Skit – Hope through Community

Characters: God (best if female) and Farmer Joe.

Farmer Joe: (Dials phone – by pressing three buttons)

God: (God answers ringing phone) Hello

Farmer Joe: Hello! Hello God!

God: Yes, this is God. You sound surprised!

FJ: Well I am. I didn’t expect you to answer!

God: Yeah, well how did you figure out how to ring me.

FJ: Well, I’m in a bit of a quandary and I wanted so much to talk to you. I was looking at my new phone and discovered that it has letters as well as numbers on it. So I pressed G – O – D. And blow me down . you answered.

God: Well don’t expect it to happen all the time.

FJ: You mean it only happens occasionally, like when it is Worship in the Garden.

God: Something like that.

FJ: Well how about that. Hey, say gad’day to mum and dad and pop and nan and .

God: Joe.

FJ: Yes

God: There are quite a few people present today waiting to hear our conversation. I don’t think they will be impressed if you keep them sitting there chasing flies while you catch up with all your dead relatives.

FJ: Oh! Yeah .look, I’ve got big problems. The agronomist said it was a good year to sow a big crop. So I did. At first the season started with good rainfall. But then no more rain and hardly a crop. When I am about to harvest what little crop I have it starts raining. Now I had to sow my crop . and buy some machinery, for which of course, I had to borrow money. Well, now interest rates are going up. I was going to blame John Howard but I didn’t think he would answer the phone. That’s why I thought I would go to the top . and I rang you!

God: So you are going to blame me for your problems.

FJ: Well, no, not really. It is just that everything seems in a state. To make enough money to make ends meet I have to work my land harder than I would like. But what do you do? And the value of the dollar has risen so our export produce is going to lose value. And then there is global warming . who knows if it is actually happening . but if it is true I don’t need it! And just to make things really bad our doctors are terrorists . well one of them is . well at least he was accused . well there was a rumour . no leave that one out.

God: So where are you going with all this Joe?

FJ: I’m going around the twist, that’s where I’m going and I need some direction.

God: Okay, well I’ll give you one word: Community.

FJ: Community!

God: Yep.

FJ: Gee thanks . not money, not rain when I need it, not peace in the world! One word! I’m overwhelmed.

God: Well, that is the privilege of being God. Knowing what you really need.

FJ: And I need a word!?

God: Well, I could give you a psychologist . but it seems at every farmer’s gathering someone is there to tell you that you must be depressed. I figured I would offer you something different. So I’m giving you a word to be your guide. The word “community” . a group of people having a common interest. Well I want to stretch that a bit and say, “all people and things with a common interest”. As you know, society has become very individualistic. Everyone is trying to out do each other which happens to be at the expense of everyone and everything else. You need to rediscover the importance of community . upholding the common good. But when I talk about community I want you to think about your farm as your community, the soil, and also think of the future as your community, the animals, renewable and non-renewable resources. You see, I created all this stuff, in fact I am all this stuff, people, world, universe, and I made it for a common purpose. But everyone has claimedtheir patch and gone in their own direction. It’s making quite a mess. That’s not the way it is supposed to work . and it doesn’t work that way.

FJ: Well, people will think I’m loco if I tell them the soil on my farm is part of my community.

God: They will think you are loco if you tell them you were talking to God on the phone.

FJ: True. So you are saying that I’ve got to start thinking about our common interest.

God: Yep, like with the land. You need the ground to produce. The ground needs your help to produce. Rather than just getting out of the ground what you want you sort of listen to the ground. What does the ground need? (pause) Like the future. We need to enter into a relationship with the future. If we are going to be in community with the future . then what are the things we need to do to make sure the future’s interests are served as well as our own? That means valuing regeneration of resources.

FJ: Okay, so I’m getting a handle on this. So, for example, instead of thinking in terms of productivity we need to think of sustainability. . You know we farmers are talking about sustainability!

God: Yeah, and I’m loving it because you are now catching on to what I’ve been doing for billions of years.

FJ: Yeah, well you’ve had billions of years to work it out!

God: Well, Joe, after my billions of years of effort sometimes I wonder if making humans to help me was such a good idea!

FJ: Point taken . let’s move on.

God: In fact, thinking about sustainability is valuing listening to the land, listening to it needs, and since I am the land you are listening to me. While most don’t realise it this new interest in sustainability has meant I have had some great conversations with farmers. I’m loving it. In any case . just start changing what you value. It is the things you value that give you a sense of life. If you value money then as you get more of it you will be wealthy (though you probably have noticed it doesn’t seem to make you feel that much better).

FJ: I wouldn’t mind if you gave me a try.

God: Joe . if you change your values then you will have a greater sense of wealth. Like if you value the relationships with your family over and above how much money you can make for them. You can be flat broke and your whole family will still have a wonderful sense of wealth. See, if you, as a farmer, thought in terms of community then you would value nutrition over profit. So your sense of value is not how much money you make but the tummies you have filled. And industrialists, if they thought about community they would think not in terms of labour reduction but meaningful labour. I got Ghandi to tell the world that every individual had a right to work but ever since then CEOs have been trying to figure our ways of minimising their workforce . but that is not community.

FJ: Okay, I’m getting the idea.

God: (Say this last paragraph deliberately) Good . So your homework is, for this week, to think about what it means to be in community with everyone and everything. How does it affect the way you value things, and the way you live, if you are trying to create the common good? How does it affect your relationship with your land, with your family, your neighbour, the people who buy your produce? No doubt you will discover you are much too selfish to really live that way. But don’t worry, we will work on that over time.

FJ: So you will forgive me if I mess up.

God: What’s new?

FJ: Gee thanks.

God: I love you just the same. Call me again soon!

FJ: Okay, bye.

God: Bye

(Both put down phone)

FJ: Like I’m going to do that for homework!

God: I can still hear you!

Tom Stuart

November 2007