WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Our second reading this morning comes from Genesis 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.540 chapter 2, beginning with verse 15, and I invite 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:09.400 you to hear God's word for you. The Lord God 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.240 took the man and put him in the garden of Eden 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:16.140 to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:20.000 the man, You may eat freely of every tree of 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.539 the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:26.320 of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:30.640 day that you eat of it you shall die. Then the 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:33.679 Lord God said, It is not good for the man to 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:37.280 be alone. I will make him a helper as his partner. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.359 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:44.259 animal of the field and every bird of the air 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:47.079 and brought them to the man to see what he could 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.240 call them. And whatever the man called each living 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.420 creature, that was its name. The man gave names 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.780 to all the cattle and to the birds of the air 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:00.759 and to every animal of the field. But for the 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.460 man there was not found a helper as his partner. 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:08.000 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.239 the man, and he slept. Then God took one of his 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.319 ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.299 the rib that the Lord God had taken from the 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:21.579 man, God made into a woman and brought her to 00:01:21.579 --> 00:01:26.920 the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:31.459 of my bone and flesh of my flesh. This one shall 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:35.000 be called woman, for out of the man this one 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:38.980 was taken. Therefore a man leaves his father 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:42.200 and his mother and clings to his wife, and they 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:51.239 become one flesh. This is the word of God. I 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:53.459 had a lot of fun talking with Blake about a children's 00:01:53.459 --> 00:01:55.719 message this morning because it's so enjoyable 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:59.799 to think about produce this time of year. But 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:03.180 anytime I walk into the produce department of 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.719 a grocery store, I get a kick. No doubt you've 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.659 had a similar experience. You walk toward the 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:13.240 produce department and you see at least one adult 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:18.210 smelling the fruit. Here's the scene. There's 00:02:18.210 --> 00:02:21.169 a carefully stacked pile of cantaloupes, peaches, 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:24.430 watermelon, maybe some clam shells of strawberries 00:02:24.430 --> 00:02:29.050 or possibly a pile of beefsteak tomatoes. We 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:32.650 walk over to that pile of fruit or two. We pick 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:36.270 something up and we smell it. We want to know 00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:40.409 if it's fresh. We want to determine how ripe 00:02:40.409 --> 00:02:44.229 it is. We smell each piece like once upon a time 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:48.039 someone told us to. We thump. the size of the 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.060 melon again, like someone taught us to do a long, 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.960 long time ago. Then, depending on the type of 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:58.939 produce, we might shake it. That goes for coconuts 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:04.319 for sure, sometimes melon. Finally, we turn that 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.159 fruit around and examine it for one last time 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.780 to see if there are any spots or any bruises, 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.199 and then we choose whether or not... to buy that 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.479 piece of fruit that we've just smelled and had 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.039 all over ourselves. Please remember to wash your 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.840 fruit when you get it home. Once home, we put 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.000 the peaches or maybe the strawberries in paper 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.280 bags and we sit them on a counter. We place the 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:29.860 tomatoes on our windowsill over the sink until 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:33.300 they reach the right color. We leave avocados 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:36.280 on our table, maybe outside if we want them to 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:40.159 soften even more quickly. Several days later, 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.240 we find ourselves at the kitchen counter staring 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:49.280 at the melon we've sliced half through. In spite 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.699 of our diligence, the thickness of the rind and 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:55.599 the now -revealed pale flesh tell us that not 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.680 only was the melon or tomato or peach picked 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:03.039 