2 Timothy 1.1-14, Luke 17.5-10
The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2 October 2022
Eldroth (Harvest), Clapham
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, says Paul to Timothy.
For there is treasure all around us if we look. Treasure in the people with whom we share our days; treasure in the creatures whose home is this precious earth; and treasure in the earth itself and all that grows and flourishes within.
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you. Guard the people in your care.
The young ones in our streets, schools and homes are our treasure. Guard them with kind words, good listening and attention to our example.
The old ones in the village farms and houses are our treasure. Guard them with graceful giving of our time and support, and faithful conversation.
Our peers are our treasure; our neighbours, colleagues and companions. Guard them with ever-deepening friendships of laughter and dissent.
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you. Guard the creatures in your care.
The birds in their skies and the fish in their rivers are our treasure. Guard them with clean air and clear water and gifts of needed food in season.
The companion animals in their homes, the livestock on their farms are our treasure. Guard them with nutrition and protection, and the touches and words of our love.
The creatures of their field-edges, gardens, hedgerows and woodlands are our treasure. Guard them with generous growing of their sustaining food and generous sharing of space and place in respect for their needs.
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you. Guard the nature in your care.
The earth trodden by our feet is our treasure. Guard it with enriching nutrients and cycles of work and replenishing rest.
The skies above our heads and the seas around our coasts are our treasure. Guard them by using restraint: cutting waste to keep poisonous fluids out of the waters, motoring less to keep poisonous gases out of the air, and switching down to save the stars from light pollution.
The flowers, plants and trees - wild and random, or nurtured and arranged, are our treasure. Guard them with our loving cultivation of all that makes them flourish.
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, says Paul to Timothy.
And Jesus said, Know your place on this earth: throw off your desire to dominate and control; act as servants of the soil, of the creatures and of humankind.
For humankind and the soil are profoundly related. We are intimately bound with the land. We are taken from the ground; our food is derived from it; we are commanded to till and to keep it; and like every other organism, we return to it. We are therefore to ‘keep’ it, not dominate it We are to guard and protect the ground. For when Genesis says we are to ‘till’ the earth, it uses a Hebrew word which means that we are the servant of the ground.” [1]
And if serving the ground seems too daunting a task to us then hear what Jesus says: do only what you ought to do on this earth. In other words, throw off your desire to fix every problem, to save every lost soul; accept the wonderful gifting that God has given you - with its limitations: be satisfied to act within it. The Spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline you are offered will help you to act within your perfect imperfection on this earth and to fulfil no more and no less than what you are meant to be in life.
Guard the good treasure entrusted to you.
Know your place on this earth: do only what you ought to do.
“And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another's will
And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life's creatures
And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth…” [2]
And then the age to come will dawn upon us,
the age to come which is beginning now,
and will become an age of grace, peace, and equitable love for all. [3]
Notes
[1] For more on serving the earth, see my The Famished Man and The Bloated Man: learning to serve at harvest time, 18 September 2022.
[2] Judy Chicago, Merger Poem. judychicago.com. In Geoffrey Duncan, ed, Dare to Dream: A Prayer and Worship Anthology From Around the World. p.113.
[3] See also my The Parable of the Prodigal Manager, 25 September 2022.
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