How many of you are gardeners? I’m not a gardener. I’m lucky if the perennials around my house don’t die each year and the weeds don’t take over. But I like the idea of gardening. I especially like the idea of gardening from seeds. The idea that out of small amazing things can grow – flowers, plants, food, trees fascinates me. I remember as a child at school doing that experiment with bean pods placed in a ziplock with wet cottonballs. I remember the fascination of watching as those beans in that the little ziplock bags taped to the window start to unfold and grow.
Adrian Jacobs from the Cayuga First Nations in Ontario, and Keeper of the Circle for the United Church’s theological training centre the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in Manitoba reflects on seeds writing:
“Haudenosaunee people have a ceremony in spring to bless the seeds before the planting season. We also called corn, beans, and squash our ‘three sisters.’ This is in keeping with our view of creation as relatives, e.g., elder brother sun, grandmother moon, grandfather thunder, and mother earth. The sustenance provided by food makes Haudenosaunee people happy and is a recurring phrase in the Thanksgiving Address or The Words before All Other Words.
“From my other reading and education a seed contains in itself all the DNA necessary to produce a full-grown plant and fruit containing seeds for the future. In essence, in a seed is a universe of plants that expresses the genius of Creator.”
Seeds are sacred things. They remind us that God is always creating in ordinary and extraordinary ways. Seeds are full of promise and potential – like each piece of creation. Seeds are little bundles ready to grow into something very profound: food, trees, grass, flowers. God also gifts each of us with the same promise and potential. From a small seed great things emerge.
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A sewer went out to sow and as she walked she scattered seeds on the ground: some seeds fell on the path and were eaten by the birds, others fell on the rocky ground where they grew quickly but then died because there was no depth to the soil, still others fell among the thorns and were chocked, finally some fell on the good soil, and brought forth an abundant yield of grain.
There is great beauty in a lesson about seeds: from something so small great abundance and blessing can come into fruition. The yield of wheat Jesus talks about in today’s parable is a great harvest – a bumper crop year.
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Today is World Food Sunday. World Food Day was created by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO. The Goal of the FAO is to free humanity from hunger and malnutrition, and to effectively manage the global food system. Canadian Food Grains Banks shares some food for thought with us this day. There is good news: hunger is being greatly reduced in the world. Did you know that 216 million fewer hungry people in the world than in 1990-92, despite the global population increasing by 1.9 billion people?
But there are struggles as well. In 2016 world hunger increased from 777 million to 815 million with the main reason being migration because of conflict and climate related incidents. 70% of people who are hungry are farmers, and more women than men go hungry. 2017 brought the world’s largest humanitarian crisis since 1945 with extreme hunger and famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, and Yemen. Canada has historically been a leader in food security but the aid given is at a 50 year low.
Moving closer to home, last winter the Hanover Post shared the story that a single person on Social assistance cannot afford both food and rent each month. The usage of food banks across our country has been on a rise and the number of children who do not have adequate food continues to grow. Food deserts describe places where healthy food is not available – often referring to inner cities. But food deserts exist all around us. There are many communities and locations around here where people do not have access to well stocked grocery stores and the cost to come into communities like by taxi can be too much.
Food is vital for our health. The food we eat or don’t eat effects how we think, how we feel, our energy, our ability to fight off illness and disease, and our recovery. Schools and teachers have known for a long time that if a child doesn’t eat they are going to be having a difficult time learning. Adults are not so different. Food is essential for all of us and the fact that many cannot afford or do not have access to healthy food creates immense suffering in our community and in our world.
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One of Jesus’ great teachings to his disciples was showing them how to walk into suffering and walk along side those who are vulnerable. When someone called to him to be healed Jesus walked towards them, held them, touched them, saw them as people not as the illness that isolated them. He taught his disciples to do the same thing.
We are called to follow in ths sacred path – of daring to walk into suffering and walk along side others and to not fall into the traps of running away or being overwhelmed. We are called to walk into suffering with hope, with a vision that God’s love is abundant, that healing is possible, that we can work alongside one another to create a better world – the kin-dom of God lived out right here and right now, rooted in love and justice and the fullness of life for all.
A seed is a perfect symbol for the path of hope and maybe that’s why Jesus shared this parable. Seeds seem small but they grow and they transform the world bringing life, beauty, and blessing even in the places where death and decay are found.
Think about the small seeds of hope that we are a part of here at Grace. Each week our food bank cart is filled with food, money, and prayers, it is brought forward, blessed, and then its contents are sent to the Salvation Army Food Bank where is distributed. Each week a sign is taken out of our basement and placed on the sidewalk by the road, an invitation to Light on Main Street, and people come inside, hear words of hope during a short reflection by a minister, share community and friendship, and eat a hearty and healthy meal. That meal might mean one less quick and lonely meal alone, or some financial savings to pay for rent or hydro, it might mean a little bit of extra strength for the day, it might be the only full meal someone eats during the week. Through our benevolent fund we hand out gift cards, mostly for the grocery store to people who need a little bit of extra help. We give to Mission and Service and to Canadian Food Grains Bank and the money we offer is turned into food security for thousands of people as it funds food in emergencies, education opportunities for farmers trying to build food security in their countries, and as it offers temporary relief through drop in shelters and meal programs.
And all of these things may seem small at times, little pieces in the face of very large and complex issues of food security, hunger, and poverty. But as our scripture reminds us small seeds can bring about great abundance. God is working through each of us as we walk in the path of Christ planting the seeds of hope. The little seed of hope are planted in the gift of time, talent, love, prayer, support, and money that we offer in response to God’s love and grace. The little seeds are spread and the amazing thing is that some of them will find good soil, will grow, and will bring beauty and blessing to this world.
So come, let us celebrate food as a sacred gift, a gift to be enjoyed, and shared. Let us face issues of food security, poverty, hunger and famine without fear or denial. Let us feel God’s love flowing through us leading us to walk in the path of Jesus joining with others scattering those small but mighty seeds of hope in this world. For God is doing amazing things and we are part of the sacred story. Amen. Let it be so.