Loving the Land and our Neighbor
Nathan Hershberger
We must all strive, as a community and as individuals, to live sustainably within our environment just as we strive to love our neighbors.
In loving our neighbors around the world, we have a moral imperative to fight human induced climate change. If we support the current system of energy consumption, we are complicit in the deaths of all affected by climate change. If the situation in Darfur has been aggravated or even caused by water shortage, (yes) and such shortages are linked to climate change, (yes) then we bear some responsibility for genocide. If our standard of living requires cheap and plentiful oil to fuel our every whim, we have encouraged conflict in the Middle East. Once we realize our actions contribute to death and suffering elsewhere, it is always morally reprehensible to live unchanged, no matter how little our contribution may seem, and no matter how few people around us act similarly.
Stewardship of our resources and a generous and compassionate spirit are the best ways to live sustainably. We must buy from organizations which share our vision. Fair Trade Coffee does not contribute to environmental degradation or perpetuate the oppression of poor coffee growers. We must use what we need, and ensure others the same opportunities we have. Two Mennonite cookbooks, More With Less and Simply, in Season, carry forth this ideal to the arena of eating habits and articulate quite well the ways in which we can practice healthy and ethical consumption of the world’s food. This ethic of stewardship and mindfulness of the needs of others must embrace all that we do, from showering to driving to eating. It must become an ethic firmly grounded in the life and teachings of Christ.
I am quite obviously imperfect. I am quite obviously a hypocrite. I do not claim otherwise. But I have been moved by experiences on this trip and others recently in my life. So I am making a commitment to living more ethically, most particularly now with a focus on a sustainable relationship with our environment. I will not completely succeed, of course, but I do commit to striving, as an individual, and member of the community, to be perfect, just as Christ was perfect.
The Breadbasket of the world: day 3 devotions
"There is as yet no ethic dealing with man's relation to land,and to the animals and plants which grow upon it." -Aldo Leopold.
Readings: Lev.25:1-7, Lk.12:16-21, Prov.4&5.
Wheat wheat everywhere! We are in the breadbasket of the world. Its hard to understand why there are hungry people in the world when we're surrounded by all this potential bread. How much of this grain will become bread and cereal, and how much will feed more cows, pigs, and chickens for the wealthier people of the world? How much water does it take to raise a bushel of wheat? How much oil? What impact will the search for alternative fuels have on which crops are raised here in the near future. Will this future bread become future fuel crops?
Journal suggestions: Do you agree with Aldo Leopold's words above, or does Leviticus 25 contain the beginnings of a land ethic? Proverbs 4&5 are all about ethics in the human community. Are there principles in these chapters for how to expand ethics to the community that includes plants and animals? What would a sabbath rest for the land look in our time and place?
Down the Colorado River! Days 5 & 6
"We of the genus Homo ride the logs that float down the Round River, and by a little judicious 'burling' we have learned to guide their speed and direction." -Aldo Leopold.
Devotional readings for today mention rivers: Isaiah 43:1-3a, Revelation 22:1-2, Proverbs 7.
Mountains inspire awe, but rivers can inspire fear. Will we be fearful as we raft the rapids of the Colorado? A day or two on the river can also change the way one feels about themselves, God, and the world. Is "river time" more like the way we were meant to live? Does being on the river connect us more deeply to the flow of life?
Journal suggestions: Genesis 2:10-14 is not on the reading list for today, but it could be! From the very beginning we humans have sensed the physical AND spiritual significance of water. What do you appreciate most about this river experience we're having? What does water symbolize most profoundly for you? Where and how did you see God on the river?
The heavens are telling...the earth declares...
The sun rose over Jacob as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. —Gen.31:32
Readings:
1. Genesis 1:20-26, 2:7,15
2. Psalm 19:1-4
3. Mt.6:28-30
4. Proverbs chapter 3.
Reflections:
Ah that thin layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains! God has designed it! All for us, so we can exist and thrive and even enjoy beauty? Well, maybe God had other reasons too. Look closely at the Genesis story. Is the rest of creation put here for us? Or are we put here for it?! Aren’t we awfully quick to think we’re God’s crowning achievement, the center of his masterpiece? Do the Cahokia mounds bear witness that the rest of creation was around before us, and may well be around after us if we can’t figure out what our place in the picture is!
