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God is rice

“But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.” — Matthew 13:8

Rural Life

One of the most neglected areas of our country’s life is life in the rural areas. Yet, it is from the rural areas where the food of the nation comes. When I think of rural life, one of the first things that comes to my mind is rice. Yes, rice is perhaps the best symbol of rural life. It is not only because it is our staple food, for we seem not to survive without rice, but more so because most rural people, farmers and workers of the soil spend most of their life in the planting and harvesting of rice. Indeed, life for them is rice.

This reminds me of a seminar I conducted among peasants in the Bicol Region. In that seminar, I asked them about their own personal understanding of God. A certain peasant from a remote barrio of Camarines Sur stood up and said, “Pastor, for me God is rice!” Many laughed, but I took his statement seriously. It was my first time to hear such kind of theological statement. Great theological minds in the West had not said anything like that before. Although later on, a Japanese theologian, Masao Takenaka, wrote a book entitled, God is Rice.

And so, I further asked the peasant, “Why do you say God is rice?” He responded saying, “You know, Pastor, I am a farmer. I spend most of my time, most of my life in the rice fields. I plant, harvest, and eat rice. I experience the reality of God in the rice. Whenever I have a bountiful harvest, I remember God. In the same manner, whenever calamity comes and destroys my crops, I’m also reminded of God. The reality of God is revealed to me in and through the rice I produce. Indeed, God for me is rice.”

As I listened to this poor, unschooled peasant, I was so fascinated by his wisdom, and humbled by the sharpness of his theological insight. He seemed to be saying to me, “Look, you are not the only one who knows theology. Although I’m just a poor peasant I also experience the reality of God, and I’ve something to contribute.”

This is precisely my first point of reflection: To celebrate rural life is to recognize the fact that our rural people, neglected as they are, despised and looked down at times, have much to share not only in our economic sustenance as a people, but much more in giving meaning and significance to human existence. They have the wisdom seasoned by experience; they have the truth tempered by faith and hope. No wonder Jesus Christ our Lord spent most of his ministry not in the urban centers of Jerusalem, but in the rural areas of Galilee.

Parable of the Sower

There is a parable Jesus told in his teaching ministry called the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9). It pictures to us the rural life in Ancient Palestine. According to this parable, a man went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seeds, some of them fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Some of them fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants. Because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. Some seeds fell among the thorny bushes that grew and choked the plants. But some seeds fell on good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.

This is a simple, common story that an ordinary farmer in the rural areas could easily identify and understand. One time, I conducted a Bible Study among peasants in Southern Luzon, using this particular parable. After carefully reading the Biblical story, I explained to them as traditionally interpreted and understood. For instance, I mentioned the different kinds of soil. I said that there are hearers of the Word of God with closed mind and heart, like a rocky soil, or with a mind and heart like a shallow ground. There are also those who have so many concerns in life, and often the most important things get crowded out, like the thorny soil. But then, there are also those who are like the good soil. They listen, understand, and obey God’s Word.

After explaining all these things beautifully, one farmer stood up and said, “Pastor, the way I look at it, the problem is not the kind of soil on which the seeds fell. The problem is the sower himself! As a farmer, I have to be sure that the soil is ready for planting before I scatter seeds. I plow and harrow it carefully. I remove the thorns and rocks so that the seeds can surely grow and bear much fruit. For me, the problem is not the soil, but the sower.” In other words, this peasant was simply saying that the problem is not the hearer but the preacher of the Word of God. The problem is not the parishioner, but the preacher himself.

I was really surprised by what I heard from this peasant. I never thought of that before, and I knew that what he was saying is true. And this is precisely my second point of reflection: To celebrate rural life is to listen to what rural people are saying.

A story was told about a peasant in Central Luzon who said onetime in a group discussion, “You priests and pastors are always telling us that we should not go to the cabaret, and that we should always go to church on Sundays. But those things concern only our nightlife and weekends. How about our everyday life? If I produce more cavans of rice per hectare, does it make me a better Christian?”

What the peasant was actually saying is that if the church would really be serious about its ministry to the rural people, then it must address the crucial issues they are facing in their everyday life, not just their nightlife and weekends.

Rice is not God

Sometime ago, peasants in the rural areas as well as the consumers in the urban centers encountered an artificial shortage of rice. After a careful analysis of the situation, it was discovered that this was due to the presence of a powerful rice cartel controlling and monopolizing the trading of rice from the producers to the consumers. Rice was bought at a very low price from the producers, and sold at a very high price to the consumers. Consequently, both the peasant producers of rice and the consuming public were complaining.

When the peasant from Bicol said that God is rice, he was not saying that the opposite is also true. God is rice, but rice is not God. What the powerful rice cartel did was to turn rice into a god, a false god or an idol that exploits even the rice producers.

As I was telling my class in theology, a false god or an idol has no power of its own. The power of an idol or a false god lies in the hands of those who created such an idol. And this is my third and final point of reflection: To celebrate rural life is not only to recognize the wisdom of rural people and learn from them, but also to share with their struggles and hopes.

The rice that gives life and sustains us all should not be turned into a false god that exploits us. God is rice, but always bear in mind, rice is not God! #

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