More harvest
Going out of a service some time ago a lady who was visiting this Church said to me, ‘At the end of Guide me O thou great redeemer, we sang the words, “Feed me till I want no more”. We’re not allowed to sing that in our Church’.
I could have been a little bit thrown by this comment except for the fact that I actually understood it – the difference comes from some versions of the hymn ending with the words, ‘Feed me now and evermore’, and others with ‘Feed me till I want no more’.
Some take exception to that second version simply because we can never be fed enough, and God with all his abundance of gifts never stops feeding us. That is one of the great things we celebrate at Harvest ! In the reading that we heard from the Book of Exodus we are given the account of the manna from heaven – the literal bread from heaven which God provided as the Israelites primary source of food for the whole 40 years they were in the desert.
At harvest time, we are giving thanks for the food we have – we pray in the Lords Prayer that the Lord will ‘give us this day our daily bread’, and though our food doesn’t come in quite the same way as the Israelites, it is effectively still food from heaven, as God meets our needs.
And that’s a recognition that it’s good for us all to stop and just think about occasionally. So much of life is taken for granted, but without God what would that life be ?
We can give thanks today for all that we have, we can wonder at the vast assortment of foods on offer to us, we can give thanks for the work of farmers and others who help to produce that food. We can celebrate the achievements of those who are helping to bring food to all people, though of course there remains a huge amount to do in order to feed the world, but there is something we need far more than our possessions or even our daily food.
And that’s what Jesus is talking about in the reading from the gospel of John, as he talks of the true bread from heaven. Earlier in the same Chapter Jesus had fed 5000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. We’re told that those who were there got as much as they wanted to eat.
Given that many of them probably lived in poverty and rarely had anything like enough to eat, it’s no real surprise that they followed Jesus to the other side of the lake !
And he knew why they were following him. He was no fool. They had responded to the free lunch ! Jesus had certainly met their immediate needs, but then he reminded them that being physically fed would only provide them with short term satisfaction. He said, ‘do not hunger for food which perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life which the Son of Man will give you.’
Naturally the people didn’t understand him. ‘Show us a sign’ they said, ‘so that we can believe you’. They quoted their ancestors as seeing the sign of bread coming down from heaven to sustain them…
And so Jesus challenged them and their understanding of him – ‘I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.
Bread is a basic necessity of life – it’s one of life’s most valuable foods, and that was what Jesus was saying about himself… We need him…
‘Feed me till I want no more’ doesn’t actually mean that God’s work ever stops, but it does allow that suggestion to be made, that we can have enough, but the truth is that this side of heaven we can never have enough of God in our lives. We can never have enough of his grace, his mercy, his understanding, his peace, his love… As we journey through our lives we hopefully journey closer to him – and in doing that we learn more about him, and perhaps, as that happens, we learn more about ourselves.
As we celebrate the harvest we thank God for the food we have, for the many blessings that he gives us each day, and we celebrate God’s love for us, and every time we think of that love we must be reminded of his love for others, for all people, and his demand that we must love them too… Jesus’ love is the true bread from heaven – it is the most powerful source of strength, and the most basic form of food, spiritual food…
Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ As we offer our thanks to God, we can put our trust in him, and with his strength and his support we can dedicate our lives to doing the things he calls us to do.
This week I saw a Japanese version of the 23rd Psalm, with which I’d like to finish because I think it really shows that ultimately whatever happens and wherever we are we can depend on God to be with us :
The Lord is my pace-setter, I shall not rush.
He makes me stop for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness
Which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day.
I will not fret for his presence is here.
His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with his oils of tranquillity.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
True harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours.
For I shall walk in the peace of my Lord
And dwell in his house for ever.
AMEN
I could have been a little bit thrown by this comment except for the fact that I actually understood it – the difference comes from some versions of the hymn ending with the words, ‘Feed me now and evermore’, and others with ‘Feed me till I want no more’.
Some take exception to that second version simply because we can never be fed enough, and God with all his abundance of gifts never stops feeding us. That is one of the great things we celebrate at Harvest ! In the reading that we heard from the Book of Exodus we are given the account of the manna from heaven – the literal bread from heaven which God provided as the Israelites primary source of food for the whole 40 years they were in the desert.
At harvest time, we are giving thanks for the food we have – we pray in the Lords Prayer that the Lord will ‘give us this day our daily bread’, and though our food doesn’t come in quite the same way as the Israelites, it is effectively still food from heaven, as God meets our needs.
And that’s a recognition that it’s good for us all to stop and just think about occasionally. So much of life is taken for granted, but without God what would that life be ?
We can give thanks today for all that we have, we can wonder at the vast assortment of foods on offer to us, we can give thanks for the work of farmers and others who help to produce that food. We can celebrate the achievements of those who are helping to bring food to all people, though of course there remains a huge amount to do in order to feed the world, but there is something we need far more than our possessions or even our daily food.
And that’s what Jesus is talking about in the reading from the gospel of John, as he talks of the true bread from heaven. Earlier in the same Chapter Jesus had fed 5000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. We’re told that those who were there got as much as they wanted to eat.
Given that many of them probably lived in poverty and rarely had anything like enough to eat, it’s no real surprise that they followed Jesus to the other side of the lake !
And he knew why they were following him. He was no fool. They had responded to the free lunch ! Jesus had certainly met their immediate needs, but then he reminded them that being physically fed would only provide them with short term satisfaction. He said, ‘do not hunger for food which perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life which the Son of Man will give you.’
Naturally the people didn’t understand him. ‘Show us a sign’ they said, ‘so that we can believe you’. They quoted their ancestors as seeing the sign of bread coming down from heaven to sustain them…
And so Jesus challenged them and their understanding of him – ‘I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.
Bread is a basic necessity of life – it’s one of life’s most valuable foods, and that was what Jesus was saying about himself… We need him…
‘Feed me till I want no more’ doesn’t actually mean that God’s work ever stops, but it does allow that suggestion to be made, that we can have enough, but the truth is that this side of heaven we can never have enough of God in our lives. We can never have enough of his grace, his mercy, his understanding, his peace, his love… As we journey through our lives we hopefully journey closer to him – and in doing that we learn more about him, and perhaps, as that happens, we learn more about ourselves.
As we celebrate the harvest we thank God for the food we have, for the many blessings that he gives us each day, and we celebrate God’s love for us, and every time we think of that love we must be reminded of his love for others, for all people, and his demand that we must love them too… Jesus’ love is the true bread from heaven – it is the most powerful source of strength, and the most basic form of food, spiritual food…
Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ As we offer our thanks to God, we can put our trust in him, and with his strength and his support we can dedicate our lives to doing the things he calls us to do.
This week I saw a Japanese version of the 23rd Psalm, with which I’d like to finish because I think it really shows that ultimately whatever happens and wherever we are we can depend on God to be with us :
The Lord is my pace-setter, I shall not rush.
He makes me stop for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness
Which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day.
I will not fret for his presence is here.
His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with his oils of tranquillity.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
True harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours.
For I shall walk in the peace of my Lord
And dwell in his house for ever.
AMEN
Comments