Agricultural Rich World / Poor World
Season of Creation Reflection #3 In this weekend’s Gospel reading, we hear the parable of the vineyard owner who employs different people at different times of the day. Some employees work the full day, others only half the day, but at the end of the day everyone gets paid the same salary. There are perhaps two ways we can connect this parable to our reflections on the Season of Creation. The first way is to examine our modern agricultural practices and their impact on the global food crisis. Today, we hear much about the plight of seasonal agricultural workers, the removal of land tenure rights and income inequality in our agricultural processes. Our modern agricultural processes have a large footprint both on the landscape, through monocropping (leading to habitat destruction) and factory-style animal husbandry (leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions). Our modern food production practices are leading to increasing biodiversity loss, the alienation of people from food sources and at the same time increasing global hunger. The second way we can look at this weekend’s Gospel is from the perspective of income inequality, both at home and further afield. The vineyard owner in the parable deliberately employs all those looking for work. In our world today, so many people have to work more than one job just to make ends meet, or worse struggle to find work at all. We often hear of situations where workers are working long hours, for little reward while profits go back to making corporations richer. This is often at the expense of the earth and the poor. We are so often told that the richest 10% of the world hold 85% of the world’s wealth, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world's total wealth. A recent survey showed that the world’s ten richest people doubled their wealth over the past two years, while 99% of others’ income dropped. The theme for Season of Creation 2023 is “Let justice and peace flow like a river”. One of the greatest injustices in our world is the global food crisis. The World Food Programme (WFT) estimates that 345 million people in 73 countries around the world are food insecure in 2023. And yet 17% of all food produced is dumped between harvest and retail. Pope Francis, in Laudato Si, calls us to engage in “big picture thinking”. Like the vineyard owner, we are called to work for the common good, to have a preferential option for the poor, to raise their voices and the voice of the earth, the vineyard. The owner of the vineyard pays everyone the same, regardless of their work. What would our society look like if everyone was raised up and empowered? The more we can provide meaningful work with a just wage for all, the more everyone will feel included and can be given the opportunity to flourish. In the first reading, the Israelites cry in hunger as they wander through the desert. Gid responds by sending them “manna from heaven”, reminding us that God has a plan to ensure our needs are met. May we always raise up the voices of the poor, who are bearing the brunt of the climate change and the global food crisis. May this weekend’s readings be a constant reminder that the Lord provides enough to satisfy all our needs and we have a responsibility to only consume our fair share. And finally, may we always be challenged to work and grow for the common good, to love God and our neighbour so that quality of life for all may improve.
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Forgive Us Our Debts In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus' teaching is very clear. We are called to forgive our neighbour's debts - not just seven times, but seventy seven times!
Often, we think this passage is about how many times we are called to forgive others. Yet on reflection, we can see the challenge is actually much deeper than mere numbers. We are being challenged to realise how blessed we are and invited to use our privilege and power to support, not oppress, all around us. We are invited to be like the Lord, who is described in the Psalm as "slow to anger and rich in mercy". In Matthew’s account of the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ parable about a king forgiving a debt – that is, the King uses his power to set someone free from what was oppressing them. Then we hear how the now-free-from-debt servant fails to offer the same freedom to another. This enrages the King, who condemns the man. His condemnation is not about the money though. Instead, the King expects that the privilege granted to his servant would have transformed his heart, and he is shocked that it hasn’t. The servant had had the experience but missed the meaning – the opportunity to grow and live in kindness. Instead, he chose to remain greedy. We see here the devastating impact of debt as the man cannot pay and all that he has must be sold, including himself and his wife and children. There is no doubt that Climate Change is throwing people into debt. In Africa, for example, developing nations are being forced to take out loans to repair infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals and homes in the wake of natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Each fresh disaster increases the debt of the country. On an individual level, families are struck by climate change related disaster such as floods or drought that makes them lose their harvest for the year. The only way to buy seed and other necessities is to take out loans. Survival becomes more and more difficult as you are servicing the loan and when another disaster strikes -the family is thrust into abject poverty. The theme of this year's Season of Creation is Let Justice and Peace Flow. We are called to recognise the impact of climate change, loss of life and livelihoods and damage to infrastructure and economies and to pay into a loss and damage fund. Loss and damage is and will continue to harm vulnerable communities the most, making addressing the issue a matter of climate justice. In his annual message, Pope Francis tells us that we can contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies. This week’s gospel, and this season of creation, is an invitation to transform our hearts. Rather than remaining trapped in fear and greed, our hearts should remain grateful for how privileged we are in the Developed World, and open to using that privilege for the good of others. The first reading today asks: “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” We ask our leaders, our churches, our neighbours and ourselves – Could anyone know the love of God and not recognise and respect God present in every living thing?" Harmony with God and Creation In the Gospel this weekend, we will listen to a passage from Matthew, chapter 18, which describes how the early Christian community were expected to live in harmony. It reminds us that we have a responsibility to one another and a duty to care for those in our society who are the most vulnerable.
This is an appropriate passage as we reflect on the Season of Creation. The theme this year is “Let Justice and Peace Flow”, and the emphasis is on the social injustices of climate change. In his message this year, Pope Francis laments that the “heartbeat of creation and the heartbeat of God” no longer beat in harmony, because they are not “harmonized in justice and peace.” Climate injustice is causing a series of detrimental social, economic and health impacts on some of the poorest, most vulnerable nations in our world. Pollution, exploitation and greed by the richest nations is leading to a climate catastrophe that the poorer nations have neither the economic or logistical capacity to deal with. There is great disharmony between rich and poor. There is great disharmony between humanity and creation. We are not living in harmony with our world, nor with our sisters and brothers who suffer the most at the hands of the climate crisis. Pope Francis calls the destruction of the planet an “ecological sin”. But during the Season of Creation, we are called to repent of our sin and make positive changes for the future of our world. We are presented with an opportunity to call others together and discern how we can protect God’s creation. At the end of this weekend’s Gospel, we are told “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” This is a reminder to us that we share a common home, but we are also not alone. God is right there with us in the midst of his creation. And we have a duty to take care of his wondrous creation – a duty to ourselves, our brothers and sisters, and to the Creator who lives among us. Let us pray, then, this weekend, that our eyes may be opened to our own ecological sin. By your grace, help us to make lifestyle choices that are selfless and sustainable, promote the care and safeguarding of our ecosystem. We pray that all in our world will be guaranteed access to the most basic of resources, and that this can be achieved through nations, political leaders, religious leaders, neighbours, brothers and sisters all working together in harmony for the greater good. Amen. |
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