Theological Reflection on Land
Taking a course on “Teaching in Orality Cultures” (led by Tom Steffen) has been great so far and I do recommend it for anyone who is seeking to embrace storying or more generally seeking to communicate effectively with people who can’t read, don’t read, or choose to learn through other means than the written word.
But an interesting thought was presented by Tom that I had not heard before and it got me thinking. It is a definition (or theological reflection perhaps) of the word “Land.” It can be put into a formula of sorts:
Land = Dirt + History + Emotion
Obviously, the Bible takes seriously Land in these terms. The history and emotions of the nation of Israel (speaking of ancient Israel… not referring to the present State of Israel) is very much tied to region— “The Land of Promise.”
As important as this is. We see underlying principles that go further.
Land is tied to both life and death. Moses described himself as a stranger in a strange land. Joseph asked to have his bones taken with the people when they leave Egypt to be buried in the land promised to Abraham. Abraham wanted to ensure that Sarah and himself were buried in land that was owned by them rather than land owned by another.It was commonly believed that God’s were tied to the land and the residents of that land. We see that with the people who populated the northern regions of Israel after the Assyrian exile learning the customs and requirements of the God of Israel so that they would have peace. We also see that with Naaman. When he was healed by Elisha, he brought bags of soil from the vicinity of Elisha’s house to take back with him to Damascus. The implication was that the God of Israel will be the God of Naaman if the land (dirt) of Israel covers the courtyard of Naaman.The Genesis creation story emphasizes that man was created out of the dust/dirt of the earth. We are not only tied emotionally and historically to the land, we are tied by substance to the land. While it has been catchy to say “Christians are IN the world but NOT OF the world,” Others will say something to the effect that, “We were created for Heaven.” While there is some truth to that, I feel both misinform more than they inform. We ARE created of this world— earth, dirt, land. We are not of the “cosmos”— system of this world… but we are of the created world. We also may be created for Heaven… but if one gets technical, the vision is for Heaven on Earth, or Heaven and Earth combined.A good theological understanding of the land is not to distance ourselves from it, but to honor it as a part of us, and a gift from God to be cared for and cherished.
On a personal level, this is challenging. I was raised on a hill in southwestern New York State. I was raised in a house owned by my great grandparents on a road named after them. I also lived near another road that was named after another set of great grandparents. I have had some relatives living on that hill for closing in on 200 years (a pretty impressive thing for that part of the world). When the military moved me away, I held onto the land. But eventually, I sold the land. That was hard. It wasn’t just dirt. It has my family’s history stamped on it. To sell the land almost felt like a rejection of my family. However, on the other hand, I could not live there… and young people from town would drive up on the hill, have parties, and leave trash on my land. My inability to deal with this sort of desecration also seemed to dishonor my family as well. In the end, I sold the land to a family friend who could properly take care of the land.
As a missionary, I am a bit like Moses— having no set home— no land that is my own. Recently, the local government in the Philippines is buying out the land on the island that my wife was raised on and generations before her. Soon neither of us will have land that is tied to our family heritage. That is sad in a way, but part of our calling as missionaries. In many ways, I have come to terms with it. That being said, I mustn’t fall into the trap of putting my perspective onto others. For many, their land is their family’s legacy, and their (in some ways divine) inheritance. I should never downplay or disrespect this perspective.
Anyway, I am just putting down some thoughts as I think of them. I have not processed them much yet.
