Discipleship of Farming – Faith, Family, Farm (Part IV)

Sermon Title: Discipleship of Farming – Faith, Family, Farm.

Good News Statement: God needs us to be a family farm

Preached: Sunday, October 29^th, 2023, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Exodus 10:12 – Today’s Scripture reading comes from the Book of Exodus. After fleeing the bondage of Pharaoh, witnessing the ten plagues brought upon the Egyptians, and being exposed to the wilderness, Moses, to further engrain the Ten Commandments, reiterates that the people are to honor their father and mother so that the land given to them by the LORD will be a place to experience many days. Our reading comes from the Book of Exodus, Chapter Twenty, Verse Twelve. May the hearing, reading, and understanding of the word add a blessing to your life.

 

Exodus 20:12

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Psalm 133:1

¹ How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!

Ephesians 6:4

⁴ And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Acts 10:2

² He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

“You live a wonderful life. A life that embraces the nature and beauty of God.” These are the opening words of Angela Britt, of Marion County, who wrote an article for the October Issue of Farm Week. She goes on to say, “You will have so many blessings as you experience the different seasons of farming. The days are long, and the tension may be tight, but the joy is beyond measure. The sounds of the farm—the roaring combine, the crop as it exits the truck and enters the bin at the family farm site, the singing cicadas in the tree or the rustling of the corn stalks in the nearby field—all are part of that joy. The captivating sunrises and sunsets all remind me of the beginnings and the ends of each new season of farming.”[i]

Angela’s article, titled “Dear Farm Wife,” encapsulates the role of the wife on the farm; but more importantly, it highlights the importance of family, and how a farm is more than land and crops, it’s a family’s heritage and future. Specifically, as was stated by an anonymous person, “The Family Farm is more than a business—the Family Farm is a lifestyle—it is an ideal worth preserving.”

Growing up in the Midwest, hearing about family farms is not new to me: there was one a few miles from where I grew up. However, moving to Oblong, the family farm became more than something I heard about: it became something that I saw lived day-in and day-out. Seeing the family farm taught me that farming is truly more than what is planted and harvested in the field—it’s not just a business. The family farm is composed of long days, joys, and seasons, but it is also composed of creating a lasting legacy and preserving a heritage that resembles a lifestyle worth passing down from generation to generation. The family farm is where the entire family works together, plays together, and makes a life together.

Today, we close our sermon series, The Discipleship of Farming, by simply reminding ourselves that to be a farmer of and for Christ requires that we all work together as a family. As a family of God, we must all come together to do what God needs us to do: to cultivate, to create furrows, to plant the seed, to fertilize the seed, to watch the seed grow, and finally to harvest the seed. If we aren’t willing to work as a family, then God’s farm won’t be able to produce a bountiful harvest. Essentially, our last topic focuses on family. God needs us to be a farming family.

Body:

Over the past few weeks, we have been utilizing different aspects of farming to help us think about our faith and the work that God is calling us to do. First, each one of us is a farmer. We are called to “go”—out in the field, God’s mission work. We are called to allow our moments of “woe”—tearfulness and weariness—to be springboards to keep moving forward when the seed doesn’t take or when life gets busy or even when we face and encounter struggles. We are called to sow the seed, the Word of God, to plant the seed and not just carry it in our pockets. And lastly we are called to know, trust God, that there is as much joy in a single crop as there is in a bountiful harvest. We are farmers of and for Christ—willing to put in the hard work and long hours to get the job done.

Second, we examined an ear of corn. Just like an ear of corn, we have been given a purpose that fulfills the mission of Jesus Christ here on earth. God has created us to do His work in such a way that helps others, sees the needs of those around us, and to administer goodness to all people through the gifts, talents, and ideas that He has given us. Additionally, an ear of corn teaches us that we have to take time to hear the corn growing: we have to listen to our faith. We must slow down once in a while and listen to the corn growing if we want to be the disciple that God needs us to be, if we want to be the church Christ needs us to be, if we want to be the best version of ourselves for those in our life. From an ear of corn we are reminded of our God given purposes and our faith that is always seeking to grow.

And third, we focused on how tractors encourage us to think about the power of the Holy Spirit that is within us. The Holy Spirit is “God’s indwelling presence in our life” that grants us the power and strength to get the job done. Remember what Blippi taught us, “Tractors, oh tractors, they are so much fun. Tractors, oh tractors they get the job done.” Tractors have the power to help us do what we can’t do on our own while we work on the farm. The Holy Spirit has the power to help us do what we can’t do on our own when it comes to doing the work of Christ. We need the power of the Holy Spirit because without it, we can’t fully do what Christ needs us to do, we can’t get the job done.

Now, today, we focus on the family of farming. How many of you became a farmer because that is what your parents did or because that is what your grandparents did? How many of you have many generations of farming in your family? How many of you helped on the family farm as a child? How many of you are still farming on the land that your parents or grandparents or even great-grandparents farmed? How many of you are praying that the next generation will pick up where you left off and keep the family farm going? It is evident that farming is not just an individual thing: it is a family thing—and your family may include persons that are not directly related to you.

