I’ve never been to the Holy Land, but I have been to California…
The climate in my home state is very similar to the climate in the Holy Land. They both have what climatologists call a “Mediterranean Climate.”
It is a unique climate; only 2 percent of the earth’s land has a Mediterranean climate.
In a Mediterranean climate, the rain comes in the winter. It almost never rains in summer.
That’s why Los Angeles has long canals bringing drinking water into the city from the Colorado River, and from the Sierra Nevada, where the snow falls so heavily in winter that it is measured in feet, and takes most of the summer to melt. It’s that melting snow that allows Los Angeles to have drinking water through the long, dry summer.
Los Angeles averages around 14 inches of rain annually. However, the amount of precipitation that falls varies greatly from year to year. In 2004, Los Angeles had 37 inches of rain; two years later, in 2006, Los Angeles had just 3 inches of rain.
Some years, when the timing and amount of winter rains are just right, the wildflowers explode on the hills. People will flock to certain areas known for wildflowers to wander among them, admire them, and take photos.
Places where California poppies grow become a carpet of bright orange spreading out for miles.
In many of the canyons around Los Angeles, one can find massive sycamore trees growing. These trees are huge, and sometimes their trunks twist and curve, giving them unique shapes.
Sycamore trees also require a lot of water to grow, which is why they only grow in canyons, along streams.
In summer, those streams often run dry. So how do the sycamores survive?
By sending roots down deep underground. Because underground, the water continues to flow, even when there is no water flowing on the surface. Sycamores would not survive if their roots were shallow, because on the surface and near the surface, the land is dry all summer long. But deep down, below the surface, the water flows all year long.
Many of the streams in the Holy Land are the same way. They are dry much of the year, at least on the surface.
In California, these seasonal streams are often called arroyos. In the Holy Land, they are called wadis.
The Jordan River is big enough that it usually has water flowing in it all year long… but not much. I did read once that more ink has been spilt to describe the Jordan River than there is water flowing in it.
Perhaps that description was written by someone from the Midwest, disappointed by how little the Jordan River is when compared to rivers like the Mississippi, or even the Illinois River.
However, the Jordan River is capable of growing much larger when the rains come, overflowing its banks, before settling back down to its normal size once the rains are over.
The L.A. River works the same way. It can be a raging torrent during winter storms, but most of the year, it’s nothing more than a trickle.
So… even though I’ve never been to the Holy Land, I have been to California, and I understand the excitement and the joy and the anticipation that surround the arrival of the winter rains, which the prophet Joel wrote about.
And I understand the reference the psalmist makes, to the Negeb, a river whose waters are replenished every winter after the summer-long drought. People in the Holy Land, like people in my home state of California, pray each year that the winter rains come, that it’s not a year of just 3 inches of rain, but enough rain for the crops, enough to drink, and enough to cover the hills with wildflowers.
This is what a life of faith is like, don’t you think? When Joel was talking about the rain that turns the pastures green and which produces fruit on the trees, and causes grapes to appear on the vine, I don’t think he was just talking about climate and agriculture, do you?
There are seasons which make it easy to have faith, seasons of wildflowers and fruit and green pastures; but then there are seasons when faith itself seems to run dry…
And in those seasons, we need to be like the sycamore. We need to have deep roots.
Sycamore trees are ready for the years of drought, because their roots are deep. How do we grow roots that are deep?
I know, for many of you, our church’s small groups help you grow deep roots. Our small groups give the opportunity to dive deeper into scripture, to gain insights by discussing issues of scripture and faith with others, and to pray. They help you maintain your faith, even in seasons of drought.
Many of you also volunteer in one way or another, on a team or committee or board, by serving as a greeter, or preparing or donating food for various events. Service to others also helps our roots grow deep.
Many of you are generous with your time, your talent, and also your treasure. Generosity is also a way to grow deep roots, and a stronger faith.
And generosity is borne out of gratitude.
Like the prophet and the psalmist, I am grateful for the rain. I am grateful for the soil, and grateful for the tree that bears fruit.
Sometimes, I will pause while I am eating, and ponder just what it is that I am eating. The other day, while I was working on this sermon, I was eating a slice of pumpkin pie. And what is pumpkin pie? It is pumpkin, flour, sugar, spices, and a few other ingredients, all mixed together and baked.
