"He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.” (Ps. 107:35-37)
Coming to South Africa, I was eager to learn how gardens were helping feed the hungry and bring people together to provide for themselves. But, I had no idea there would be so many gardens! On TV last night, I saw that one of South Africa’s Idols winners has a gardening program where he and his family help start gardens at schools and in communities across the country. But what I find even more exciting is that almost every time I go to visit a non-profit organization, gardening is a major part of the work they are doing. Phakamisa, a ministry of Pinetown Methodist, has gardening classes and helps establish community gardens. Hillcrest Aids Centre has a small vegetable garden for their respite centre and has a nursery where they sell plants and they start seedlings for the community gardens started through their granny support groups. Valley Trust has a demonstration garden and teaches permaculture classes. A children’s home in the Valley of 1000 Hills has gardens and they allow community members to grow their own crops on the property that they can then sell. Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary is starting a garden to train their pastors so that they will graduate prepared to help keep these beautiful gardens growing and feeding families. It makes me so happy to see the wonderful ways that God can bring people together to tend the earth and experience for themselves the joy of growing food.
It also seems very appropriate that so many faith-based organizations are realizing that the care of people involves caring for the land that will produce the food required to care for the people. It goes back to the covenant seen again and again in the Old Testament—the interconnectedness of relationships between God, land, and people. That said, I am always a little leery of the blessing and cursing language surrounding this covenant in the Old Testament because I think it often gets misused. Reading Psalm 107, one might assume that God punishes us for our sins and blesses us for our good behavior. I do not believe that a God whose mercy is over all things acts in such a way. But I also do not believe that we can say it is all rubbish, for there is truth to be found in these Scriptures.
When I read Ps. 107:17, (“Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction”) I do not think it means that God makes people sick because they sinned. But, I do think that our sinful ways have caused much sickness. When we pour harmful chemicals on the earth to make food grow bigger or faster or increase yield, we are not honoring God’s good creation. We are acting in greed, thinking we can manipulate the land and improve on what God has given us. The chemicals we’ve used have made us sick with cancer and killed our soil. The unhealthy processed foods we have engineered have given us diabetes and obesity-related health problems. This is a direct result of the sinful ways we have treated the land and our bodies, not honoring them as sacred creations to be cared for with respect. Sadly, many of those with the least resources have suffered the most from these decisions of greedy corporations. They have had no choice but to eat that which was made available, even though it leads to bad health.
But to say that God curses us with these problems makes it seem as if it was God’s desire. I believe that God desires that we carefully tend to the land so that we can receive its abundance. Thus, when we plant gardens and seek to honor God through honoring the natural cycles of creation, we are able to receive this blessing that God intends. This is how we find the blessings described in Psalm 107:35-37. Thanks be to God for the many ways that God’s kingdom is coming to earth in this way!
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