PostScript: The lazy guerrilla gardener

Learning to let nature take its course (Matthew 13.24-30,36-43).

Introduction

This growing parable appears to be a call to inaction; should our summer season be a laissez-faire affair?

Context

NHS bosses and church leaders concerned about mental health

Resurgence continue to promote the concept of Slow Sunday.

Charlie’s parents affirm the power of hope.

The G20 Summit is a mixed bag.

Try a little Guerrilla Gardening?

Reflection

Summer is traditionally a time for rest, relaxation, recharging the batteries – looking after our mental and physical health. NHS bosses express concerns about mental health resources and even for church ministers there are growing signs of mental health issues from the fast-paced, pressurised lifestyles we lead. So a gospel that advises us to leave things alone and let nature take its course suggests it’s time to slow down and take it easy.
There’s also a hopeful message here for those whose lives appear strangled by weeds of iniquity. Don’t battle yet, and know that it will be all right in the end. We can wonder if the wheat feels overwhelmed by the darnel, and comforted that harvest time will make remove it Whatever your views about their case, Charlie’s parents testify to the power of hope.
A controversial G20 Summit, politically and environmentally, leaves us wondering about our protection of the earth. In a time of political transition and uncertainty, perhaps the message is to keep calm and wait. With an organic approach to weeding, is this an environmentalists’ gospel? Campaigners often point out that it’s not just the wheat that will suffer if we wage an aggressive battle against the weeds. Chemical farming pollutes land, water and enters the food chain. In our stewardship of creation we need more plant- and planet-friendly solutions to environmental concerns.
The environmental and spiritual charity, Resurgence, link these two themes with the concept of Slow Sunday. Are you a busy church, rushing around pulling up weeds? How could you spend a Slow Sunday?
Guerrilla gardeners throw seed-bombs into waste grounds and neglected spaces to bring new life and beauty. The diligent guerrilla gardeners involve the local community in tending the seeds; but maybe lazy guerrilla gardening is good enough? Just chuck it and see…

Prayer

Hildegard of Bingen wrote that the Earth ‘...is mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all.’ What image comes to your mind?

Use this image in worship or private reflection, perhaps with a handful of wild-flower seeds. Reflect on how this image and today’s Gospel reading contain a message of acceptance; we are all (wheat or weeds, friends and enemies) part of the same creation. Every part of us – the part of ourselves we are friends with and the part we want to weed out – is created and loved by God. Sit in acceptance and celebration of this inclusiveness for a while.

Questions

What might it mean to be a Slow Church? Should we have a little more contemplation and a little less action?
What are the weeds we need to leave alone, waiting until harvest?
Where are the waste grounds and neglected places that need us to throw a gospel seed-bomb?

Action

Be a lazy guerrilla gardener this week!

Set aside some protected time to do...absolutely nothing. Try not to plan your nothingness, or fill it with something else. Just arrive at your nothing time and let it be.
Do your own bit of guerrilla gardening. Maybe literally – are there areas in your neighbourhood that need a few seed bombs (see recipe below)? Or plant the seeds of the gospel through a random act of kindness.

Young people

Popular culture creates massive pressure on young people to either choose the dark side – violence, bullying, sexual immorality, drugs gangs – or be perfect – perfect body, relationships, exam results, career.

Use images, headlines, lyrics from social media and popular culture to create collages that celebrate the good and the bad all mixed up together; the wheat and the weeds. Discuss what it means to live with the messiness and when it is time to make a choice.

Or make your own seed bombs: mix one part compost and one part wildflower seeds with five parts clay. Form into little balls and allow to dry on a sunny window. Add a message of hope written in permanent marker on a small strip of cotton fabric. Throw into neglected spaces to give beauty and life, Guerilla gardener style! See the guerrilla gardening website for more ideas.

Jane Chevous is throwing seed bombs through her creative learning company, Reshapers CIC, while sailing very slowly along the Pacific coast of Mexico.

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