Blessing the Land

Not far from where I live is a coastal community which has an annual community event known as "The Blessing of the Fleet."  This religious service which is highly publicized brings in a large crowd and provides a blessing on the shrimpers who have been going out from that place for decades.  Just up the road a piece from our place is a blueberry farmer who also has a formal religious service every year to bless the land and the crop he grows on it.  And recently I saw a poster promoting a community wide "Blessing of the Land" service as a prelude for the Spring planting.  Hebrews 6:7 was printed on the poster.  "Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God."

 

As one who has gotten more in touch with the land and those who work to earn a living from it, I have come to realize what a great act of faith these farmers make every year as they throw seed into the ground.  It is risky business.  Even with all the technology, even with all the irrigation systems, and even with the most modern equipment, growing a crop from the ground is an act of faith.  So many things can go wrong and the one who plants the seed know it better than most. 

 

Asking God to bless the land is an act which expresses the partnership which exist between the One who created and owns the land and the ones who manage and care for it.   Anyone who puts their hand in the dirt for a while and considers how the food on the table comes from the earth knows that something miraculous is taking place.  Perhaps, there is no better way to express gratitude for the food we eat than to share in these services of blessing which acknowledge the supremely important role of the Creator.