It is not necessary to know how something works, to understand that it works. I grew up in the countryside, and observed first-hand the work of nature: seeds sown in the right soil with enough water bring forth new life from the earth. It is not necessary to grasp how this comes about to know that the earth generates life. As a child, I would stand in awe at the newness of life when watching a calf be born, as well as when I stood the middle of a corn field where the stalks magically rose from the brown, arid dirt.
“Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12).
Growing up in a farm gave me a front row seat to the generosity of the land. As God called forth vegetation at creation, He continues to do so today. He not only provides generously through the land, but now as a priest, gives me a front row seat to His generosity when dealing with us, his sons and daughters. I do not need to know how God’s grace and forgiveness work in order to understand that they work – that they are real and effective. Just as the earth gives us everything we need to eat – vegetables, fruits, animals etc, God gives us everything we need to be healed and reconciled to Him. Saint John wrote in his Gospel that from Jesus’ fullness “we have all received, grace upon grace.” Everything that we have is a gift freely given by God, starting with the fact that we exist as individuals.
There is a mystery in the development of life. A farm is not a factory where parts are created and then assembled. A farm relies of the gifts of the earth: soil, water and seeds, for life to spark into existence, not to be assembled. Likewise is God’s grace, it does not rely solely on the parts of who we are, but rather, it is God who unhinges everything with His grace, granting us something we cannot achieve on our own, forgiveness and salvation.
Before his death, my grandfather expressed a desire to be buried at his farmhouse, underneath a beautiful old cross. To the family’s relief, a cemetery was opened close to the farmhouse months prior to his death. I saw the field which I passed by every single day turned into a burial place. Acres of watermelons and alfalfa soon turned into a beautiful garden with gravestones. The transformation of the farmland served as a reminder to me of God’s grace. The land used to provide natural products to eat, but now, as it welcomes the remains of the dead, it anticipates the supernatural events of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, when the tombs will be opened, and from the earth will arise all those who sleep in Christ.
How exactly will God raise the dead, and how will our experience of heaven or hell be? The mystery of natural life spills over into the mystery of the supernatural. We may not understand everything, but just as a farmer waits and trusts that the rains will come, we wait and trust that Jesus will provide everything that we need for salvation.
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