Day Fourteen – The earth is the Lord’s

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it

Psalm 24:1

Have a look at this couple. What do you think their relationship with the landscape is?

At first glance it seems a pretty picture. We have a newly married couple Mr, Mrs Andrew and a rolling landscape where the corn has just been harvested and there are sheep in the fields. OK, Mr Andrews is holding a gun but that was part of the course for the landed gentry. However, the message is clear this rich couple own this land. You can almost sense them sweeping their arms over two thirds of the painting. This is their private property. The land on the Suffolk/Essex border still is. The closest you can get to it is seeing this picture in the National Gallery.

This idea of total land ownership is not something ancient. It was something that emerged in Gainsborough’s time with the erosion of grazing rights. The painting isn’t celebrating a marriage but Mr Andrews gaining ownership of the land through his new wife.

Many of us sustained ourselves through lockdown with long walks and I will continue walking even in winter. However, in reality, very little of our land and waterways are open to ordinary people. This impacts communities and our connection to creation. The people of Sheffield fought for the ‘right to roam’ but it is an ongoing fight. The ‘right to roam’ only extends to about 8% of land. This is not to argue against private property or good land management but to say that communal rights and responsibilities should be part of the equation. Those stuck in cramped flats should be able to enjoy the wild and the earth is our natural ‘foodbank’. I fear sometimes that the land which was once ‘common-wealth’ is being parcelled up and resold back to us for a fee like Joni Mitchell’s ‘tree museum’.

What does it mean to see ourselves as custodians of the creation because it chiefly belongs to God rather our fenced off property? Can we re-wild our collective spaces by creating gardens or orchards? Perhaps, there is a social-justice edge to Forest Church?

We await the coming of the one who walked through the world and didn’t recognise the border fences that others had put up in their minds. The earth belongs to God and everything in it.

Suzanne Nockels