The Farmer and the Field
A fable on over-conservatism in the Church
There was once a Farmer who owned a large field. A portion of the field was a beautiful, well-kept garden. But rabbits, moles, and mice kept eating it.
One day, a snake crept into the garden. He noticed that the Farmer looked agitated. “Excuse my intrusion,” pried the Snake. “I do not mean to impose, but I could not take my eyes off your long face. What is troubling you so deeply?”
“That’s alright,” said the Farmer. “It’s just that rabbits, mice, and moles keep eating my garden.”
The Snake’s eyes shifted toward the soil. “I may be able to help you,” said the Snake. “Dig holes in a circle around the garden. Place stones inside each hole but leave one hole open. When the moles come to your garden, the stones will be a stumbling block on their way in and out.”
The Farmer listened to the Snake. And when next week came, there were no more moles eating the garden. But there were still rabbits and mice.
“How should I stop the mice from eating my garden?” asked the Farmer.
The Snake pondered for a short while. “Let the grass grow long around the garden. When the mice come, the grass will blind them and they will be lost along the way.”
The Farmer listened to the Snake. And when next week came, there were no more mice eating the garden. But there were still rabbits.
The Snake approached the Farmer this time to inquire about the rabbits stealing from the garden. The Farmer looked troubled, “What should I do?”
The Snake smiled, “Plant thorn bushes, weeds and thistles inside your garden, it will be a snare to their foot; their bellies too plump to squirm free.”
The Farmer listened to the Snake, again. And sure enough, the next week came and there were no more rabbits eating the garden. All the rodents were gone.
It was nearing the end of the season now, and the Farmer started to prepare for the upcoming harvest. Heading to the field, the Farmer stopped by the way to grab some fruit out of the garden. But when he did, a thorn pierced his hand.
“Ouch!” cried the Farmer.
As blood streamed down his hand, he gazed upon his garden as if for the first time. The garden was not a garden anymore.
The next day, the Farmer told the Snake that there were rats eating his field. The Snake's eyes opened, “Oh no, that will never do!”
So, the Snake with his taut belly followed the Farmer out into the field, when suddenly the ground gave way and the Snake fell into a hole.
“You deceived me!” snatched the Snake.
“No,” said the Farmer. “I told you the truth. I said there were rats eating my field, which is true. I never asked you to accompany me”.
“So, then–––” hissed the Snake. “If you don't free me, what will come of your precious garden?”
“You know,” said the Farmer. “I was so preoccupied with keeping the garden in perfect order that I lost sight of what a garden is.”
The Farmer looked back at his garden. “Instead, I let you make it a den of bones.”
Just then, the Snake lunged at the Farmer, but he quickly pinned the Snake’s neck between the prongs of a garden rake, grabbed the Snake by the throat and threw it into a bird cage swaying from a tree.
“The only thing that grew in the garden was iniquity–––and your belly is full of it!”
The Farmer left. Vultures circled the tree.
The Farmer went back to his garden. He uprooted the thorn bushes, weeds and thistles, cut the long grass around the edges, removed the stones and filled in the holes, and then began anew; the rabbits, mice, moles, and even the rats of the field, were free to eat of it.
“If my garden is not for everyone, then my garden is fruitless. You can take my fruit, even steal it, because I know my fruit is good. If not my food, then you become food for someone else.”
Matlock Bobechko | July 18, 2019 – 9:00 AM EST
I love this one.
Yeaaaahhhh