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RSSAugust 1 , Proper 13
by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton for ERD
8/1/2004
Ecclesiastes 1:12-14;2:(1-7,11)18-23
Psalms 49 or 49:1-11
Colossians 3(5-11)12-17
Luke 12:13-21
"'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." -- Luke 12:20-21 (NRSV)
Americans throw away thousands of tons of food every day - restaurants, school cafeterias, stores, households. We take more than we can eat, and then we throw the rest away.
Don Cornelio did something different with his surplus.
Don Cornelio lives in the small farming community of La Canoitia in Usulatan, El Salvador. He has a small family farm. For years, his crops have been corn and beans, the same crops his father grew, and his grandfather, enough corn and enough beans to feed his own family: subsistence farming.
But now the farm is very different: Asociacion El Mangle in Bajo Lempa, a local agricultural institute, has received assistance from Episcopal Relief and Development to transform agricultural production and produce marketing in Usulatan. Don Cornelio attended the training, learning about new crops, and the next season he divided his crop between tomatoes and eggs. Agronomists from Asociacion visited the farm often, offering assistance and advice, and the yield was impressive: the first season, his hens were already producing all the eggs his family could eat, and enough tomatoes to sell the surplus, using marketing assistance Asociacion provided. Now, a few years later, Don Cornelio is an entrepeneur: he sells to lunch counters in Usulatan, small stores and market vendors. If you eat a tomato anywhere in Bajo Lempa, it's probably from his farm. And his own children are growing tall and strong, their diets enriched by plenty of protein and fresh vegetables.
He is as proud of his success as the landowner in the gospel reading. But he doesn't hoard his surplus, like his ancient counterpart—he keeps it in motion, to improve his farm and support his family, to feed his neighbors and assure his own future and that of his children.
Episcopal Relief and Development saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide emergency assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, we rebuild devastated communities and offer long-term solutions in the areas of food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.