The word family is one of the most loosely defined terms in the English language; because it means something different to everyone. While one person may define family as the relatives who share their home, another may consider family to include extended relatives residing near and far. Still, someone else views their beloved circle of friends or their pets as family. Families are vastly different, but they all function under one single premise: shared love and commitment.

The dictionary defines family in several ways. One definition is “a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” Another definition is “Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another and commonly reside in the same dwelling.” Although these definitions provide an understanding of family, family is something that can only be defined by you. Therefore, rather than simply defining family by a dictionary definition, each individual should look to define a family by their own standards. You can have several families in your lifetime, even several families at once if you choose. Regardless of how you define your family unit, whether traditional or unique, your definition of the family unit is what works for you. As the saying goes, “Family is what you make it.” Whether made up of blood relatives, friends, pets, or a combination of these, your family can offer you the support you need to thrive. Specifically, it can offer you love and commitment.

When it comes to family in the Bible, there are several families that come to mind: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus; Elizabeth, Zachariah, and John the Baptist; David, Bathsheba, and their son Nathan; Adam, Eve, and their three sons Cain, Abel, and Seth; Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac; and Isaac, Rebekah, and Esau and Jacob. All these families had their issues and problems, but they also demonstrated love and commitment. Mary accepted the news of Jesus while Joseph was the first person to deny the news of Jesus, but yet they persevered and helped raise Jesus, the son of the Father—they loved him as their own. Abraham and Sarah couldn’t conceive a child: Sarah laughed at hearing the news that she was pregnant at her old age (Genesis 18) and Abraham almost sacrificed their son, Isaac (Genesis 22). However, they trusted in God and raised their son to be the father of Jacob—who was later named Israel (Genesis 32): they were committed towards raising a Godly son. Rebekah favored Jacob so much that she convinced him to pose as Esau before Isaac to receive Isaac’s blessing (Genesis 27). Even a family of confusion and creator of arguments and deceivement, still found ways to demonstrate love and commitment. A family is what you make of it.

The Psalmist informs us in Psalm 133:1, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” A family, with love and commitment, will see things through: will face struggles together, overcome battles together, will support each other, and will do what it can to generate a legacy that exemplifies love and commitment. Paul tells us when writing to the people of Ephesians, “And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Families have been given an obligation to raise its future generations in the ways and instructions of the Lord, which are love and commitment. Luke writes, when setting the foundation for the early church, “He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2). A family is devout to God—loving the Lord with all their heart, mind, body, and soul—and doing what they can today to provide for the next generation—giving and praying.

I mention these specific scripture passages to help you think about the family in your life. To know that not every family is perfect: that families will experience conflicts and disagreements but will also experience moments of joy and laughter; that families will endure seasons of sorrow and tears but will also live out seasons of happiness and blessings; and that families will leave each other in the dark but will also be the light and support that they need to keep moving forward. In all those experiences and seasons and moments, we are reminded to remain a unit, to follow the instructions of the Lord, and to give our love and commitment to those whom we call family. When we become the family that God intended for us to be, our days will be long in the land that the LORD our God has given us. We see this aspect of scripture in the family farms.

Moses, after fleeing the bondage of Pharaoh, witnessing the ten plagues brought upon the Egyptians, and being exposed to the wilderness, further engrains the Ten Commandments into the people and reminds them to honor their father and mother so that the land given to them by the LORD will be a place to experience many days. Moses wrote, “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

Here, the command is to honor one’s parents. The word for honor (Heb. “kabed”) literally means “to be heavy.” In that time, something that was heavy (like gold) was considered valuable and was to be treasured. This verse states that parents were to be treasured and honored like a family is to be honored with love and commitment. The Hebrew language does not have a word for “parent.” So, parents have to be designated using father and mother. Here, the order of the parents is your father and your mother. In Leviticus 19:3, the order is reversed—“every one of you shall reverence [Heb. “yareh,” fear] his mother and his father.” The emphasis is upon honoring both because both were created by God—both received the breath—­ruach—the presence of God—in their life.

In this command God makes a provision for children. They are not old enough to have a faith-based interaction with God. So God asks them to honor their father and mother. God bestows upon parents the moral authority to stand in His place to instruct children to be self-governing, to learn to love their neighbor as they love themselves (Matthew 22:36-40). This commandment is the first that comes with a promise. The Apostle Paul pointed this out when he repeats this commandment in Ephesians 6:1, which is part of a section that instructs the church how to walk in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15). The promise is that if the Israelites honor their parents, the result would be that their days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. This is quite practical. Children that learn discipline will become adults who have the ability to self-govern, and to serve others and to live on the land—the promises and love and grace and salvation—that God has given them.

It is worth noting that this command installs the family as the core organizing unit for God’s administration of self-governance. When God warns Israel against rejecting self-governance in favor of getting a human king, rejecting Him as their king, part of their judgment will be the earthly king taking their children from them to serve himself (1 Samuel 8:7-18). Strong families that are committed to raising self-governing children in love, and who care for their elderly are the foundation for a strong society. God promises that this will extend their time prospering in the Promised Land—in the land flowing with milk and honey and in the land with bountiful harvests.

