Sermon Archive
A harvest of peace
Sermon preached by Clephane Hume at Evensong on 16 May 2004
In years gone by, this Sunday would have been recognised as Rogation Sunday, being followed by three Rogation days prior to Ascension Day. This is the time for beating the bounds, for visiting the fields and asking God's blessing on the developing crops. And this still goes on in some places, mostly I think, in England, with church gatherings and pilgrimages.
In our city dwelling state, we don't give much attention to the needs of rural communities - they are probably something most of us have little awareness of. But some people will still be recovering from the ravages of foot and mouth disease, or trying to make ends meet in the face of changing subsidies and government policies. I've spent the afternoon selling plants at the Royal Botanic Garden (of Edinburgh), so I suppose this is nearer to my mind than it otherwise might have been. We would do well to remember the farmers who supply us with what we regard as basic necessities.
This is not exactly a new idea. The book of Deuteronomy stresses that we should be careful to obey the decrees and commands that the Lord gives us, so that we may thrive in a land flowing with milk and honey. With suggestions for different kinds of memory strategies to ensure that we never forget that we should love the Lord our God. We are also charged to harvest responsibly. And the earlier verses of the epistle of James maintain the same theme as he inveighs against the rich oppressors who fail to treat their workers fairly. Who, in the global context, some people would say are us.
The concepts of basic necessities and oppression tie in with the work of Christian Aid, where the aim is to alleviate poverty by helping people to become self sufficient and free from exploitation. To stand on their own two feet. (As depicted on the poster outside the church).
As some of you are well aware, because you have spent the last few weeks on your two own feet, sorting and selling books, (at St Andrew's and St George's Church) we are now at the end of this year's Christian Aid Week. The various activities around the city have made it abundantly clear that people do care about each other, and particularly the plight of those in the developing world. The strap line of 'Give, Act, Pray' has been well heeded.
James exhorts the people to have patience in their suffering. He uses agricultural imagery which they would readily have understood. It does take time to nurture fragile seedlings to a stage of productivity and, as with the farmers of earlier times, the idea of waiting for the crucial rains would have resonated with the village farmers we saw in Ethiopia - who were having a very long wait.
'Patience in suffering' is a message that it must be difficult to accept for many people in the world news at present. The papers and news reports this week have been full of the revelations of torture and abuse of prisoners in Iraq. It is easy to cast stones in such circumstances, and as a nation we may not have as much room for complacency as we would like.
Man's inhumanity to man. Why? What is it about us that makes us intimidate others in such a shocking way? Soldiers' revenge to those who have killed their friends? An expression of the darker side of our human nature? Why should we harm people who do not pose a threat to us, because we hold them captive and can therefore exert power and control over them. It's not a new problem. There are, after all historical precedents. And the playground bully is, in his own way, not so different. I don't have the answer to these questions but if we love the Lord who is full of compassion and mercy, we should treat well those whom he commands us to love. Which includes our enemy - real or perceived.
Bullying and torture in times of conflict does not necessarily result in incarceration. Many people escape, and become refugees. The Anglican church in Ethiopia is working with Sudanese refugees, many of whom have left the official camps to become illegals. Christian Aid partners in Ethiopia are also working with displaced people and both these organisations are praying for a harvest of a different kind - peace.
Earlier in the week I received an email from Addis Ababa asking us to pray for their local synod, which unites Sudanese and Ethiopian congregations and will be attended by the Bishops responsible for the church in both countries. Southern Ethiopia is not a peaceful place at present and I would hazard a guess that some prisoners taken in the struggles there will also know what torture means.
Oppression there takes other forms - it is culturally difficult for women to attend meetings and the Mother's Union is hoping to establish groups in the region. A 'harvest' of literate women would do much to counter exploitation.
So even if we do not find ourselves beating the bounds this Rogation tide, there is much for which we can pray, not just for a harvest of edible food, but for spiritual nourishment for all those who suffer and who seek a harvest of peace and equity. Because that will mean that the world's poorest people will know the difference between existing and living, and have their just share in the earthly banquet of the Lord's provision. Pray that this may happen.
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