The Israelites, after the Exodus, came to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. But much of it was dry and infertile other than the land which spread near the “fertile crescent”. The people started to till the land for crops and eventually, the Hebrews became farmers. The story of the first human beings on earth hints at this: Adam was forced to sweat from the brow in cultivating the land among thorns and thistles (Gn 3: 18-19). Similarly, in the book of Genesis, we read the story of Cain and Abel, which again gives us a clue that the Hebrews had become farmers. We could see throughout the Old Testament instances of people using farm products.
The Gezer Calendar, which was found in Israel, dates from the time of Solomon, in the mid-10th Century BC, described the agricultural cycle, month by month, giving the tasks to be performed at certain times of the year.
· August and September are times of harvest
· October and November are set aside for planting
· February is devoted to the cultivation of flax and,
· March, to the barley harvest, etc.
Farming was also important in the New Testament times. Farming lends itself to some great spiritual truths, as found throughout the Scripture. Through analogy, it can show us how we can cultivate spiritual growth, work hard, and be watered and refreshed by the Gospel.
Jesus talked often about the land and its products in his teachings, showing he was familiar with farming techniques. Jesus often taught in parables, an ancient Eastern literary genre. But he made use of the matter available in nature when he went around the cities and towns of Israel. For example, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1). Jesus saw what was happening in and around the Israel farming culture and used those parameters in his parables for teaching. Whenever Jesus used words pertaining to farming, he used it to as an example from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth. Jesus often used farming methods and farm equipment to illustrate important teachings. (Matthew 11:28-30; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 13:6-9) Why? Because he lived in an agricultural society. Many who listened to him followed farming traditions that had remained unchanged for centuries. They appreciated his references to their daily activities. He could relate to them, and they were moved by what he taught (Matthew 7:28).
Jesus not only used words pertaining to farming but he also went further, saying His Father is a farmer. We are used to the translation in John 15:1, which says my Father is the “vine grower,” but the Greek is γεωργός (georgos) and the Latin is Agricola. Both ‘georgos’ and ‘Agricola’ mean farmer, not simply vine grower. God is the one who gives life, nourishes, tends, and brings to fruition. He is a farmer. Aquinas refers to this passage in Augustine and explains a little more what it means to cultivate God when commenting on John 15:
God cultivates us to make us better by his work since he roots out the evil weeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, “He opens our hearts with the plough of his words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of devotion”. But we cultivate God, not by ploughing but
by adoring, so that we may become better and produce a hundred fold by Him: ‘If anyone is a worshiper,’ that is, a cultivator, ‘of God and does his will, God listens to him’ (9:31).
“Cultivating” God, or worshiping Him, as these the same words in Latin, means cultivating a relationship with Him, by which we give Him honour and we are ourselves are cultivated, pruned and groomed. To be more like Him. The seeds of His life grow in us and blossom into divine life.
Sch. Royston SJ
DNC Times, Sep 2019, pg 3-4.
The Gezer Calendar, which was found in Israel, dates from the time of Solomon, in the mid-10th Century BC, described the agricultural cycle, month by month, giving the tasks to be performed at certain times of the year.
· August and September are times of harvest
· October and November are set aside for planting
· February is devoted to the cultivation of flax and,
· March, to the barley harvest, etc.
Farming was also important in the New Testament times. Farming lends itself to some great spiritual truths, as found throughout the Scripture. Through analogy, it can show us how we can cultivate spiritual growth, work hard, and be watered and refreshed by the Gospel.
Jesus talked often about the land and its products in his teachings, showing he was familiar with farming techniques. Jesus often taught in parables, an ancient Eastern literary genre. But he made use of the matter available in nature when he went around the cities and towns of Israel. For example, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1). Jesus saw what was happening in and around the Israel farming culture and used those parameters in his parables for teaching. Whenever Jesus used words pertaining to farming, he used it to as an example from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth. Jesus often used farming methods and farm equipment to illustrate important teachings. (Matthew 11:28-30; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 13:6-9) Why? Because he lived in an agricultural society. Many who listened to him followed farming traditions that had remained unchanged for centuries. They appreciated his references to their daily activities. He could relate to them, and they were moved by what he taught (Matthew 7:28).
Jesus not only used words pertaining to farming but he also went further, saying His Father is a farmer. We are used to the translation in John 15:1, which says my Father is the “vine grower,” but the Greek is γεωργός (georgos) and the Latin is Agricola. Both ‘georgos’ and ‘Agricola’ mean farmer, not simply vine grower. God is the one who gives life, nourishes, tends, and brings to fruition. He is a farmer. Aquinas refers to this passage in Augustine and explains a little more what it means to cultivate God when commenting on John 15:
God cultivates us to make us better by his work since he roots out the evil weeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, “He opens our hearts with the plough of his words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of devotion”. But we cultivate God, not by ploughing but
by adoring, so that we may become better and produce a hundred fold by Him: ‘If anyone is a worshiper,’ that is, a cultivator, ‘of God and does his will, God listens to him’ (9:31).
“Cultivating” God, or worshiping Him, as these the same words in Latin, means cultivating a relationship with Him, by which we give Him honour and we are ourselves are cultivated, pruned and groomed. To be more like Him. The seeds of His life grow in us and blossom into divine life.
Sch. Royston SJ
DNC Times, Sep 2019, pg 3-4.
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