One of the big reasons God designed it all is to display His splendor, beauty, wisdom. This universe is an awesome place because it reveals an awesome God. Want to live long and enjoy life? Learn to revere, be in awe, be amazed by what creation shows of God.
Journal Jottings:
1. We watched the sun rise over us as we sat on the mounds and thought about the disappearance of a civilization. God is in control, not us. But what role do we have? What does it mean that we are to govern, work, take care of “the garden” of God?
2. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…be not wise in your own eyes, but revere the Lord.” What did Solomon know that we don’t? How can we learn it?
3. Where did you encounter God’s splendor, beauty, wisdom today, or in the past?
Readings: (A few nuggets, and then a chunk of Solomonic wisdom)
1. Genesis 12:1
2. Ruth 1:16-18
3. Mt. 25:14
4. Proverbs chapters 1 and 2
Reflections (My random thoughts, anticipating each day)
We have begun the journey! Harrisonburg is behind us and the unknown lies ahead. Oh, we know the plans we have, the places we’ll see. Some of us have been to some of these places before. But we haven’t seen them with THIS group of people for THESE reasons. Who knows what we’ll learn, who we’ll meet, what experiences we’ll have on this journey! As we journey across this land, learning of it and searching for ways to live ethically on it, we will also journey into each others’ lives, learning of our personalities and searching for ways to live ethically with each other. Journey is a metaphor for life and a metaphor for faith. All through the Bible God’s people journey, and they discover that God is with them wherever they go.
Journal Jottings: (my suggestions – you don’t HAVE to use them)
1. The first three verses above are brief references to people journeying. Can you
think of someone else in the Bible who went on a journey? Why did they travel? Where did they go? What did they learn? Try comparing our journey, barely begun, with one of those.
2. You are traveling with 37 other people. Name one whom you are glad is along on this journey and say why. Name another whom you hope to learn to know better on this journey and say why.
3. Proverbs 1 and 2 also start us on our journey through the wise sayings of Solomon and others. Journal about something in these first two chapters that strikes you as important.
Last night we camped at Wilson State Park. We were fortunate enough to find some showers at camp, which many of us took advantage of. Our breakfast of eggs and sausage was cut short by rain, so we quickly packed up and loaded up and made the long drive to Goodland, Kansas, where we met with Ron Schilling, a local farmer. He showed us one of the last wheat fields to be harvested in the area, where he explained how the grain is harvested. We then all climbed on top of the combine, which happened to be the largest one on the market. After that we went to a massive grain elevator, capable of holding 2.6 million tons of grain, corn, what have you. We were shown some of the inner workings of the elevator. Next we climbed aboard the bus and had a question and answer time with some of the local farmers, bouncing some of the Land Institutes ideas off them and questioning the sustainability of the farming methods. The farmers feel that their continuing technological advances will take allow for the necessary conservation of soil and the aquifer as time progresses, saying that as farmers their involvement with the land makes them the best stewards of the land, noting that this is their livelihood after all. Mr. Schilling emphasized that increases in the price of grain do not necessarily mean major increases in price of food, due to the farmers’ small share in the food (which is one dime per loaf of bread). When then drove to Boulder, Colorado, where we were given some time to explore the city. Interesting enough James, Vincent, Nels, Matt Layman and Lars asked a passerby what he thought of the words “land ethic” and he immediately mentioned Aldo Leopold. We then went to Boulder Mennonite Church where we ate pizza and talked to two members of the church, Bruce Fast and Phil Metzler, about what Boulder Mennonite was doing green and what other churches might do. That night most of us gathered around a piano and sang hymns, then had a devotional, journalled, and went to bed.