Moses tells us that when we honor our father and mother, we will live in the land that the LORD our God has given us. To relate this to the family farm, when we honor the tasks before us, relying on one another, seeking each other’s help, the farm of today will be here tomorrow. Moses is writing about parents, but we can interpret it as family—the family that farms and works together on the land that God has given them. It takes a family to do the work of farming: it takes a family to do the work of God: and it takes a family to live out the mission of Jesus Christ, to maintain the land before them. We must honor what God has given us so that our days may be long in the land. Angela Britt notes in her article that a family farm is composed of support, encouragement, commitment, and quality time— attributes that fulfill the work of God, the mission of Christ, and the purpose of the church on earth.[ii]

The family farm is what we honor today because of what it stands for. According to Farm Progress, “97% of the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family-owned operations. Angela Britt states “Capture each moment with your young children. Blink and they will be young adults. Keep them active with the farm life, whether it is helping make the meals and take them to the field, teaching them to drive machinery, picking up hay bales on a 100-degree day, tending to the livestock for the 4-H programs or simply riding with dad or mom in the tractor. Embrace the moment of supper in the field on the back of a pickup truck, or a sack lunch on the go. Embrace the moment of hurry, hurry, hurry, and then sit and wait for the next move to another field, part run or the array of any assistance you can provide.” I believe this is what Moses is trying to tell us. He wants us to honor those moments, those people, in our life that give us life, that give us meaning, that give us a reason to work together, play together, and make life together. Moses wants us to be part of the 97% that are working together as a family on God’s land.

On the family farm, the land that has been given to us by God and quite possibly passed down from generation to generation, is what we are to honor—not just because of what it produces but because of what it stands for and represents. The family farm represents family—blood related or not—it represents honor, respect, love, and commitment, it represents both the old and the young coming together, it represents hope and encouragement, and it represents that it takes many to produce a bountiful harvest. The family on the farm is an ideal worth preserving: their memories, their hard work, and their love. “A farm is more than land and crops. It is a family working together, doing what they can today to create a heritage and future for tomorrow.” The Promised Land in the Old Testament is our farm land today: a place where honor and respect is observed, where love and commitment guide the way, where hope and hard work create a living for tomorrow, and where many generations come together to get the job done.

On the eighth day, God looked upon His creation and needed a caretaker. So, He made a farmer and along with that farmer would come a family that would be honored and would live for days on the land that their Lord their God gave them. It takes a family to run a farm; and it takes a farmer to do the work of the Lord.

Conclusion:

I leave you with the following story written by Nightingale: “The story goes that a preacher was driving down a country road when he came upon the most beautiful farm he’d ever seen in his lifetime…. He could only compare it to a beautiful painting. It was by no means a new farm, but the house and buildings were well constructed and in perfect repair and paint. A garden around the house was filled with flowers and shrubs. A fine row of trees lined each side of the white gravel drive. The fields were beautifully tilled, and a fine herd of fat dairy cattle grazed knee-deep in the pasture…”

“It was then he noticed the farmer, on a tractor, hard at work, approaching the place where the preacher stood beside his car. When the farmer got closer, the preacher hailed him. The farmer stopped the tractor, idled down the engine, and then shouted a friendly “hello!” The preacher said to him, “My good man, God has certainly blessed you with a magnificent farm.” And then, there was a pause as the farmer took off his cape and shifted in the tractor seat to take a look at his pride and joy. He said to the preacher [while looking at his family setting the picnic table for supper,] “Yes, He has, and we’re grateful.”

In the words of Gloria and William Gaither, “I’m so glad I’m part of the family of God. I’m so glad I’m part of the family of God.” It takes a family—however you define or describe family—to run a farm, to live for days on the land that the Lord has given you. Each of us has a part in God’s family. Each of us has a part on God’s farm. Each of us has a part in Christ’s church. And we are called to honor those who help bring the farm to life. How will you make sure you are doing your part on the farm? How are you going to fulfill the reality that you are part of the family of God? What are you going to live for days on the land that God has given you?

As Angela Britt noted in her article published by the Illinois Farm Bureau, whose mission is to improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life, “Get involved in the farm.” You can’t have the family farm without the family—without getting involved and doing the work whatever that might be! God needed a caretaker, a farmer, but He got much more than that: God got a family, a family of farmers ready to get the job done. How will you get involved in the family farm of God?

Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Let Us Pray: Dear Lord, we thank you for the family farms in our life: for the wonderful opportunities to gather together to get the job done, to have time to create memories, and to know that we belong to something created by you. O Lord, bless the families and the family farms in ways that remind them how important they are to your creation. In your name we pray, Amen.

           

Benediction:

Remind yourself every day that you are a farmer of and for Christ and that you are part of God’s family. May you strive every day to live with honor and respect in your heart as you are guided by the love and commitment of Jesus Christ. May you be blessed this week knowing that you belong to a family! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go out into the world knowing that God needs you to do some farming. And all of God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

[i] Farm Week, October 9, 2023: Illinois Farm Bureau Mission – improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life. “Dear Farm Wife” by Angela Britt of Marion County.

[ii] Luke 4:18, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed…”