:7-8

Carrying on the text from yesterday, the prophet Jeremiah is sticking to the message that he knows people do not want to hear. The land is being ruined because the people are not following the law of God. Rather they are following rulers who are law breakers, deviant prophets and false gods.

Are we in a similar situation where those who should be leading us are ignoring God’s ways – the ways of the natural world – and instead are we being guided by false prophets in the pursuit of false profits?