Did you go to the Ag Show this week? I can understand why it is an all-time favourite for Bermudians. And this year I am glad the pigs are back. I have always loved pigs.

As a child I watched an Astrid Lindgren TV series about Emil of Lonneberga. It is about mischievous but good-hearted little Emil Svensson, about 6 or 7 years old.

At one time Emil had a little pig that he raised himself and he taught it all kind of tricks. Pigs are very intelligent, about up there with apes. I always wanted to have my little pig after that. I get reminded of this childhood dream when I see the animals at the Ag Show.

Ag stands for agricultural, and agriculture has been what brought man to independence from nature. Farmers cultivated the land and raised the animals in a somewhat controlled setting.

It was the big step from hunters and gatherers. The third chapter of the Bible says that at the very beginning of God’s story with us humans, after man was expelled from the Garden Eden, he and his sons became farmers.

God says in Genesis 3: 17b to 19 (NIV): “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

What a difference to the paradise of Eden! It makes us different from all other animals. We have to work for a living, and sometimes it is toiling and sweating, not only for farmers.

I have the highest respect for farmers. I grew up in the countryside and often helped during harvest, or getting the cows home from the pastures in the evening.

Farmers work hard so that we may have food on our tables. We depend on their toil and labour. Even though Bermuda imports most of its food, it all had to be grown or raised at some point and nothing beats fresh Bermuda produce.

In the Bible, farmers are often mentioned. One image of a particular kind of farmer is even used for God himself: the shepherd.

We all know Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

While we may not have shepherds like that in Bermuda, you might have seen them in Europe or other places, or at least on TV. Though it might appear as an idyll due to romantic images, it sure was not just that in biblical times.

When David got ready to fight Goliath, he said to King Saul (1 Samuel 17:34-36a, NIV): “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear …” To be a shepherd can be a dangerous task.

So it is not just green pastures and still waters, a good shepherd will also fight off the enemy and give courage to pass through the dark valley. When God is the Good Shepherd, we do not have to fear.

About a thousand years later, Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. He says in John 10 that he knows his sheep and they know his voice and follow him in contrast to thieves who try to steel the sheep.

Whose voice do we listen to? Who do we follow? We sure have many options. How do we recognise the Good Shepherd? I think we have to recall the basic attributes of a good shepherd: nurture, care and protection. Those are actually also the attributes of love.

Love is caring for others, even for those who we may not “like”, who are not “like” us, make sure their needs are met (nurturing) and protect them from evil and danger.

We can see that love so clearly in parents and thus it is no surprise that Jesus describes God’s relationship to us with that of a parent as well. We have a heavenly father, and he takes us under his wings like a mother hen protects its chicks (another image from agriculture).

It is this kind of love, love that cares, nurtures and protects, that God is not only showing to us, but that he requests us to show to each other. We are called to be the shepherd’s helpers. In every random act of kindness, every time we support others, give of our time, talent, or treasure, we fulfil the greatest commandment: love God and your neighbour as yourself.

Imagine a world were every Christian was willing to help and support the people around them, not only those we like, not only by being charitable, but by working towards justice and make sure that everybody has a fair life, fair wages, fair rents, fair prices, fair work conditions, fair schools, where fair does mean more than you get what you deserve, but you get what you need.

The first Christians in Jerusalem tried to live that way. According to Acts 2 they sold their possessions and shared everything with each other so that the needs of all were met. They spent time with each other in prayer and worship, ate with each other and cared for all, especially for those who could not earn their own living.

Let me close by thanking all our farmers one more time for all their work and effort and for providing food for us. I am glad we have the annual Ag Show to showcase some of their work and products.