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Sermon April 23, 2023
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Easter/AEaster3_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__April_23__2023
Video: https://youtu.be/XV90Gca6N0Q
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. Luke 24:30-31
Last week I attended the Perry County Chamber dinner. The speak was Lindsay Hutchinson of People’s Provisions. Ms. Hutchinson is one of the vendors at our farmers market. She also has a store in Elliottsburg. She works with local food producers, growers and providers to sell their food. When I visited, she had oats and grains, cheese, milk and milk products, meat, produce, honey, baked goods, vinegars and fresh cut flowers. It’s all local, organic, and free range, grass fed…about the healthiest food you can find.
What makes Ms. Hutchinson’s store especially unique is that she always asks if the price is okay for you today before finalizing a transaction. She has a large sign telling us that we all deserve this food, whether we can pay the price for it or not, so just pay what you can. If you can pay a little more, that goes to help someone else. Ultimately, she is trying to also support the local farmers, bakers, growers and producers.
You deserve this food. In my mind, our current society has such an odd arrangement about the things we all need to survive and thrive – food, clothing, shelter, health care. It’s like we are not worthy just by being born, but we somehow must prove our worth to get these basic necessities. We are undeserving of them and only deserving of them if we have the money to buy them.
Food, of course, is a basic necessity and we are fortunate to live in an area where we have local farmers and local producers. We can get fantastic food here. We can get a variety of food here. I’m so grateful for business owners like Ms. Hutchinson who support farmers, support themselves and support anyone who needs food.
Yesterday was Earth Day. It was the 53rd year for this observance. The first one was held in 1970. And while we have fantastic food here where we live, the climate is changing. In 2021, the PA government issued a climate action plan. Two takeaways from this report will affect our agriculture and lives:
1. An increase in extreme heat events, which are days where the temperature is 90+. Historically there has been an average of 5 such days a year, but that will increase to 37 days per year.
2. An increase in total average rainfall, with rain less frequent, but heavier and with droughts.
So, our wonderful food culture and economy could be significantly altered if we keep going on the path we’re on. And you and I both know the best way to shift and to care for our planet is to reduce our carbon footprint.
Yes, there are complexities to this. Electrification is the best way to go with electricity being supplied by renewable resources such as solar, wind, and water. A recent article in the New York Times showed how great this electrification would be for our earth. Yet, there are issues with how to store up the electricity generated and whether our current electrical grid can handle the increased demand.
And because we have a system where we have to prove our worth and have the resources to buy necessities, people with fewer resources will be at a disadvantage.
Today we heard the familiar Gospel story about the followers of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They do not recognize that it is Jesus walking with them. Why would they? After all, they knew he had been crucified and even though they had been told that the women had seen him raised from the dead, it was all hard to imagine.
Yet, where they recognize Jesus is in the breaking of the bread. Where they finally see Jesus…where their eyes are opened is in the meal…in the eating together.
My friend and mentor Dody Matthias always said that eating together was the 2nd most intimate thing we do with each other. And so, it is in the intimacy of sharing a meal, a most basic necessity, where Jesus is revealed.
We try to do our part, don’t we? We collect food each month for the Neighbor Helping Neighbor Food Bank. We host and sponsor the Newport Farmers Market. We have electrified most of our heating and cooling in our buildings and purchase from renewable suppliers.
Let us continue to do this climate and food justice work. It is in our work together and our meals together where our eyes will be opened.
Amen
People’s Provisions: https://peoplesprovisionspa.com/
PA Department of Environmental Protection Climate Change Website: https://www.depgis.state.pa.us/ClimateChange/index.html
2021 Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan: https://bit.ly/PAclimateactionplan
New York Times Article on Electrification: https://nyti.ms/3ouYJpG
