Seeds – The Green Tau

Tending the earth for all

22nd March 2025

Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:3-5

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s will.

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

Reading

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Mark 4:3-8

Pause for reflection

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

So may we store water for when and for whoever needs it,

and safeguard those living with the threat of flooding.

As the earth brings forth and sprouts,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So may we harvest what is needed,

sharing the bounty so no one goes hungry.

So shall God’s word be that goes forth; it shall not return empty,
but it shall accomplish that which is purposed
and succeed in the thing for which it is sent.

May we pay attention to God’s word,

following the ways of wisdom that God desires

for the wellbeing of all creation.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

May we protect the fertility of the soil,

not polluting it with chemicals nor stripping it of nourishment.

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

May we treasure those who tend and farm the land,

paying fair wages and sharing profits.

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations:

May we welcome God’s kingdom with all our being,

following God’s law with hands, hearts and voices.

Based on Isaiah 55:10,11 and 61:11

The Grace

God’s kingdom – food for all

8th February 2025

Psalm 37:3-5

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s will.

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

A Reading from Mark 4:3-8

Pause for reflection

Response:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

So may we store water for when and for whoever needs it,

and safeguard those living with the threat of flooding.

As the earth brings forth and sprouts,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So may we harvest what is needed,

sharing the bounty so no one goes hungry.

So shall God’s word be that goes forth; it shall not return empty,
but it shall accomplish that which is purposed
and succeed in the thing for which it is sent.

May we pay attention to God’s word,

following the ways of wisdom that God desires

for the wellbeing of all creation.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

May we protect the fertility of the soil,

not polluting it with chemicals

nor stripping it of nourishment.

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

May we treasure those who tend and farm the land,

paying fair wages and sharing profits.

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations:

May we welcome God’s kingdom with all our being,

following God’s law with hands, hearts and voices.

(Based on Isaiah 55:10,11 and 61:11)

The Grace is said together

Counting on … day 167

10th September 2024

Every year trees such as the oak, the horse chestnut and the beech, produce vast numbers of seeds from which hardly even one will make it to become itself a mature tree. Rather their seeds will be eaten by squirrels, birds, deer and – if they are there – pigs or wild boar. There is a balance between the food supplied and the number of creatures fed. But then once every few years, the trees produce an excessive number of seeds – a mast year. For this year only the supply of food exceeds consumers and from this crop, the next generation of trees may sprout. This fascinating understanding of supply and demand comes from Tristan Gooley’s book, How to Read a Tree, which I thoroughly recommend.

Easter Day

31st March 2024

Reflection, with readings below

Why were the women going to the tomb that Sunday morning? To express their love for Jesus and their grief for his death? The gospel tells us that they were taking spices to anoint his body and yet as they approach they are still puzzling how they will move the stone so that they can get to his body. They are setting out on a task which they don’t think they can complete! Maybe they are of the thinking that it is better to at least try than to give up straight away. Maybe they have an optimist approach that says something might turn up. Maybe they have a faith that says, go and God will provide.

I wonder what obstacles we imagine that we think will stop us doing what Jesus would want? Are they truly impossible obstacles? Are they sufficiently obstructive to warrant not having a go anyway? Maybe we need to ask God for a little more faith, a bit more confidence?

In John’s gospel narrative, Jesus tells his disciples

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.”

Seeds are at vulnerable things. Some never germinate – perhaps they don’t fall into the right soil; perhaps they lack a supportive environment. Did Jesus deliberately choose something small and insignificant to tell this parable? Is he reminding us that even if we think our lives are small and insignificant, they are actually the means of great potential – if we use them aright. Is Jesus reminding us that in life we have to take risks – even the risk of forgoing life as we know it – that we have to take a step of faith into the unknown, that we have to be confident that God will be with us all the way – through the trials as well as the good times? Is that not the challenge of Easter Day? That today we are being invited to step in to a new life, into a world where things will need to be done differently, that we are being invited to follow Jesus into new territories, to meet new situations, to form new relationships?

