In a speech a few days ago at the University of Molise in southern Italy, Pope Francis told his listeners “exploiting the earth is our [modern] sin. One of the greatest challenges of our time,” he said, is to convert ourselves to a type of development that knows how to respect creation.” Back in May he told another group: “Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is it the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, to be cared for and used for the benefit of all…with great respect and gratitude.”
In Jesus’ day, the farmer went out to sow her seeds. There was no machinery involved, no metal arms drilling seed into the ground at precisely the correct depth and distance for optimum growth. The farmer flung those seeds across the field by hand. Many fell on rockier ground or along the footpath or among thorns. Birds swooped down on the exposed seed, and the sun withered many of the new, young plants. There was a lot of wasted seed.
But Jesus didn’t talk about the soil or the seed. He didn’t need to. There wasn’t a question about depleting topsoil back then, and seeds weren’t being genetically modified, patented or mass-produced to create wealth rather than food. Seeds were seeds, and it was where they fell and the type of ground they landed on that really mattered.
We can only imagine what sort of parable Jesus might tell the industrialized nations of today.
Hmmm…let’s see….
A farmer went out to sow her seeds. As a new organic farmer her first three years were spent clearing the soil of pesticides and other prohibited substances like municipal solid waste and sewage sludge.
When she went to purchase seed she found very few options in the organic seed category. Finding untreated non-organic seed was difficult as well. She went to the commercial seed growers, that handful of chemical and biotech firms that control most of the seed production of the world, but they had no interest in organic seed and no interest in the farmer. She went to the three major firms that control half the global seed marketplace, but couldn’t get an appointment with any of the executives or sales people.
Finally, she flew to Kauai, once known for its sugar cane before the plantations closed leaving acres and acres of barren land. Seed companies who purchased the land had introduced the first genetically modified crops in the country. 88% of corn and 95% of soybeans grown in her homeland were now genetically altered, and almost 100% of corn seed planted came from these seed production facilities on the island. She saw that all their seed, and the land on which it grows, was subjected to pesticides. No one was interested in her small ORGANIC farm.
Living in the valley beneath the seed production fields on Kauai, villagers and their doctors noticed a high rate of birth defects and cancers. They suspected pesticides blown by winds across the fields into their homes. The city council, villagers and doctors asked the companies to tell them what chemicals they were using so people could find ways to protect themselves and their children, but the companies wouldn’t give them the answers, claiming it was “proprietary” and “secret” and could lead to unsettling competition.
The farmer saw the villagers’ complaints brushed away as nonsense while the companies continued their practices without concern for land or people. The farmer watched as people continued getting sick, doctors continued fumbling for answers, and the soil continued to be poisoned. And the seeds—those precious seeds—continued to be altered and patented so that farmers like her were forced to buy more modified seeds every year. Harvesting and replanting seed, which farmers had done from the beginning of farming, was now illegal.
At the end of her long and arduous search, the most troubling sight of all was watching those priceless seeds turned into cattle feed and fuel! Less than 12% of all the corn of her homeland ended up on dinner tables to feed the hungry people of the world.
Having learned what there was to learn about farming in the 21st century, the farmer eventually found her prized, healthy seed. She sowed it in the ground she had carefully prepared, and it produced good food a hundredfold, sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
Seeds are a theological issue. They are carriers of plant’s DNA, earth’s gift and every generation’s birthright. They are the epitome of a renewable resource that allows life to continue on this beloved planet.
Soil is a theological issue. Without healthy topsoil and unpolluted earth the seeds we plant must be pumped with chemicals to produce food needed for our survival.
Water is a theological issue. Without healthy oceans, clean lakes and rivers, our seeds, soil, food and water supplies become contaminated by toxins that overwhelm our bodies and set the stage for diseases of every kind. [
Care of the earth is a theological issue as Pope Francis reminds us, and exploiting the earth is one of the greatest social sins of our time. The earth and all it provides of life, beauty, and possibility is there for us as gift. God’s presence permeates every particle and process, every being, every animate and inanimate object.
The earth is sacred. The kingdom of heaven is like the earth in whom we live, and move and have our being. The kingdom of heaven is like a garden that provides for every need. The kingdom of heaven is like clouds that rain on the just and unjust alike. The kingdom of heaven is like the earth, multiplying bread and fish to feed its global population.
Care of the earth, its seed, soil, water and air is a theological issue. It is our garden, our home. It is a reflection of the invisible face of God.
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