Scripture Sunday: The Wise Farmer

by Ashtyn Adams

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (NRSV)
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him. 4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against brothers and sisters and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never again eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Illumination by Debrah Band

I’ve spent the past week in an intensive study of the book of Ecclesiastes with Dr. Davis, Dr. Leiber, Dr. Fisch, and Debrah Band. Dr. Finch and Debra are from Tel Aviv University in Israel and the authors of Qohelet: Living a Life Worth Living. Since I’ve been living and breathing in this book situated in Persian-period Jerusalem and receiving insights from the Jewish tradition, I felt compelled to use Ecclesiastes as my interpretive lens for this week’s lectionary reading, which has unearthed new beauty in this well-known passage. In 1 Corinthians 13, Saint Paul is ultimately the Wise Farmer who encourages us to be, and more importantly, to do likewise, speaking with an urgency and ethic we ought to hear in the climate crisis.

To begin with some essential background, Qohelet is the author of Ecclesiastes, who takes on the persona of King Solomon. He is deeply distraught after (1) realizing that everything in life is hevel, fleeting midst, vapour, temporary and time-bound, and (2) trying to find yitaron, meaning and value, given this fact. He “feels God breathing down his neck,” as Dr. Finch says, facing immense anxiety about how to make the right decisions, knowing we are situated humans with limited perspective and yet stand under God who will be our perfect judge. During his wrestling, he discovers various types of fools in the world, those who reject the hevel premise, the fact that nothing is permanent, those who accept it but are paralyzed by it, and those who accept it but appeal to religion to solve the dilemma, living passively pious lives that rely too much on God. He ultimately discovers that (1) God knows we are creatures and thereby will not hold us to absolute standards but to local and tentative decisions, and (2) our sole religious duty is not to be certain, but, after critical evaluation by ourselves and others, to use our judgment and to make prudent decisions which minimize harm and promote corporate flourishing. God only expects us to act, and knowing we did our best, we can find true satisfaction and meaning, despite life’s temporary and changing nature. In chapter 11, the Wise Farmer, who, despite being unable to predict the rain or ensure success, nevertheless plans carefully and tills his field wholeheartedly with the political good in mind, is the epitome of wisdom and a life well lived. ​

Paul writes the Corinthian Church a few centuries after Qohelet with the assumption that our knowledge is hevel, it is a puff of air. We do not possess all knowledge, but, thankfully, perfect knowledge is not how we participate in the life of God. “Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.” Love builds a life of yitaron, value and meaning, as we participate in the God who is love itself, who alone will remain. Love in this instance, is not some vague notion. Creation stands at the center of this community’s debate regarding food. As Gentiles were welcomed into the new community of Christ, their habits of eating and meat consumption were often dedicated to idols or coming into contact with spaces of idol worship. Certain Christians were thereby concerned about being defiled. Yet, there is no Christianity without the central image and act of a shared feast. Paul therefore advises a very context-sensitive word to not be a stumbling block for your neighbor. Despite knowing that eating meat in itself does not bring us closer or further from God,  Paul vows to never eat meat if it causes another to fall. ​

Today, we recognize that climate change is a wicked problem, with solutions that require context-specific and creative solutions from institutions to individuals. We cannot be paralyzed by our awareness of our limited time, our limited knowledge, and the problems before us. God is the one behind and ahead of us, not magically solving our environmental crisis but endowing us with gifts and resources to see the work through. Qohelet would remind us our religious duty is to boldly act in this world for the good as best we know how. Paul adds the dimension of love to this action, selflessly negotiating even the act of eating to secure the flourishing of the other. Christian communities are too often stumbling blocks, too often passively pious in the face of our dying planet and the marginalized groups affected by it. Paul, embodying the spirit of the Wise Farmer, shows us that our relation with creation and with our neighbors deeply matter, lest we destroy those whom Christ died for. Corrective actions in the Anthropocene are key to a life worth living. ​

 Paul, embodying the spirit of the Wise Farmer, shows us that our relation with creation and with our neighbors deeply matter

---

Ashtyn Adams is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries. Ashtyn earned her B.A. in Religion from Pepperdine University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Divinity at Duke University.

---