An article in the Guardian this weekend told the story of Vivienne Sansour, who since 2016 has been collecting seeds from farms, gardens and wild patches in the West Bank to form the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library. The seeds represent both the traditional farming and food practices of the Palestinian people, and their intimate relationship with the local environment. As their access to land is being curtailed by the Israeli authorities and settlers, so this Library becomes more and more important. These seeds could re-establish Palestinian culture in a future when peace and justice have been re-established. Equally these seeds could provide food solutions for other cultures in the wider region as farming has necessarily to adapt to the accelerating climate crisis.

A Palestinian proverb “They planted so we may eat, we plant so they may eat” outlines the importance of each generation thinking not only of themselves. The proverb explains the motivation behind the charity Trees for Live which provides Palestinians with olive tree saplings, as well as other seedlings such as almonds, figs, grapes, apricots and pomegranate. These projects may seem to surrounded by obstacles – not least the threat that these plants will be uprooted and destroyed by Israeli forces – but persisting shows a confidence in a fruitful future – a hope that there will be a resurrection for all the people and communities of this region.

This Easter maybe we are being called to to support or take on projects that express a faith in a better, peaceable future.

Isaiah 25:6-9

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:

16 “The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”

17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 “This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter.”

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvellous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you–unless you have come to believe in vain.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them–though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Fifth Sunday of Lent

17th March 2024

Reflection- readings are below

Throughout Lent the psalms seem to have been chosen for their focus on sin and the grief that causes us. In today’s the psalmist acknowledges his sinfulness – a sinfulness which has been a burden from birth. What the psalmist realises is that the effect of sin is to break down the relationship between him (or her) and God, and that it is only God who cleanse the psalmist of sin and restore in her the gifts of truth and wisdom, to renew his heart and reinvigorate him with God’s Holy Spirit, so bring her back again into that right relationship with God that he desires.

Sin separates us from God. It separates us from those gifts that enable us to live in harmony with one another and with all creation. As not-God’s-people we are greedy, hurtful, hateful, mean and jealous. We destroy the natural environment. We persecute others. We perpetuate wars and inflict suffering on the innocent. And this is not what God wants. Jeremiah describes God desire to remake the relationship between God and by writing the law on their hearts, by internalising the law within them – So that “they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

Jeremiah writes in the plural, for sin doesn’t just affect the individual, but the community. Sometimes my sin has a worse affect on my neighbour either as an unintended consequence or as a deliberate act on my part. And that happens repeatedly through communities from the family units to international groups. We know on one hand what God wants, and we see on the other hand fighting and cruelty, suffering and aggression. And we feel helpless.

Do we ignore what’s going on and find peace in ignorance? Do we work really hard so that we have no time to worry about anything else? Do we dissolve into a pool of tears? Do we recognise the sin and suffering for what they are, and seek to find a positive way forwards – healing – through God’s faithfulness?

Whilst the psalms during Lent focus on sin, many of the readings have focused more on suffering and how to cope with it. Last week we had the story of Moses’s childhood – a time fraught with risk but which the protagonists reacted to positively – from the persecuted Hebrew mother to the royal princess. Their efforts were rewarded in the short term but I doubt any of them foresaw the long term salvation that will come from their actions. Likewise last week we were reminded that the process of salvation can also be the way cause great pain. We take the best action, accepting pain if necessary, and be confident that in God’s time there will be salvation – knowing that we are being restored or healed in our relationship with God.

The week before we heard Jesus’s words “Take up your cross and follow me”. A reminder that we should not expect life to be easy but be ready to face challenges and undertake hard graft. Where would Moses have been if the princess had said, “I can’t be bothered”? Where would the food banks be if people said, What’s the point? And gave neither food or time. Where would the UN aid organisations be if rich nations said, We’re not that rich. And gave neither money and support?

Clinging on to your own life, your own desires, sustaining your own selfishness, Jesus told his disciples, is self-destructive. We think we are protecting ourselves but we are cutting ourselves off from real growth, from true fullness of life. Letting go so that we are part of a bigger story, allows us to experience life to the full.

