Harvest: passive recipients or active disciples

Harvest as a season seems to have diminished in some places, but it remains a hugely important part of the church calendar for so many reasons. There is the recognition of the gifts God provides for us, the gratitude we express to those working to bring food to our tables, and there is of course the response we offer in terms of how we lives our lives. 

There’s a story of a 12 year old boy named David who was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand."

Walking barefoot on the grass may not be something we want to do too often but it's good to know that we can if we want to. It emphasises the gift of freedom, a gift we so often take for granted. Add to this the gift of human contact with a loved one and we have two incredibly basic needs fulfilled, and at harvest we are thinking about basic needs being provided for and our need to offer thanks. 

At harvest, we are reminded of the abundant gifts available to us. There are lots of wonderful pictures in the bible – for example in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (8:6-11) we have an idyllic picture painted of brooks, streams and deep springs gushing out into the valleys. It is a land of wonderful exotic foods. A land, quite simply, where God supplies the needs of all. But also in that passage we are reminded pretty strongly of the need to not take the gifts for granted but to praise God, the giver of all good gifts. And these are common harvest themes. God provides abundantly, but how we receive the gifts is tremendously important. 

 

Another place where the bible speaks to us for harvest, well for all kinds of things really, is in the psalms. They offer a tremendous variety of emotions – happy, sad, good or bad, faithful or questioning… there are many psalms that offer thanks and even really extravagant praise. 

Some years ago now, I went to hear the American evangelist Tony Campolo speak. He is a white American but a tremendous speaker who attends and occasionally preaches at a church made up of mainly black people. He described how hard it is to speak to a rather reserved British group. 

He can speak passionately, loudly and emotionally and get a small polite nod if he's lucky, whereas his home congregation talk all the way through, offering words of affirmation, or praise such as Amen or Alleluia... Whilst it may be a great encouragement at times, he also told of one time when things weren't going quite so well when he heard the words, 'Help him, Lord Jesus, help him...' 

Psalms express praise and gratitude, they express wonder at the awesomeness of God, of the majesty of creation and yet the care for every little thing… 

And the psalms of praise and thanksgiving encompass so much of what harvest should be about. They're about recognising the gifts we have, praising God for them and offering our thanks, and responding to those gifts by trying to live as we know God wants us to live. 

I read recently a phrase that said, “we know who God is by what he has done, and we know what he will do by who he is.”

 

If you’re anything like me you may need to think about that for a bit before understanding it but what it is saying is that we know that God has displayed his amazing love for us by offering his son to die for us, and to rise again to offer new hope and new life, and we know by that fact how much he loves us - and he will continue to love us with a love that is unbreakable and unending. 

And through the gospel we are reminded of that love over and over again – when Jesus is asked about what we need to give him, it is only our trust, our belief… it isn’t an amazing lifestyle, wonderful though that is, it’s not even doing incredible work for others, important though that is, but it is simply recognising Jesus… That is the measure of God's love and grace. He asks nothing more of us than to believe in him... And yet believing in him will surely lead to so much more. 

When we're given great gifts, when we are the recipients of such extravagant love, when we know the one who created us, who can shape us, then we will surely respond by trying to please that person, maybe even trying to model ourselves on them... And so we are to model ourselves on Jesus surely? 

We will all have some great memories of harvest celebrations I’m sure – we see less now of the little children carrying a massive marrow or something – we smell less of the fresh fruit in the church but we still recognise that our most basic needs are met through the efforts of so many - we are to give thanks for them and to offer our prayers for them...

And taking our example from Jesus, who always saw true need, we're also to look at those who are struggling and seek to do our part to end suffering which occurs because of a lack of basic needs, something which remains far too common in our world of plenty today...

There were two people sitting in front of one big cake. One of them cut it into two so that there was one big piece and one small piece. The other reached out and took the largest piece. The first person said - 'If I'd been you, I would have taken the smallest piece.' The second one looked at him and said, 'Well ! What's the problem then? You've got the smallest piece!'

We don't mean to treat others like that but it can happen and harvest offers us a wonderful reminder that in our recognition of God's gifts we are called to offer thanks and praise. 

And we offer our thanks and praise partly by seeking to share God's wonderful gifts with others and partly by placing our trust and confidence in God to guide us and strengthen us through every moment of every day. 

We also respond by offering ourselves, to seek to discover the gifts we have which can be used to help reveal God’s glory to others and to use those gifts. 

As we think of all that we are thankful for, let’s search inside ourselves to think about our response to God for his gifts… God gives freely but he calls us not to be passive recipients but active disciples – and there can be no greater call… 

As we give thanks for the harvest may we never forget where our gifts come from – may we respond with our thanks and praise and lives lived out recognising and using the gifts God has given…. 

And with a determination to enjoy and share God's gifts and his love wherever we are and however we can. Amen