But the pumpkin in pumpkin pie isn’t just pumpkin. The pumpkin itself is made up of water, nutrients from the soil, and the energy of the sun.
In fact, everything we eat can be traced back to the sun. In every bite, we are gifted with the energy of the sun, converted into food form, through the miracle of photosynthesis.
Even the water and the nutrients that are in the food we eat, depend on the sun’s energy.
Pondering this truly helps me be more thankful when I eat, to remember that what I’m eating contains the energy of the sun, the energy of the universe, and what a miraculous thing that is!
Being aware that my food is actually the energy of the sun helps me understand other things… like money.
With the pumpkin, I started by asking, “Just what is this pumpkin, exactly?” Now, let’s ask: “Just what is this money, exactly?”
And just as the pumpkin contains within it the energy of the sun, there is an energy at the source of the money you have.
In this case, it is your own life energy—the life energy given to you by your Creator.
We all have a certain amount of life energy. Every day, we make choices about how to use that life energy.
Many of us have spent many hours of our lives at work, where we have exchanged our life energy for money. We give so many hours of our life energy, and in exchange, we receive so many dollars.
So when we talk about money and dollars, what we’re really talking about is life energy.
And when I go to spend my money, I ask myself, “Is what I’m spending this money on worth the life energy I exchanged it for.”
To make it simple: if I earn $20 an hour, and I see something that costs $20, then the real cost of that item is one hour of my life energy. It takes one hour of my life energy to be able to afford this item.
Remembering this helps me make better decisions regarding my money. I often ask myself: Is what I spend money on worth the life energy I exchanged it for?
I know that many of you believe that the ministry of First Christian Church is worth a lot of your life energy. You have been blessed by this ministry, and you want to bless this ministry with your life energy.
Some of that life energy you give just by being here.
Some of your life energy, you give by volunteering and serving.
Some of your life energy, you give when you spend time praying for the church.
And some of that life energy, you give in the form of money.
You recognize that this ministry is something that you want to spend your life energy on.
I want you to remember that: Just like the pumpkin in my pie is actually the energy of the sun, converted into food, the pledge you make or the offering you give is more than just dollar bills. It is your life energy.
And I am so grateful that you so generously give of your life energy to this ministry. I am so grateful that I also get to give much of my life energy, in various forms, to the ministry of this church, to something that I believe so strongly in, something that is meaningful and worthy of my life energy.
One of my very favorite authors is Robin Wall Kimmerer. She wrote a very popular book a few years ago called Braiding Sweetgrass, and now she has just released a new book, called Serviceberry.
In Serviceberry, she talks about gratitude, and abundance, and how the blessings we receive, we send on to bless others.
But we don’t always pass them on in the same way we received them, or in the same form, or to the same person.
The tree receives carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but it doesn’t give back CO2; the tree gives oxygen back, which is a real blessing to us and to all forms of life that depend on oxygen. The tree doesn’t say, “I’ve received CO2, I need to pass on CO2.” That’s not how the ecosystem works.
I have received many blessings in many forms throughout my life. Much of it was received from some very kind and generous people.
I’ve often wondered how I can pay them back. But now I realize that, just as the tree doesn’t give back the CO2 it receives, but gifts O2 to those who need it, so too can I pass on the generosity that I have received in different ways, to different people, since I’m not always able to return it to those from whom it came.
You know this in your life: think of someone whose generosity has been a blessing to you. Could be someone alive or someone who has passed on… Someone who you thought, “How can I ever pay them back for what they’ve done for me?”
Often, we can’t pay back the people who have been so kind and generous to us.
But you can be, and probably have been, generous in your own way, to others who have benefitted from your generosity. In this way you are like the tree; the tree that receives CO2 from the atmosphere, but then generously passes on O2…
So when I give thanks for the food I eat, I give thanks for the sun, the rain, the soil, the air—all the things that are contained in every bite.
And when I give thanks for this ministry, I’m really giving thanks for the life energy of so many lives—all of you—which really is what this ministry is.
This ministry is you. It is your life energy, the life energy given to you by God, which you now generously pass on.
And when we use our life energy for things that matter, things that make a difference, things that bless others…
Then our roots grow deep…and we tap into God’s ever-flowing abundance.
And we come a little closer to experiencing life in the kingdom of God; the kingdom that operates under a gift economy; the kingdom of abundance and generosity.
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