Parables and the Bees
July 27, 2014 | Patrick Preheim
Bee Fact: “bees and other insects pollinate what is arguably the tastiest part of our diet, including fruits, vegetables and the things with which they are made or flavoured, such as the strawberries in strawberry jam, the blueberries in blueberry syrup, and the almonds in almond tart”. “The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.” (Achim Steiner, Executive Director UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on www.buzzaboutbees.net).
This week we picked our first raspberries. Patty loves raspberries. In the cool of the mornings I am still hearing a collective hum emanating from our patch by the garage. We are reaping the benefits of the bees even as they benefit from our pesticide free plantation. It is a good time to live in Saskatchewan.
It is the season for another garden themed service. I say that as many of us are beginning the backyard harvest in earnest and will continue with it for some weeks. Blanching something green last week my thoughts turned to a number of parables Jesus shared, parables which make me think of the land and growing things. Many of the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13 draw upon agrarian images. Yes, I thought to myself, Jesus chose subject matter his people would have understood, and if the Gospels do this so can we. For my sermon, I thought, I will explore the Kingdom of God in the relationship of bees to our food.
You see, bees and their role in the survival of our planet has always intrigued me. It started back in university when someone quoted Albert Einstein as saying, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” Never mind the fact that Einstein probably didn’t utter these words, the importance of the bee in food creation has stuck with me. So I took notice of a Star-Phoenix article which appeared earlier this month about pesticides, birds, and bees. Margaret Munro of post media news wrote about a Dutch study linking the new fangled shells surrounding corn, soybeans, and canola seed which that kill bees as well as insect pests (“Pesticides linked to decline in bird life”, July 10, 2014). The shell around these seeds has an insecticide which kills bad pests as well as bees. As a consequence of fewer insects bird population and species are also starting to decline in number. The Einstein quote which is not an Einstein quote blazed again in my mind, and I thought it time to tell a parable of the Kingdom with the bee cast in a leading role. As I took another look at the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13, though, I came face to face with a huge impediment to my plan. Most people, the disciples included, don’t understand parables.
The parables of Jesus are tricky indeed. “Jesus, when he was asked why he constantly used parables, why he so habitually resorted to roundabout, analogical devices in his teaching—why, in fact, he said almost nothing without a parable—answered that he taught the crowds that way precisely in order that ‘seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand’” (Matt 13 .34-35) (Robert Capon, The Parables of the Kingdom, p.5). It seems the parables of Jesus are designed to confuse us and challenge us, which is not my typical plan for this or any sermon. The parables are particularly aggravating because they utilize images familiar to us in confusing ways.
What do you mean the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? I know the mustard plant: the seed is really tiny; they are an invasive weed; they are a pathetic little shrub. I know mustard and I know the Kingdom—How can you say the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? How can you call it a tree?
What do you mean the Kingdom of God yeast produces leaven? Leaven, in our Jewish tradition, has negative connotations (Gordon Zerbe, “Jesus uses the power of images” in The Mennonite (October 10, 1995)). What do you mean a woman is the one working with the Kingdom of God yeast?—Kingdom of God work is man’s work. I know leaven and I know the Kingdom—How can you say the Kingdom of God is like leaven producing yeast worked on by a woman? It is all so unclean!
And these two parables are not alone in blind-siding us. Jesus invoked the likes of “an unjust judge, a savage king, a tipsy slave owner, an unfair employer, and even a man who only gives help to bona-fide pests (Capon, 1-2) in his stories of the Kingdom. The parables of Jesus call into question assumptions we have about the Kingdom, not reinforce our opinions of the Kingdom. The parables shock us into stupefied wonderment of the Kingdom’s mystery. Let me say it again, they do not reinforce our existing understandings of the Kingdom or of God. Would it not be the height of arrogance, therefore, for me to craft a parable of the Kingdom? Do I really understand the Kingdom? Have I moved beyond the disciples of scripture from confusion to certainty? You see my problem.
