(5) Now, if this is the case, how are we, then, to live?

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1 In the year 1770 Captain James Cook, landed in Botany Bay. Now the sight of a large desalination plant, Australia s busiest airport and a huge container port terminal, Botany Bay along with much of the Sydney region is the home of the Eora People. Here Captain Cook claimed possession of the land for Britain. Thus began the era of foreign settlement in Australia. It is estimated some 320,000 indigenous people among 250 different nations inhabited Australia at the beginning of European settlement. The Eora people were made up of 29 clan groups spread across the Sydney region and these included the Bidjigal, Gadigal, Boromedagal, Cameragal and the Cobragal people. The Wallumedegal clan inhabited the area where this church now stands and where many of us live. Wallumedegal territory followed the north bank of the Parramatta River from Lane Cove up to where Parramatta lies today. Meanwhile the people were spread up the hills through Ermington, Ryde, Carlingford, Epping and Beecroft. They feasted mainly on fish, birds, small game and bush plants. Both Sydney s indigenous people and foreigners lived side by side in relative harmony until April 1789 when a smallpox epidemic that was introduced into the colony, hit the area. It had a devastating effect as half the indigenous population died. In the wake of European settlement an indigenous way of life that had flourished for more than 40,000 years was now in serious jeopardy. Things became worse as the colony grew. Settlers moved beyond Sydney Cove to occupy and clear the land. Aboriginal people were considered an impediment to the development of farming and grazing. So they were run off the land. Many were hunted down while those who managed to survive such dispossession became dependent on introduced food and clothing.

2 (2) Alcohol, used as a means of trade by the British settlers, had a particularly devastating effect. Such a tragic scenario meant most indigenous people in this region did not survive. Indeed, in the mid 1830 s Samuel Marsden, the famous parson and magistrate, wrote: from Sydney to Parramatta all along the north side of the river, there is but one original Native, the rest are all dead; though they were very numerous in these districts. When James Cook took possession of this land a vibrant indigenous people and a thriving indigenous culture existed. Sixty years later the scenario was quite different. Indeed when James Cook claimed possession he did so under the doctrine of terra nullius, a decree that says the land is devoid of human occupation and is, therefore, ripe for conquest. But was it? Tragically the experience of the Wallumedegal people, along with their compatriots, was one of terrible dispossession, a dispossession that took place under the false notion of terra nullius. For this land was not ripe simply for the taking! The possession of land is a critical matter for all of us. In today s reading from the Hebrew Bible we hear a story concerning an ancient king who desires to expand his possession of the land by extending the gardens around his palace. In the story King Ahab approaches the owner of the land whose name is Naboth. But the King s approach to acquire the vineyard is rejected. Disappointed with his failure to acquire land, Ahab s Phoenician wife, Jezebel, steps in. She frames Naboth and has him conveniently eliminated. With the impediment removed, Ahab then moves in and takes possession of the land he covets. In this story, the Hebrew word yarash or to take possession appears a number of times. It literally means to occupy or to seize as King Ahab takes the land for himself. King Ahab possesses the land by any means possible in order to satisfy his wants.

3 (3) The term yarash is mentioned in the Bible many times. Most notably it s used in relation to the land God gives the Hebrew people as the Book of Leviticus informs us: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God. (Lev.20:24). Here there is a different kind of possession as the Hebrew people are commissioned by God to possess the land of Canaan. The Israelites are ordained by God to enter the land of the Canaanite people and occupy it. Now this may seem quite problematic in view of our own history here in Australia and indeed in the history of many other places where indigenous people have been driven off the land. But, you see, the biblical concept of possession and the injunction to possess, as proclaimed in Leviticus, is not related to the practice of exploiting the defenceless or indeed decimating the most vulnerable. Rather, this biblical mandate to possess is directly related to God s call to establish justice by attending to the needs of poor and the weak, by protecting the deprived and those on the periphery and by making God s name known among the nations. Indeed, the whole notion of Israel inheriting and possessing the land in the Bible needs to be seen in the context of the law as given in the Ten Commandments. These commandments are not to be written off as being reactionary, negative or oppressive. Rather, they are given as a blueprint for a just, honourable, ethical society that bears witness to the loving, gracious acts of God. Indeed these commandments are given to liberate people as the foundations for a just, merciful, inclusive society are laid. Moreover, in the tradition of the Hebrew Bible there is the Deuteronomic law. This is a reform related to the Book of Deuteronomy and it decrees a special concern for widows, the fatherless and for strangers. This reform focuses on humanitarianism, the sharing of resources, care for the creation and the command to love God by resisting the exploits, the deception, the duplicity and the corruption of the many polytheistic, ego-centred, fertility religions that abounded at the time. In other words the decree to posses the land, in terms of Israel s experience, is to actually create a society that is righteous and just. It is to live in community that addresses needs, bears the burdens of others and offers a quality of life to all people. And such an edict sets Israel aside as a just, righteous community among other nations whose religion and consequent way of life was fouled by exploitation, treachery and abuse.

