Sermon for the Worshipful Company of Farmers
Harvest Festival October 2015
Leviticus 25: 1-12; John 10: 1-10
I came, said Jesus that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Abundance
as in: excessive, overflowing, surplus, over and above, more than enough,
profuse, extraordinary, above the ordinary, more than sufficient. So if Jesus
came to bring abundant life let’s ask - what does that kind of life look like
today?
We do not have to look far to observe excess for we are living in a consumer
society where the prevailing message is that the more we have the happier we
will be. Ironically the more we are accumulating the less happy we appear to
be. Abundance as understood in Britain today appears not to be bringing a
sense of fullness of life or contentment.
Leviticus is a book of the Bible that should always be approached with caution.
Applying ethics from ancient peoples to modern day thinking is problematic.
Nevertheless as we wrestle with this question about the shape of abundant
living perhaps the holiness code, and in particular holiness in land ownership,
can offer us some wisdom.
In a nutshell holiness is about putting God first. We hear throughout the
Holiness Code ‘I am the Lord your God’. Specifically holiness in land ownership
speaks to a world of balance in which the land and those who work on the land
are given a break every 7 years. For 6 years the land is harvested but it is left
fallow in the 7th. Then once in every 50 years a jubilee is announced.
The year of Jubilee prevented the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a
few. Once in every generation that which had been lost through debt or
misfortune could be recovered: this law stopped monopolies in the form of
unfettered capitalism as well as totalitarian communism1. Land was deemed to
belong to God who in turn placed it into the hands of families. Whilst this
approach to land ownership may appear simplistic and even unfair it was a
way in which the social needs of the community as well as the economic needs
were balanced. It provided an opportunity to express love and mercy for a
1
‘The New Interpreters Bible Volume 1’, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1994, p1174
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neighbour who may through ill health, or other reasons, have fallen on hard
times. It enabled people to be restored.
Land ownership as understood in Leviticus points us to the notion of
stewardship: that for a number of years we are but stewards of that which we
may earn or inherit or occupy. For what we have will be handed on to the next
generation or the next occupier. Stewardship enables ownership but
ownership with a light touch. It is but for a time, and during that time the
economic benefits are often balanced with social responsibility.
This intertwining of the fabric of rural society and the economics of agriculture
was highlighted during a recent family holiday in France. From my childhood I
recall vibrant towns with markets bursting with fresh fruit and vegetables that
looked misshapen yet tasted divine; of out of the way restaurants that looked
nothing from the outside yet served food that was flavoursome and healthy
often presided over by Madam in her kitchen. This year there were deserted
towns; multiple ‘for sale’ boards and closed up shops; a lack of places off the
beaten track to stop and find a random gastronomic delight. What had
happened to the social fabric around which the farming industry was busy at
work gathering in the early harvest? I had a sense of deep loss and decay that
had occurred in spite of political interventions over a number of decades.
Some reject this notion of stewardship as being paternalistic: as something
that has no place in 21st century Britain. Personally I prefer language that
reflects equality especially, as any fan of Downton Abbey will know, one must
never underestimate the power of the matriarchs. Stewardship, care, is not
the world of rampant capitalism or of state control. But it is one in which we
seek to care for place and for neighbour. It is where the gift of ownership is
balanced by the responsibility of social concern. Perhaps the challenge for the
future will be continuing to find a middle way that upholds the social fabric of
our villages and rural communities whilst maintaining profitable food
production, caring for the natural environment, and engaging with more
sustainable forms of energy.
As we celebrate harvest this year and give thanks for all the good gifts around
us let us also continue to ponder this question of abundant life. I believe that
farmers (and I use this term in the broadest sense of those who work with and
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in our rural communities) have been gifted with an intuitive knowledge that
abundant life is a life in which we receive gift and give care: one of stewardship
balanced with social responsibility: perhaps one in which we are willing to
recognise the divine and resist being drawn into the vacuum of accumulation.
I came, said Jesus that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Rev’d Belinda Davies
Vicar St. George’s Church, Portsea
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