bees have four things going for them. First, they have a good sense of direction, which helps them return to the hive with no problem. Second, they have an acute sense of smell that helps them detect a wide range of flower fragrances. Third, bees remember. They can recognize and recall landmarks around their hive, flower patterns, and blooming schedules. Fourth, bees have keen eyes. They can differentiate light from dark, distinguish shapes, and recognize differences in colors...They can see ultraviolet colors...which are radiation wavelengths that humans can’t see. In fact, some flowers have ultraviolet nectar guides, which are markings that point bees to the nectar. (Randi Lynn Mrvos, “What’s all the buzz about?” in The Christian Science Monitor (Tuesday, May 6, 2008), p.19)
In spite of my parabolic predicament I will make a couple attempts at Kingdom parables starring the beloved bee. The Kingdom of God is like a hive of worker bees sent out to collect precious nectar for the Queen. Flying far far from home, upwards of three miles, the worker bee is tempted by myriad smells, colours, and shapes. Some flowers are ignored, for not for every flower is good for the hive. The bee returns home rejoicing with a waggle dance to mobilize the entire hive. They go out philandering through the poppies, rolling in the clover, frolicking through the beans—it is an orgy of apicultural (api is Latin for bee) proportions. 8, 10, 12 trips out per bee is not uncommon, for the nectar is plentiful but the bees are few. And as they collect their nectar seeds of the Kingdom come into being.
Bee Fact: “During October 2010, the United Nations published a report, in which they place a value on insect pollination at (£134 bn) 250 billion Canadian dollars.” “Not a single bee has ever sent...an invoice. And that is part of the problem—because most of what comes to us from nature is free. Because it is not invoiced, because it is not priced, because it is not traded in markets, we tend to ignore it. (Pavan Sukhdev, United Nations report, “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” on www.buzzaboutbees.net).
The first parable I told has a provocative point or two, but it was pretty tame and pretty straightforward. The parables of Jesus do carry good news about the kingdom, but they also can bring a challenge. Let me try again. The Kingdom of God is like a quarter section sown to canola with neonicotinoids to keep enemies from devouring the good seed. The vaccine spreads through the plant protecting it from the marauding bands of weevil, moth and midge. With no insects to feed the young, the birds of the air leave the Province. Wooed by the glorious field of yellow the Bumblebee and wild bee descend to collect the sweet canola nectar. Intoxicated on neonicotinoids, however, the bees swoon and stagger. A few crash headlong into oncoming tractors while others, in their drunken stupor, can’t remember the way home and freeze during the night. Protected through its prophylactic shield the canola produces a wonderful and lonely harvest—some areas yielding 40 bushels per acre, some 30, and some 20. Canola, farmer, seed company, and lending agency all rejoice in the bounty of their quarter section in the Kingdom.
Bee fact: Pollination sometimes only occurs when combined with buzzing. The anthers of some flowers...only release their pollen if they are shaken. Bumblebees achieve this by placing the upper part of their body (thorax), close to the anthers, then vibrating their flight muscles very fast. At the same time, they make a lovely buzzing sound. Buzz pollination is especially beneficial for tomatoes and other fruits, resulting in a more abundant crop. (www.buzzaboutbees.net).
Maybe my last parable was a bit edgy, but it implicates us all. The truth of the matter is that more chemical tonnage is used on lawns and golf courses than on crops. Combine these numbers with the pesticides used in window boxes, the cleaners used on windows, and toxins used to control garden weeds and we realize that we are all complicit. We strive for the perfect field and the perfect yard and the perfect church and the perfect life. In our push for perfection there is often collateral damage. What is the good news of the Kingdom that we find in the biblical parables and my feeble attempt at bee parables?
The good news is that the Kingdom continues. Somehow and in some way the Kingdom of God survives. If we interpret the story of wheat and weeds in a Calvinist approach, the enemy sows weeds within the church. If we interpret the story of the wheat and weeds in a classic Anabaptist approach, the enemy has sown weeds in the world (Richard Gardner, Believers Church Bible Commentary—Matthew, pp. 219-220). In either case the Kingdom is not brought down on account of an enemy or a few weeds. The Kingdom continues even if it appears to be a ragged mustard shrub. The Kingdom continues even when portrayed as leaven.
Is our way of living causing serious environmental damage reflected in decreased bird and bee populations? Yes, and for that we are and will be called to account. But even this will not thwart the Kingdom of God. Given all that we and the enemy put the Kingdom through it is a mystery that it survives. But it does survive! There is a power of integration out there greater than our powers of destruction. Some might take the mysterious fortitude of the Kingdom as a license to do whatever they want, but I view it otherwise. The resilience of the Kingdom makes me want to join in with it and be filled with it and labour on behalf of it. I want to be resilient like the Kingdom. It is an imperishable and enduring seed (1st Peter 1.23) which sweetens our living and gives meaning to our dying. That is the Good News of the Kingdom parables.
The Good News of the Kingdom is that there is more grace than we can imagine. The wheat, mustard seed, dough, raspberries, beans, and so much else in our world just grows. We do precious little to make those raspberries produce and yet breakfast grows in our backyard! The rains fall; the bees pollinate; the sun shines; the raspberries reseed themselves—amazing. Amazing, that is the Kingdom of God for you. Amen.