4 (4) Moreover, in this biblical context, the idea of inheriting the land, the concept of possessing the land, needs to be understood in terms of God s divine gift. In other words, possession or occupation of the land comes as a gracious response to God s giftedness. It s not meant to be a means of acquiring power and wealth or fulfilling an ambition or a desire. This is where Naboth comes into conflict with Ahab. For when Ahab requests the land, Naboth replies The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance. Here Naboth states the land is actually not his to sell or to give away. For, the land has been gifted to his family. The land belongs to God! This contrasts starkly with the pragmatic, cunning approach of Jezebel and Ahab who see the land as a commodity, as something to be seized, to be possessed, to be occupied and exploited. For, you see, Naboth s vineyard cannot be bartered or sold. Moreover, Ahab s seizure of the land through deception and murder mocks the divine gift of God. It s an insult to God. And we soon see how the prophet Elijah comes to condemn these actions in no uncertain terms (I Kings 21:17-21). Friends, the story of Naboth s vineyard has some very important things to say. It s a story about land and the possession of land. And here we are challenged to think about what it means for us to possess or to take possession of something. Ahab s acquisition of the land highlights the fact that land seized for one s own benefit, land occupied for one s own gratification, indeed, land requisitioned for one s personal indulgence is simply a sin. And, in the light of Naboth s understanding of divine gift, I believe this notion extends to everything we interact with. For who we are and what he have - are all gifts from God. We actually own nothing. Everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God. Without God s giftedness and the fruits of this giftedness - we are nothing. Indeed, just look and the way we come into the world - and the way we leave it! And, importantly, everything we are and everything we have is gifted to us from God for a purpose. This purpose is to bear witness to God s goodness. Indeed, everything we are and everything we have is offered to us by God for the purpose of testifying to God s love and to God s justice.

5 (5) Pause for a moment and think about this. All that we are and all that we have is a gift. God freely gives. God generously gives. Everything we are and all that we have is pure gift so graciously offered to us by the God who is love! Now, if this is the case, how are we, then, to live? We can t change history. We can t reverse what has happened in the past, especially as we look back on our own history. But we can listen to what the Bible is saying. We can heed the stern words of the Old Testament prophets. And we can do so by authenticating the truth of what is being said in the story of Naboth s vineyard. We can do so by bearing witness to the testimonies of the ancient prophets that declare everything is pure gift! So, whether it be in terms of how much attention we pay to the most vulnerable in our community, whether it be in the choices we make concerning how we share the resources God has given us with others or whether it be more specific in the decisions we make regarding how much we put in the offering plate each week - the overriding truth is that all the we are and everything we have is a gift from God. It s not ours to own, it s not ours to conquer, it s not ours to exploit or to subjugate. Rather it s God s and it s gifted to us by God for the purpose of just, holy, responsible living! Brothers and sisters in Christ, with this in mind, may we continue to open our ears to the Word of God - as God speaks to us through such amazing stories as Naboth s vineyard. For, there is a message here. There is a message here for all of us. Let us move forward as God s people bearing witness to God s goodness and testifying to the love, grace, mercy, compassion and justice of God which is so freely ours in Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen. John Barr