way too early, which we knew, it still hadn't 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:08.370 ripened since we bought it. Dang it. In moving 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:11.030 to Florida, I assumed that I would never again 00:04:11.030 --> 00:04:15.090 have to eat a hard -as -a -rock, styrofoam -textured, 00:04:15.129 --> 00:04:20.069 flavorless cardboard cantaloupe. I assumed that 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:22.829 in the nation's produce capital, that I would 00:04:22.829 --> 00:04:25.329 be delivered fresh, in -season fruit like I'd 00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:31.529 never tasted before. So imagine my grief in discovering 00:04:31.529 --> 00:04:35.750 that our grocery stores are stocked with melons 00:04:35.750 --> 00:04:39.930 from the Honduras, tomatoes from Mexico, figs 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:43.649 from Turkey, and oranges. Yes, those oranges 00:04:43.649 --> 00:04:46.610 that make a Florida license plate stand out on 00:04:46.610 --> 00:04:52.689 the highway from California. In May, beneath 00:04:52.689 --> 00:04:58.250 the sign that says, locally grown. I suppose 00:04:58.250 --> 00:05:02.430 it's no wonder the development along A1A is noteworthy. 00:05:03.209 --> 00:05:06.009 Flo Ann told me not too long ago that there was 00:05:06.009 --> 00:05:09.129 nothing at all on the west side of the road from 00:05:09.129 --> 00:05:11.230 the gas station near the fish market clear down 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:14.170 to Winn -Dixie before the church was built. It 00:05:14.170 --> 00:05:16.290 was pretty much a straight shot, she said, from 00:05:16.290 --> 00:05:21.069 Palms to St. Augustine. In the four years since 00:05:21.069 --> 00:05:24.230 Joe and I have had a home here, we've also watched 00:05:24.230 --> 00:05:28.069 construction along A1A and Ponte Vedra Boulevard 00:05:28.069 --> 00:05:34.560 and Roscoe Road. dotted with tropical trees, 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:38.279 have given way to bulldozers, piles of sand, 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:42.639 concrete blocks, and stacks of lumber. As you've 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.120 seen for yourselves, there are now dozens of 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:50.139 stunning new homes along every stretch of previously 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:55.300 undeveloped land. Is this what God had in mind 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:58.579 when God told us to till the land and keep it? 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:04.279 I'm leaning toward no. In today's reading from 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:08.040 Genesis, we are told that God created the earth, 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:12.220 placed humans in the garden, and commanded us 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:15.899 to till and keep it. Till and keep can also be 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.699 understood as cultivate and cared for. It's a 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:21.959 reminder that our role in creation is not one 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:27.279 of dominance, but of nurturing, of care, of stewardship. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:31.879 But this commandment isn't merely about agricultural 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:35.259 work. It's about our relationship with the land, 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:39.439 our stewardship of God's creation, our stewardship 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.680 of the very same land that we're called to tend 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:46.139 that we now take for granted, depleting it for 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:49.879 profit and growth at the cost of ecological balance. 00:06:51.220 --> 00:06:56.069 Well, back to my family. My family... bereft 00:06:56.069 --> 00:06:58.230 by the depleting state of Florida's agricultural 00:06:58.230 --> 00:07:01.370 footprint, began its counterattack just a few 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:05.649 months ago. Joe built a hydroponic produce tower 00:07:05.649 --> 00:07:08.250 and dutifully stocked it with plants he started 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:11.569 in a countertop seed pod device that takes up 00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:16.670 way too much room. In his defense, he's also 00:07:16.670 --> 00:07:20.500 provided us with... a lot of basil, and more 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:23.220 recently, some coleus that I transplanted into 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:25.860 an outdoor container garden just before Easter. 00:07:27.180 --> 00:07:30.399 With God's guidance and much to my delight, Joe 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.839 gave me a nuc of bees that arrived just a few 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:36.240 weeks ago. Home -harvested honey once again. 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:40.860 Now, we're surfing Amazon Marketplace for Facebook 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:44.769 Marketplace, you know better. Facebook marketplace 00:07:44.769 --> 00:07:47.970 for someone legit and local to supply us with 00:07:47.970 --> 00:07:50.370 some raised beds that we don't have to build. 00:07:51.550 --> 00:07:54.110 Not out of laziness, there are just only so many 00:07:54.110 --> 00:07:59.769 hours in the day. But then, this happened. A 00:07:59.769 --> 00:08:02.269 few weeks ago, I was driving across Solana Road 00:08:02.269 --> 00:08:05.829 toward Nocatee. My eye was drawn to something 00:08:05.829 --> 00:08:09.149 that I just hadn't noticed before, having been 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:11.750 easily distracted by all of the beautiful new 00:08:11.750 --> 00:08:16.899 construction. it was an arresting sight. There, 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:21.360 amidst the neatly fenced yards and just a few 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.139 remaining parcels of native palms, there was 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:28.060 a setback stretch that's home to what appeared 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:34.200 to be a very large organic garden. If you're 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:36.279 driving down Roscoe and look just to the left, 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:39.639 just beyond Canal, if you crane your neck not 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:44.000 too uncomfortably, you too will see raised wooden 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.320 beds of enormous collards and kale left over 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:51.720 from last year, fluffy, fluffy stalks of fennel 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:54.620 or maybe asparagus, again, left over from last 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:56.360 year. They haven't quite gotten to it all yet. 