God is the gardener and the divine physician

As we come to the end of the main growing season, we feel pressure to get it all finished. Right now, the vines in my garden are still green, but with the turn in the weather, I know they’re not going to grow anymore. I have some cool weather plants that are still producing, but I know those green tomatoes aren’t going to ripen on the vine and I know that the plant isn’t going to produce anymore flowers. Even though it’s green, as the gardener, I know it’s time to pull everything off and do what I can with what’s left. I can pull out perfectly green plants because I know they’re not going to grow any more this year. I know it’s a better use of space to put in my garlic or try again overwintering onions or carrots in those spaces, even though to the untrained eye, the plants there look perfectly healthy and bountiful.

Even at the end of the growing season, there is still time to Trust The Gardener.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in my will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. John 15:1-8

This is the key verse to my talks on the Theology of the Homestead. I want to give you one bite of that series of talks right now.

God knows when to plant and when to harvest. He knows what to prune and what to let grow. He knows when to harvest the tomatoes whether it’s to protect them from bugs or from the coming frost. He knows how to get the most out of the growing plant.

When a tomato blushes (just begins to change colors from green to whatever color it will ultimately be) it signals to us that the fruit has begun to produce lycopene. Lycopene is a natural substance in the plant and it’s responsible for home grown tomatoes having such greater flavor than store bought tomatoes. Those tomatoes are picked green and then they ripen either naturally or artificially, but without the presence of lycopene. Jess Sowards says that store bought tomatoes just taste like disappointment. Now, some of that is because of the wide varieties of tomatoes we can grow in our home gardens compared to what we can find at the store, but a large contributor to the flavor has to do with when and how it’s harvested.

I’ve learned, as a gardener, to pick my tomatoes when they blush. They’re no longer solid green and there’s about 10% of their surface beginning to show hints of color. Some are starting to turn pink, but I also have some that turn a deep purple or a beautiful orange or yellow. I pick them then and bring them inside. Those tomatoes ripen within a few days and have the richest color and fullest flavor that we want from homegrown tomatoes.

But why not just leave them outside to fully ripen on the vine? Birds, Bugs, rain that makes them split. There’s nothing worse than a beautiful tomato that has a giant gash in the back side where the bugs have moved in. Or one that has giant bites from a bird or squirrel rendering the whole tomato spend. When I pick them as soon as they blush, I can avoid all those things and still get the flavor.

However, if I was the tomato, I would be thinking “I’m not ready! I need more time! Look at me! If you would just wait, I could show you how amazing I could become!” As the gardener, I know “Danger (bugs, frost, too much rain) is coming. This will protect you from harm while you finish ripening.”

When we are “being picked” before we feel ready, we can Trust the Gardener and hear him tell us, “I will protect you while you finish developing.”

Why do we struggle and doubt? Our woundedness. We have been hurt or damaged in the past and that makes it harder to trust the next time.

People are flawed and wounded and can be untrustworthy. That’s not true of God. He is steadfast and unchanging. He can always be trusted. He may not be always understood within our human limitations, but He can always be trusted.

When you’re wounded, remember that God is the Divine Physician.

Have you ever heard of a salve? Do you know what it is and how it works? The simplest way to describe it is a salve is a medicine, derived from a plant, herb, flower, etc that has been infused into an oil that can then be applied to different kinds of wounds. Common uses for salves are to heal scrapes or burns, to diminish inflammation, or to combat rashes. The oils in the salve are soothing to the skin as well as seal the area and hold the medicine to the skin. The herbs or flowers in the salve are the medicine and the oils and beeswax are the delivery method.

A salve holds the medicine close to the wound so it can protect and be absorbed. They soothe the skin and give comfort while the medicine works on the wound itself. In our spiritual life, what is the salve? The oils in the salve are the Sacraments, quality community, and Sacred Scripture. And what is the medicine? God Himself. The healing that comes through the Sacraments, the relationship that develops with the Divine through the reading of Sacred Scripture. The salve is what holds divinity to the wounds of humanity.