Sermon for Rogation Sunday, North Marston, 5th May 2024

By Peter Evans

 

6th Sunday of Easter

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Using our gifts for God’s work

 

Readings

 

Genesis 1: 26 – 28 - from the first account of creation

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 

27 So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

 

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

 

Genesis 2: 7 – 15, from the second account of creation

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

 

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

 

Sermon

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Whether young or old, we will all have or have had in the past, a dream about what job we would do in our working life. It was a common question when we were young (and maybe still is for those who are)? “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

 

For many years, I wanted to be fast jet pilot in the RAF – and for very long and complicated reasons, it didn’t happen. Sometimes the dreams just don’t work out. And sometimes they do.

 

But what we want to do, or actually do, or did do, is important. We were created by God, to work, and to work for a purpose.

 

Created to work and walk with God

From the two readings above, there are three key points that come out from them. It doesn’t matter whether you regard the creation story in Genesis as literal or figurative, it remains a description of proto humanity and the teaching that we can draw from it is important.

1. We were created to work

2. We were created to be creative and to use the resources that God has made available to us. There is that lovely, almost incidental description in Genesis 2 v12 where the author talks about the gold, resin and onyx that were available for us to use.

3. And in Genesis 1, we are called to fill the earth and subdue it.

 

Subdue the world sounds like a harsh phrase, maybe tame the world sounds better in today’s language. But we mustn’t forget that in early human history, the world was a harsh and wild place. Very different to the world we have today. Of course, we have many challenges today, but at the dawn of human history, the world was wild and unforgiving – a true wilderness.

 

There were many other creation stories kicking around at the time. A common theme was that a god, or gods created mankind to be slaves for them, to keep them in the styles to which they wanted to become accustomed. Work was a chore, and not a fitting activity for gods. Mankind was created to do this work.

 

But Genesis is different. Firstly, God works – He works for six days and is pleased with the result of His work. This is the narrative of the creation story. And in our language, God works as a designer, a builder, an engineer, an astro physicist, a zoologist and plant biologist, a geologist and much, more.

 

Secondly, God creates mankind, not as a slave because he is fed up working, but in His image. To be creative in work and be fulfilled through it. So that we too can look at what we have done and be pleased and see that it was good.

 

Thirdly, God creates us to rule over, or reign, or have dominion over the earth, to tame it, to cultivate it and take care of it. To be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.

 

This is the plan that He designed and chose for mankind. To continue His project of creation by working and developing this Earth that He has given into our care.

 

And so, astonishingly, and in a very real sense, we are co workers with God. For us, whom God has created, to continue to create in this world He has placed in our care. It means that it is the right thing to do, to build cities, develop technologies, increase humanity. This is the plan that God laid out in the Genesis accounts of creation. Fill the earth, be fruitful and multiply.

 

God’s plan was never for us to lounge around forever under palm trees, by the pool, drinking cocktails. That is our day of rest, not our 24/7. In the garden of Eden, God calls us to walk with Him and to tend or work the garden.

 

In Genesis, God even talks about the resources that we have at our disposal, to use in His calling. Chapter 2 describes the geography of the land around Eden, and mentions rivers, gold, resins, precious stones. Raw materials. Things with which to create. To build with. To enable civilisations.

 

But there is also a note of caution. Genesis chapter 2 says we are to take care of what we have been given. And here’s the interesting thing - the Hebrew word that translates into “take care” has a deeper meaning than simple translation allows – it could also be translated as to protect, guard or stand up for.

 

Rogation – to ask

Which brings us to Rogation. And the reason we are here today.

 

Rogation means “to ask”. Literally, just that. As a concept, it has been around for thousands of years, absolutely rooted in the old testament, where in the book of Deuteronomy, the Jews ask for God’s blessing on their farming.

 

And as we know, farming is important. Really important. Our food supply is our number one critical survival issue. And so it made complete sense to ask that God would bless our endeavours in the production of food. It’s something that is too easy to take for granted today, but absolutely should not. It is a finely balanced machine that delivers our food to our tables. And it is not an easy process – ask any farmer.

 

And so, in this service, we ask God that He will bless our farming. Our sowing of seed and rearing of livestock, so that when we get to our harvest in the autumn, the harvest will be abundant.

 

But we can also ask God to bless our other endeavours. For example, from the 18th century onwards, parishes in industrial areas would start to include manufacturing in their Rogation services.

 

In the broadest sense, Rogation is to ask God to bless what we do. To bless our endeavours. Whatever they may be.

 

God’s purpose for us is to be creative, to work, and to walk with Him as we do so. This is what is described at the beginning of Genesis.

 

Not quite perfect!

But there is one flaw in the plan. The next chapter in Genesis, describes humanity turning its back on God and walking away. We became sinful and plan A fell apart. Our endeavours, our efforts, at best, are not as good as they should be. Humanity is selfish in the way it uses resources. And falls well short of taking care of the earth. From pollution to climate change, society has until very recently, always taken the short term approach. And even now, it’s a close call.

 

But thankfully, there is a plan B. We can come back to God and be made right with Him through Jesus. Jesus puts things back on track, not just for us, but also for the world around us when share the good news.

 

Jesus means that we can walk with God again. It means that we continue the project of God’s creation to tame the earth and fill it. In the way that He would want us to. This work, this creativity, these endeavours, are why God put us here in the first place. He wants us to use the resources he has given us. To farm the land, to build cities, to explore, to develop medicines, to grow communities.

 

Using our gifts

And to do that, we need to use the gifts he has given us. Not just the resources around us, but the talents that we ourselves have been blessed with. In a few weeks’ time, Petra will be starting a study course on exploring what gifts we may have and how to use them for God.

 

These gifts, these talents, are at the heart of Rogation, because without our efforts, our endeavours, our talents and gifts, then any asking of God at Rogation is hollow and pointless. We cannot ask God to bless what we do if we do nothing.

 

We were created by God to walk with Him, to be part of and to take part in His project of creation. To use the gifts he has given us, to be creative, and to express God’s love through the humanity He has given us.

 

So let’s close by asking for God’s blessing on what we do, on our endeavours, and especially today, in this barn in North Marston, for our agricultural endeavours and those who farm for us.

 

Heavenly Father, we lift before you this season of growth, of sowing and caring for crops, for the rearing of animals and for the farmers who work your land, We ask for your blessing on this coming summer so that our harvest will be good. Everything that we have comes from you, help us to know this truth in our hearts and to walk with you all the days of our lives. Amen