Farm Update

I’m not gonna lie anymore. Nothing is weekly or regular on this blog at the moment. I won’t pretend until that becomes a reality. Life is settling down some so that may come soon. I recently put together a plan for my internship which includes journaling via blogging twice a week. So the plan is to post one Food in the Bible and one Farm Update post each week. These will be cross posted at the WHRI blog.

The number one topic of conversation these days on the farm is the heat. Texas can be brutal and this summer is turning out to be a scorcher. We’ve had mostly 100+ days for the past 2-3 weeks. We’re scrambling to find extra shade and relief for all the plants and animals… not to mention ourselves. I grew up in Texas and in the past I would have been primarily concerned about keeping myself out of the heat and comfortable. At the farm we have to set aside our own comfort for the good of the whole system, plants, animals and soil.

It was a blessed morning this past Tuesday when I went to feed the chickens… in the rain. A cold front brought us a break with highs only in the 90s. Rain is usually an opportunity to hole up inside with a good book or movie and be lazy. At the farm it was a good day to be outside and enjoy a refreshing shower. I appreciate so much more the life and refreshment that the rain brings.

That morning I also remember praying and thanking God also that the rain is a reminder of our common humanity since it falls on the just and unjust alike. Now the sun gives us the same reminder as it beats down on us. This also a reminder that although God sends rain and sun equally to everyone, we have made sure that such equality does not continue. The homeless, poor and elderly are beaten down by the dangerous Texas heat while the wealthy relax in their air conditioning. Part of getting back to God’s intention may be suffering in the heat more as we also try to help those who have no choice.

Some recent highlights:

• On our field trip to Stephenville we visited Tarleton Agriculture Center and Veldhuizen Texas Farmstead Cheese, and learned tons from both. Unfortunately we didn’t make it in time to get a tour and samples from Wiseman House Chocolates.
• Urban Gardening Benefit Dinner w/ Angela Medearis was a big success. (We’re still enjoying the leftovers)
• Matt Hess returned from a consulting trip to Malawi (report coming soon hopefully).
• David Cole is in Haiti and will also hopefully have a report for us as well.
• A farm contingent made their way to Bushnell, IL for the annual Cornerstone Festival put on by JPUSA. They should be back tomorrow.
• Finally we will be at the New Baptist Covenant Regional Meeting in Oklahoma August 6-7. Mark your calendar you Baptist types!

Food in the Bible: Matthew 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ 15And Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.’

I’ve reflected some on this passage in my posts on fasting and feasting (Part one and two). What continues to puzzle me is the two metaphors at the end about patches and wineskins. I’ve had it explained a million different ways and used the metaphor myself many times. However, when I stop long enough to think about it and read the text, I get confused again. Jesus continually connects himself to the past, the tradition of the Hebrew people, but also reinterprets this tradition in radical ways (The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7 being the best example).

Here the question concerns fasting and feasting again. When is the proper time for each? Committed Jews would have practiced fasting as a part of their ongoing religious devotional life, at least the Pharisees thought they should. Jesus’ disciples don’t fit into these ways of thinking about religious practice. Jesus is clarifying (although 2000+ years later is it clearer?) this problem.

The bridegroom is present so it’s feast time. When the bridegroom leaves it will be time for fasting. Then Jesus shifts gears and loses me. Apparently the writer (and Jesus) see these things as connected. You don’t want to put unshrunk patches on old clothes or new wine in old wineskins. Both things cause greater damage to the old thing.

This passage is often used to bolster any and every change that someone wants to make in the church. It is said that Jesus is against tradition. God wants to do a NEW thing, right? True, but I don’t see where Jesus condemns the old cloak or old wineskins for being old here. The problem is only that they don’t work with the new patch or wine. If nothing else Jesus is asking the Pharisees to rethink their understanding of religious practice and its meaning. In light of Jesus all these good things the Pharisees practice will require new vessels to contain them.

We are at a similar place now where we need some new vessels to contain the trans-local gospel. Likewise our food system cannot support local and sustainable systems as it is currently configured. Reinterpretation, redemption and resurrection require significant change and transformation. But we should be careful not to burn down the house before we get there.

If that makes any sense can I get a comment? The heat may be getting to me.