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:01.399 Large leaves of wild ginger heaving toward the 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:07.200 heavens. After a bold drive down their long entryway 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:11.059 lined with gardens, I was met with a warm -hearted 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.799 ambassador who showed me that their work continued 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.600 behind the very large house in the middle of 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:21.259 the property. There were chickens and pigs and 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:24.779 goats. I think there might have been a donkey, 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.580 but I might have been projecting that for my 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:33.059 love of donkeys. I was floored. He told me that 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:36.480 this is the peace of heart community farm. Their 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:39.100 mission is to provide people of all abilities 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:42.600 the experience and benefits of farming and gardening 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:46.240 and community interaction. On Friday mornings, 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:50.399 it's host to a farmer's market. A few days later, 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.240 on a Friday, I returned to meet beekeepers, bread 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.500 makers, leather tanners, garden growers, pesto 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:01.629 makers, chicken farmers. What? a delight to my 00:10:01.629 --> 00:10:06.750 senses. A large, open -sided farm of freshness. 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:10.769 The gardeners from Bee Pollen Farms offered me 00:10:10.769 --> 00:10:14.690 a taste of the most delicious cantaloupe I had 00:10:14.690 --> 00:10:18.710 ever eaten. The young woman at the cantaloupe 00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:21.110 booth not only sold me a piece of fruit, but 00:10:21.110 --> 00:10:24.529 she told me her story. She told me about the 00:10:24.529 --> 00:10:27.370 storms. She told me about the droughts and what 00:10:27.370 --> 00:10:30.279 that did to their farm. She told me about her 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.960 early mornings on the farm. She shared with me 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:39.580 her joy. She taught me that buying local or buying 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:43.799 produce from small farmers was as convenient. 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:48.000 It was clear from our conversation, if it wasn't 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.299 clear to me before, that supporting local farms 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:55.620 helps us to care for God's creation responsibly. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.759 In the process, this gardener explained something 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:04.080 so ridiculous that I felt like it should have 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:05.940 been part of our prayer of confession this morning. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:11.899 Those California oranges beneath the locally 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:17.259 grown sign at Winn -Dixie, she informed me that 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:22.299 those oranges actually were most likely grown 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:27.600 in Florida. Then why the... Made in Florida, 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:30.539 excuse me, made in California citrus bag, you 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:35.620 might ask. Well, that's due to a convoluted financial 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:38.740 arrangement between states that results in truck 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:42.080 -ripened citrus being delivered to our disappointed 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:46.220 tables. Florida oranges picked way too early 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:50.100 are sent to California, while California oranges, 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:53.700 also picked way too early, are sent to Florida. 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:58.629 It's been verified. Florida produce travels 2 00:11:58.629 --> 00:12:02.649 ,750 miles to get to the other side of the country, 00:12:02.789 --> 00:12:05.610 crossing paths with California oranges on their 00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:08.970 way here, adding to the carbon footprint of all 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:11.509 of those containers of pineapple from South America, 00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:14.350 cantaloupe from Honduras, tomatoes from Mexico, 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:17.370 and avocados from Guam or Colombia, depending 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:21.830 on where you shop. All so you and I can have 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:25.710 the types of produce we want, when we want it, 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:29.570 at a price we feel like we want to pay, regardless 00:12:29.570 --> 00:12:36.029 of the ultimate cost. Indeed, I'm pretty sure 00:12:36.029 --> 00:12:40.350 when humankind was created amidst fields and 00:12:40.350 --> 00:12:45.210 fields of food, God did not have this in mind. 