By Rev. Canon Lisa Wang
AS I WRITE THIS, the snow lies thick on the ground and the temperature outside is a frigid -9 C. Inside, however, we are busy counting seeds, poring over seed catalogs, doing math, and making plans.
In a few weeks (likely when you are reading this), it will be time to begin sprouting. A few more weeks after that, it will be time to begin planting.
There are many reasons why people garden, and many reasons why people don’t. I’m not here to tell you why you should. I’m just going to tell you why I do.
First of all, I like to eat. I like to eat well; and I like to eat healthily. That is, I like food that tastes good and is good for me. Eating healthily, however, is more than a matter of counting calories, cholesterol, and sodium.
Healthy food comes from creatures that have been well cared-for and have lived healthy lives in healthy soil. By growing my own food, I can opt out of the industrial food chain; its countless carbon miles and endless plastic packaging; its genetically-engineered, chemically-doused monocultures; its relentless poisoning of the earth and abuse of creatures for corporate gain. By growing my own food, I can eat things that are healthy and taste good (yes, they really do taste better!), and recognize and experience in them the goodness of God’s creation, in all its beauty and diversity.
Second, I would really like to become a better person. That is, I am seeking sanctification.
The Benedictine spiritual principle of ora et labora, prayer and work, reminds us that we are shaped by what we give our time and effort to, day in and day out. In gardening, I am shaped by work in which there is no such thing as success or failure. I am shaped by work which is, instead, a constant invitation to prayer, to what the ancient Christians called theoria physike: the contemplation of the Logos of God as revealed in the logoi of God’s creation.
Gardening allows me to give my attention to the Creator as I see, hear, taste, touch and smell the embodied thoughts of God that are God’s creatures.
Third and finally, there is the most important reason why I garden. I garden because I want to be part of what God is doing in the world. The industrial food chain cuts us off from God’s life-giving work in the world by objectifying and commodifying God’s creatures.
In contrast, gardening allows me to be an active participant in God’s creation, rather than a passive consumer of it. It allows me to be part of the mysterious process by which God breathes life into creatures, nurtures them, enables their growth and flourishing, and even shapes the earth itself. It allows me to proclaim the Good News that (as St Maximus the Confessor said) “the Logos of God (who is God) wills always and in all things to accomplish the mystery of His embodiment.”
Our diocesan plan Turning to Grace reminds us that part of being a Just Church is care for God’s creation, including care for those in need. Good News Gardens do both! All you need to do is: 1) Plant, 2) Pray, and 3) Proclaim. You can learn more at:
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/good-news-gardens/
Happy gardening!
Rev. Canon Dr. Lisa Wang is Developer for Catechumenal Ministries, Diocese of Huron.