Talk given at the North Carolina Convention of Bread for the World March 23, 2019
Have you ever heard that old spiritual based on Matthew 5:6? Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more…
Being FULL, spiritually and physically is the opposite of Hunger.
I am totally perplexed what causes us to be hungry on a planet specifically designed for abundance?? A place where one sunflower seed can produce a stalk with several heads that each produces 2 thousand seeds in less than 90 days. One tomato seed can produce one plant that yields 20-30 pounds per season. How did we make scarcity more prevalent than abundance? How did we take this garden of Eden and turn rainforests into deserts? How did we create food apartheid so that the most chemical laden nutrition dead food goes to those who need the most nutrition?
HOW? One way is that we separated ecology from economy—separated creation care from people care—separated Nature from Nurture. But that is not the end. It is the beginning of a SANKOFA moment where we confess we are lost and go back and fetch something we lost along the way—and there is no shame to go back and fetch some wisdom
Proverbs 8 reminds us that before the garden there was wisdom “ (prov 8:22) The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. From everlasting I was established and ordained, From the beginning, before the earth existed, I existed. (30) Then I was beside him, as a master craftsman: and I was daily his delight; Rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in the world his inhabited earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.
Don’t you love how sensuous it is when Nature and Nurture are most fully described? I call this the first beloved community of God, Wisdom and Humankind. Lady Wisdom is aligned with Mother Nature…. And we are just rockin it… We are still doing okay when the garden is formed—not a farm or a plantation—a garden where nature was plentiful and human kind had full and direct communication with God –(nurture). May I get practical now? This garden not only has abundance principles, it also has low maintenance built in! How is it low maintenance? It is a system based on agro-forestry. Trees beautiful to look at and trees good for food are grown together. Medicines and vines are included. Do you water or fertilize the forest?
Did you know that in Morocco a 2000-year-old food forest still exists and feeds a community of 800 households? This food forest bears witness to the generational blessings of following God’s landscaping plan. Hunger cannot exist where Nature and Nurture exist in their original unfettered form. Hunger cannot exist when you decide what is grown, and you profit from its distribution. We must have policies that allow food sovereignty and the sharing of abundance from our gardens. We must train our young adults how to grow their own food so we ALL profit from it together. (This is covered in my book)
HUNGER begins with farms and plantations where Nature is stripped bare of its diversity and we strip a layer of humanity from our collective souls. Genesis tells us that the soil is a mirror of the human soul—Corrupt one—you corrupt the other. Redeem one-you redeem the other. You see soil is a community of beings—some visible, some microscopic. Nurturing their presence in the soil is what gives food its vibrant taste and nutrition. When you ignore the needs of Mother Nature, you set up a domino effect of abuse.
When Nature’s principles of abundance are smothered, dominated land requires dominated people to work it. Monoculture Plantations required slaves and agribusiness requires exploited immigrants.
We can STOP! We can repent from degrading Mother Earth, we can rejoin Nature and Nurture to redeem ourselves with a Gospel of the Garden. Just as Christ redeems humankind back to union with God, let us redeem land to its diversity, water to its purity, and air to its life-giving force. Just as the land was “cursed” because of Adam, let Adam’s seed bless the land with food justice for all. Christ’s resurrection power has been shared with us to dismantle any system, any power that diminishes God’s blessings on Earth. Agro-ecologists and permaculturists are showing that biodiversity and abundance are peas in a pod when we follow God’s original plan.
WE CAN STOP HUNGER by restoring one ecosystem at a time—beginning with our own front yards, our gardens and our farms. WE CAN STOP hunger by restoring God’s original design for growing food and freely share the abundance.
Today I received a Tweet gently reminding us that the monoculture system in the Midwest of the U.S. is failing. In 2012 when agribusiness corn fields were burning in the drought, permaculture fields right next door were fine. WHY—Permaculture/Agro-ecology combines the wisdom of nature with human nurture. When I attended the Climate Reality Training in Johannesburg in 2014 we Al Gore informed us then that Big Ag only produced 30% of the grains we need in this country because the soil structure has been destroyed. Today’s Tweet from the New Food Economy said Historic Flood Losses Faced by Nebraska Farmers WILL IMPACT FOOD ON YOUR TABLE. I’m talking to those of you who shop at Food Lion or Whole Foods—you are AT RISK!! Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—among America’s most valuable and productive farm states—have declared states of emergency. Parts of Iowa have been declared disaster areas.
Wisdom is calling for Creation Care — Wisdom is calling every neighborhood, whether rural, urban, suburban, to protect our environment, and nurture permanent food systems that yield abundance and permanent peace. Let us share this Gospel of the Garden first in our own yards –before we run across the world, let us become food secure neighbors with the folks in our neighborhood and THEN spread the Gospel of the Garden everywhere we work, play and pray.
Will you act today? You can start your own Bible study with Breath of Life
OR
if you prefer a more personal touch, you may join an intimate sister circle at “Sustainable Earthkeeper’s Retreat” where we will learn how to create more JOY with our Impact!! Email me if you want to come 2 for 1 rev@revdele.com I would LOVE to talk to you!!