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:50.690 The global food system, even our domestic food 00:12:50.690 --> 00:12:54.100 system as it currently functions, is extraordinarily 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:59.179 resource -intensive. Fruits are flown thousands 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:03.120 of miles out of season. Livestock are raised 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:07.059 in ways that drain water, degrade soil, and pollute 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:11.700 our air. Ships burning fossil fuels carry staple 00:13:11.700 --> 00:13:14.500 products from all over the world, often from 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:17.600 places of food insecurity to places of abundance, 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:22.179 like here in the United States. None of this 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:26.320 is inherently sinful, but it becomes spiritually 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.700 problematic when it dulls our awareness of the 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:33.919 Earth's ability and our neighbors' needs. In 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.299 a world of climate change, shrinking biodiversity, 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:41.580 and environmental degradation, the way we eat 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:47.379 is a deeply moral issue. Yet buying food is something 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:51.049 we all have to do. and every meal connects us 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:55.289 to labor, land, and choices. So I've come to 00:13:55.289 --> 00:13:59.110 the conclusion that buying local foods when and 00:13:59.110 --> 00:14:04.370 where we can is one small way you and I can reduce 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:07.950 the negative impact we create with our convenience 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:13.230 culture. The bonus? You will never have to eat 00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:16.970 a flavorless cardboard cantaloupe ever again. 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:25.379 More seriously, it's just one but great way to 00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:28.940 make space for justice, justice for the land, 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:33.679 and justice for the people who tend it. It's 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.960 also one more way we can express our faith in 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.220 our Creator who provides for each one of us in 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:47.659 God's time and in God's way. So go. Go to a farmer's 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:53.610 market this week. Enjoy local goodness. Cultivate 00:14:53.610 --> 00:14:58.769 relationships being planted there. Learn one 00:14:58.769 --> 00:15:03.149 farmer's story. When the opportunity arises, 00:15:03.649 --> 00:15:06.289 participate in a community garden and empower 00:15:06.289 --> 00:15:09.250 someone who's never had the chance to experience 00:15:09.250 --> 00:15:13.549 the joy of growing even one small patch of lettuce. 00:15:14.889 --> 00:15:20.059 Taste and see. what the earth is offering in 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:25.720 its good season. Let your daily bread, your cantaloupes 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.919 and tomatoes, your honey and your herbs be more 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:35.039 than nourishment. Let them be your prayer. Let 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.659 them be your protest. Let them be your praise. 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:44.389 And when you do... when you lift a ripe peach 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:46.970 to your nose, when you shake a melon in your 00:15:46.970 --> 00:15:50.470 hand, when you thump its sides like someone once 00:15:50.470 --> 00:15:56.149 showed you. May it not be simply about testing 00:15:56.149 --> 00:16:01.509 fruit. May it be about remembering Eden. May 00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:05.570 it be about honoring creation. May it be about 00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:08.669 living in such a way that our smallest choices 00:16:08.669 --> 00:16:13.710 reflect the love of a very big God. Because the 00:16:13.710 --> 00:16:18.049 garden was never just a place. The garden is 00:16:18.049 --> 00:16:22.389 a calling. And we were never just consumers. 00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:29.360 We are stewards. We are cultivators. We are co 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:32.700 -creators with the one who made every tree, every 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:37.659 fruit, every field. When God took humankind and 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:41.120 put us in this garden of God's making to till 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.720 it and keep it, God gave us the ongoing opportunity 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:49.679 for faithful living, to participate in a holy 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:53.240 rhythm, a sacred dance of seed time and harvest, 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:59.490 work and rest, justice and joy. all rooted in 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:06.930 the love of God. Let us pray. Gracious God, who 00:17:06.930 --> 00:17:10.170 planted us in this good earth and calls us to 00:17:10.170 --> 00:17:13.930 tend it with care and love, continue to open 00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:16.369 our eyes to the spiritual blessing of eating 00:17:16.369 --> 00:17:19.650 the fruits of local labor. Bless the hands that 00:17:19.650 --> 00:17:23.289 grow, harvest, and prepare our food. Help us 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:25.650 make choices that honor your creation and lift 00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:29.190 up our neighbors. Help us to trust in your provision, 00:17:29.430 --> 00:17:32.390 striving to be a patient community of Christians. 00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:37.029 Root us deeply in gratitude and generosity that 00:17:37.029 --> 00:17:40.730 every meal may become a feast of justice, kindness, 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:44.269 and humble fellowship with you. Amen.