Tilth

During the creation of a people of community by the God of Abraham, when the people lived a pastoral life fostering the spread of life in desert land, we would sight for stands of sage. This sage indicated a generative system rooting and spreading and enriching itself and its surroundings towards ever greater abundance, freely gifted in service of life. As shepherds we would distribute the sheep in our sheperdship among these little oasis, one or two here, four or five there at a larger island of life in the sun and sand, among many islands across miles of dune, visiting the sheep only as often as we were able. Over time through the neighbor making give and take enrichment between the various inhabitants of these pockets of life, more life of all types could be supported. We tended to creation as loving part, and life fluorished. From our modern context of this story, we may believe that we understand the concept of making, of effort and patience and (…?). But, that is not quite the fullness of it yet. The more inquisitive of these sheep, in their lifeful explorations, would often wander too far from their oasis and suffer damagingly, perhaps even die. So we sheperds, in our greater wisdom and power and in trust of ourselvess, our love, and the love of the creation of which we are a part … we would break a leg of these brightest sheep, hobbling it to the confines of its supporting ecosystem. We would do that, knowing that it would injure the sheep, and knowing that the sheep might hold it against us, might have a bit of hard feeling surrounding it, might even hold a grudge. Have you ever held a baby lamb? I did some growing up on a small farm in the south east Idaho desert and raised sheep. Aside from my daughter, I’ve hardly encountered a sweeter thing than a lamb. And when they are raised by hand with love they are like fuzzy little cloud puppies, pure lifeful joy embodied. It is agony to imagine hurting that, to perhaps bittering it against us, losing its love, .. viewing ourselves as able to do so, look ourselves and each other in the eyes having done so. There is a path there that leads into darkness, of salving our pain with explanations that we are superior, that the lamb is lesser and unsouled and thus our injury is insignificant, that the lamb was given to us for our use rather than our tending - the denial of the living loving nature of infinite existence, our own insignificant wisps included (ref story of neighbor HS science teacher, telling students he considers nothing sacred, humans vs other, or otherwise). Is not neighborhood the all of ecosystem? Is not all that is man brother, all that is woman sister, all that is child of god, all that is creation sacred?

Enfold, Cherish, Praise.