The Cross Cultural Real World

No, I’m not pitching some twisted new reality show. This is real life. And as usual real life is messier than theory. I found this out recently when I experienced a real life collision of cultural forces. I don’t want to go into all the details really. It could happen anywhere in any number of permutations. All that’s required is more than one culture, some assumptions and prejudices and a little dispensational archaeology for the fireworks.

Here’s what I learned… so far. When engaging cross-culturally we do not check our cultures, prejudices and assumptions at the door. We carry them with us always. The fatal flaw is thinking that we have somehow moved beyond this and now engage the world from a trans-cultural perspective. We must humble enough to ask what cultural assumptions shade our interpretation of events and conversations. A good rule is to ask more questions than you make statements. (Still trying to live that one out)

It’s okay to make claims and state opinions as long as we hold them tentatively and are open (really open) to hearing other perspectives. As a seminary graduate I now have the burden of letters after my name (which I have yet to use) that often give more weight to what I say. I find this an unfortunate state of affairs, but it seems to be the case. I was very upset last week when a cross-cultural discussion about faith resulted in the non-degreed believer putting down her own faith because she did not have my training. That is the point at which I know I failed. (This is not only a cross-cultural problem, but perhaps is highlighted in those encounters.)

How can I both encourage people without theological training and also share my knowledge without creating a spiritual hierarchy of authority with myself higher up on the totem pole?

This is a vexing question. One that has nice answers in a classroom, but gets really messy in relationship with real people. One idea is for me to shut up more. Which I will begin practicing… now.

Food in the Bible: Matthew 8:28-9:1

When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.

So, usually when reading the Bible we like to put someone in the hero and someone in the villain role. Things are much simpler that way. I’m sure this comes from our literary tradition. This is probably not a good way to read the Bible. The Hebrew and Jewish writers wrote many (if not mostly) ambiguous characters… at times even Jesus falls into this gray area. This story is one such example.

Certainly this story places Jesus in authority over the demons and nature as he drives out spirits and sends them into a herd of swine. Yet, in this version of the story we don’t know how the demoniacs feel about their healing. It is clear how the locals feel about it however. This is not a Jewish town. These are Gentiles. The herd of swine was likely a source of sustenance and possibly income for at least one person and perhaps a larger component of the local economy. Jesus’ miracle has destroyed the lives of people in this village and they are driving him out of town.

What does this mean? Is it just that you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet? Certainly our best intentions bring about less than perfect results. Niebuhr reminds us that there is a dark side to all of our good deeds. But Jesus? Really?

I say yes. Jesus’ actions while never motivated by self interest probably had secondary and/or unintended consequences that may have been misunderstood or even harmful in some way. I first considered this possibility while listening to Anee Rice’s latest book The Road to Cana.

What does that mean for us and our best efforts? It seems like a good time to give up if even Jesus might have unintentionally hurt people. On the flipside I think it simply forces us to recognize the limits of our own efforts within the boundaries of human community. This is part of the mess we live in and even Jesus had to live and work with that reality.

There are many who will decry the unintended consequences of the slow food or locavore movement. They will question the outcomes and eventually in doing so will throw the baby out with their industrial bath water. Despite the ever present shortcomings, we should press on toward a more sustainable future. It seems to me that is precisely what Jesus was doing.

Twice Weekly Farm Update

We’ve now been here for five weeks (when will I stop counting?) and it’s hard to remember life before the farm. This place fits us very well. Here’s a few tidbits to update you on life and work at World Hunger Relief (now on twitter. okay, it’s me twittering, but still).

• My goat milking skills have vastly improved. It may be my singing soft rock love songs to them that does the trick. Whatever works.
• I’ve settled into my current role in charge of our local education outreach (tour groups, service learning + other office-like nonsense).
• I’m currently absorbing “Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry” since I am somewhat in charge of our flock of laying hens.
• Re: above My skills at catching chickens is something to behold. I may have found my calling.
• I’m working with some other interns on a graywater reuse system for our dormitory and getting the farm’s well and septic system up to code so we can get off that chemically enhanced city water.
• May be attending the American Community Gardening Conference in Columbus, OH
• Still looking for a job…

That’s the short of it.