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us the image of a seed. The seed is the residue of a living plant. It falls to the ground – as if unwanted – but then in the darkness of the soil is transformed. Its inner heart has the potential for life and, breaking out into new growth, becomes more than it ever was! Jesus sees in all of us that same potential. The potential to change the world around us. This vision is there in so many of his parables – the yeast that swells the bread dough, the salt that flavours the whole meal, the candle flame that lights a room, the seed that grows in the good soil etc.

Sowing and growing. Being willing to let go of self, of self interest, of self importance. Being willing to undergo transformation. The seed grows best in the good soil. Jeremiah tells us that transformation is about not just the individual but the community. Jesus very directly addresses his words in the plural – “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” – as he talks to both his disciples and those – here some Greeks – who are drawn to meet Jesus. It is the community and the support of others that enables our seeds to flourish as they grow.

It is we as part of a community who must relinquish self interest in the interests of the common good. Indeed it is we as a whole community who must relinquish self interest in the interests of the global good. We cannot go on burning fossil fuels and consuming raw materials without pause. We must be ready to forego some consumer goods in order not to deplete the world to the detriment of the whole world. We must let go our desire to be the most important nation, the strongest nation, in order that all nations be treated with equal value. That will be the resurrection light for the whole world.

So let us be brave. Let us be active. Let us let go of wealth and standing and self importance to allow our lives to enrich the whole world.

How? By standing up and being vocal about the rights of others. In standing up against greed and excess consumption. In standing up and showing love to our neighbour. By drawing strength from Jesus, seeing in him the example to follow, and finding in him the source of the Holy Spirit that will fill us with strength and joy. By being a community of believers that is fed by and empowered by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 51:1-13

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offences.

2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.

5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.

6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother’s womb.

7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.

11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.

12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

Hebrews 5:5-10

Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,

“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;

as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Gospel

John 12:20-33

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Counting on … day 1.162

31st August 2023

Seeds are also a good source of protein as well as various minerals and vitamins. Try chia seeds, linseed or – the wild version – camelina seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, sesame and hemp seeds. You can add seeds to muesli or porridge, salads and mix them into bread dough.

You can use chia or linseeds as an egg replacement mixing one table spoon of seeds with 2 tablespoons of warm water, leaving it for a short time while the seeds thicken and produce a jelly-like texture.

You can use pumpkin or sunflowers seeds instead of pine nuts to make pesto.

You can also add seeds to hummus either blitzing them with the chickpeas or adding them whole for a different texture.

Counting on… day 1.121

25th May 2023

I thought I saw the following headline – “Sowing the Seeds of Biodiversity Conversation’ – but when I looked a second time, I saw it read “Sowing the Seeds of Biodiversity Conservation”. And yet perhaps I did read it aright as I am now having a conversation about biodiversity. My reading had been about the idea that to assist biodiversity it helps to sow and grow local seeds and plants – ie ones that are most likely to grow where you are and to be a significant part of the localities food chain – nettles for comma butterflies for example. One way of doing this would be to collect seeds from such plants and share them with your neighbours.

How to collect and store seeds – https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-collect-and-save-seeds/

And for a list of seed swop events – https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-we-do/hsl/seed-swaps

Counting on … day 1.075

18th March 2023

Growing your own food can mean survival for some people. In Africa many people are what one might call indigenous farmers, people who grow traditional crops using traditional methods. The plants they grow are often well suited to the local soils and the local vagaries of the climate. It is a type of farming that has little in the ways of cost inputs – no artificial fertilisers, no highly mechanised equipment, not even expensive seed. Rather seeds are collected from one season to use at the next or to swop with neighbours to improve fertility. In Kenya 80 – 90% of farmers use and share indigenous home grown seeds.

However the Kenyan government wishes to control the quality of seeds by prohibiting the sale of exchanging of any seeds other than those that have been licensed Licensing is expensive – only 20% of the seeds regularly used have been licensed – and this has limited the number of legal seeds sellers to a few large concerns. Often these seeds suppliers are also in the market of selling fertilisers and pesticides, and may opt to sell seeds that need such additional inputs.

It is now illegal to sell or swop unlicensed seeds in Kenya with the potential punishment of 2 years in jail and or a fine.

Greenpeace Africa is challenging this law.

For more information see https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/publications/51807/whose-interest-does-the-kenyan-seeds-law-protect/