On Tomatoes

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

O GOD, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The process for planting a tomato is much like how the seed of our faith is planted and grows. The seed must be planted in good soil, then it must receive light from the sun and be nourished by water and nutrients of the soil. For the Christian, it is through the waters of Holy Baptism that our soil is made good for the planting of the seed of faith, and through the body and blood of Christ received in the Holy Eucharist that we are nourished. Do this and your tomato plant will grow, just as the Christian’s faith will grow. But there comes a point with a tomato plant where you will want to stake it, that is to say plant a large wooden stake in the ground which will be attached to the plant to provide support in order for it to bear the best fruit. So to in our Christian journey, if we want to bear the best fruit, such a support can be useful.

The equivalent of a tomato plant’s support stake for the Christian is a Rule of Life. CS Lewis describes a Rule of Life as, “intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness.” The use of a Rule became popularized by St Benedict of Nursia and Benedictine Monasticism, and the practice continues throughout Western Christianity. Christian author Ken Shigematsu more recently wrote on the adoption of a Rule of Life using the image of a trellis, similar to the concept of the tomtato stake, but which provides not simply support but also guidance as the Christian seeks to develop a Rule which addresses all the different facets of life which affect us. The Book of Common Prayer itself exhorts all Christians to adopt a rule, saying, “Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church.” (555)

The Book of Common Prayer goes on to provide a framework for the development of a Rule of Life which covers the basic areas in which each Christian needs support: the attendance at publish worship, the practice of private prayer, Bible reading and self-discipline, living by the example of Christ in every day life, witness of the faith, personal service to Church and community and offering money according to your means for the support of the Church at home and overseas. These categories are at times broad, but provide a great foundation for the formation of a Rule which ensures a rhythm of worship and support in living a Christian life and developing one’s faith.

The first exhortation reads, “the regularity of his attendance at public worship and esepcially at the holy Communion.” This first Rule is for some a rather obvious non-issue, while for others it can be a necessary reminder. There are generally three types of Christians. The first are those for whom attending a Sunday service is optional at best and really quite unnecessary. They have been baptised and confirmed, and there is really little left to do but live their lives as best they know how. The second group are those for whom it is viewed as a good thing to do, but for whom many excuses arise. Some common excuses might be experiencing God’s glory in his creation, or visiting with neighbours because surely it is evangelism to do so, or perhaps the need to spend time with family. Others might place their preference on reading Christian books or listening to Christian music because it is more to their liking than the homilies of their local rector or the music sung on a Sunday morning. There are finally those who view it as essential, particularly in order to be nourished by receiving Holy Communion. The Psalms similarly remind us (Ps 22, 107, 122) that communal worship in God’s house is important. The teaching we receive is similarly structured differently—due to the lectionary—than were we to pick and choose our own readings. It is all an element of turning ourselves over to God as we profess in our baptismal vows.

The second exhortation reads, “the practice of private prayer, Bible reading and self-discipline.” Throughout Scripture, many references are made to when we ought to pray. In public, in private, in sorrow, in gladness, in all circumstances. When we gather together in worship, we pray, but it is essential to, in our Rule, that we incorporate some manner of regular prayer, and in varied forms. This ought not to be simply prayers of thanksgiving and supplications, but might include forms of prayer like the daily examen, lectio divina, or even praying the Daily Offices. The Daily Offices go well with the next matter, that of frequent Scripture reading. This could range from using a daily or weekly Bible-reading schedule to reading the lectionary offerings from the Offices. Reading God’s word is always edifying and helps truly helps to solidify the metaphor of a Rule of Life as a support for our faith. Finally, self-discipline largely refers to the need to understand the sins we commonly fall into and taking steps to help ourselves avoid it. It might involve regular prayer for strength to avoid that particular sin, or, for example, if someone suffers from intemperance related to alcohol, part of their Rule might be to avoid going to bars where they might be tempted to drink.

The third exhortation is, “bringing the teaching and example of Christ into his everyday life.” This exhortation reinforces the importance of the previous points, namely that before a Christian may live what Nicky Gumbel calls the Jesus Lifestyle, they must know what it is, through attending worship where the weekly readings are explained in the homily and where the hymnody edifies us on Christ, and further in our own reading of Holy Scripture. Christianity is not an academic exercise, however, it is something we are each called to live out and in considering this exhortation, we consider how best in our individual circumstances we can do that.

The fourth exhortation is, “the boldness of his spoken witness to his faith in Christ.” At a time when Christians in the West are confronted with new martyrs and confessors throughout the Middle East and Africa who are suffering persecution and death for the sake of their faith and the name of Christ, it is difficult perhaps to feel bold in witnessing our own faith, yet it remains a reminder never to be ashamed of our faith. The old axiom that politics and religion are not suitable for the dinner table is sometimes used by Christians to shy away from admitting their faith as if it is something to be ashamed of, and sometimes a little boldness is needed. Nicky Gumbel, in the Alpha series, gives a great talk on how and why we tell others [of our faith], in which he discusses the need to understand both our audience and context, but that there is never any occasion in which it is wrong to profess faith in the name of Christ.

The fifth exhortation is, “his personal service to the Church and the community.” This ties in quite strongly with bringing the teaching of Christ to your everyday life. Christ came to serve and we are to do likewise. Service in the Church itself is particularly important however, as a vibrant community life in a local parish is a critical aspect of building up the Body of the Church, and deepening the relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ in that community. It takes many volunteer hours to allow a Church community to function well, and for a larger parish with a programme focus, there are many ways in which committing to a particular form of service can be of benefit to both the Church and the community, particularly when involved in forms of ministry that occur in the community rather than internally in the parish.

Finally, the last exhortation reads, “the offering of money according to his means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.” The final point relates to our financial responsibilities, both to support our local Church and priest, which St Paul speaks to (I Cor 9. 7-14). The emphasis here is on identifying our individual capacities and preparing a Rule that responds to that.

The idea behind a Rule of Life is that it is to be a support and guide, to nurture our faith in certain ways to help it to bear good fruit. It is not meant to be a burdensome yoke. It should begin small and simply. A Rule might begin simply by attending one church service every Sunday barring illness or emergency. It might grow, as our faith does, to incorporate more and more Rules. As a tomato plant bears good fruit when properly supported, so will our faith.