Harvest morning 2013
I may well have told this story before but as we celebrate harvest I think it's appropriate to repeat. A 12 year old boy named David 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 we can if we want to. It emphasises the gift of freedom. 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.
In the reading from Deuteronomy (8:6-11) we are reminded of the abundant gifts available to us, but also of the need to not take them for granted but to praise God, the giver of all good gifts.
Our psalm today continues that theme of praise. Recently 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... It's not always quite such a positive thing though - 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...'
But anyway back to psalm 100 - it is not a psalm for being reserved - it is a psalm of extravagant praise - Shout for joy ! Worship... With gladness ! Know The Lord is God ! He made us ! He cares for us as the great shepherd of his sheep ! Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise ! He is good and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation !
And that psalm encompasses so much of what harvest should be about. It is 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 that we know who God is by what he has done, and we know what he will do by who he is - in other words 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 will continue to love us with a love that is unbreakable and unending.
In our gospel reading (John 6:30-35) Jesus is asked what sort of work must people to do to meet God's requirements. And Jesus says that the only thing is to believe in him. 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 ?
Harvest in some ways seems a lot less relevant to those of us who aren't directly involved in agriculture, but it really shouldn't, because at harvest we are celebrating the fact that our most basic needs are met through the efforts of so many - we are to give thanks to them and to offer our prayers for them...
But taking our example from Jesus 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? You've got the smallest piece!'
We don't mean to treat others like that but it happens 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.
When the people in our gospel reading recognised God's gifts they were filled with awe and wonder and they prayed that their lives would never be the same again, 'Sir' they said, 'always give us this bread.'
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 with a determination to share God's gifts and his love wherever we are and however we can. And may we continually pray 'Lord Jesus continue to give us the life changing bread of life always.' Amen
Walking barefoot on the grass may not be something we want to do too often but it's good to know we can if we want to. It emphasises the gift of freedom. 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.
In the reading from Deuteronomy (8:6-11) we are reminded of the abundant gifts available to us, but also of the need to not take them for granted but to praise God, the giver of all good gifts.
Our psalm today continues that theme of praise. Recently 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... It's not always quite such a positive thing though - 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...'
But anyway back to psalm 100 - it is not a psalm for being reserved - it is a psalm of extravagant praise - Shout for joy ! Worship... With gladness ! Know The Lord is God ! He made us ! He cares for us as the great shepherd of his sheep ! Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise ! He is good and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation !
And that psalm encompasses so much of what harvest should be about. It is 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 that we know who God is by what he has done, and we know what he will do by who he is - in other words 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 will continue to love us with a love that is unbreakable and unending.
In our gospel reading (John 6:30-35) Jesus is asked what sort of work must people to do to meet God's requirements. And Jesus says that the only thing is to believe in him. 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 ?
Harvest in some ways seems a lot less relevant to those of us who aren't directly involved in agriculture, but it really shouldn't, because at harvest we are celebrating the fact that our most basic needs are met through the efforts of so many - we are to give thanks to them and to offer our prayers for them...
But taking our example from Jesus 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? You've got the smallest piece!'
We don't mean to treat others like that but it happens 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.
When the people in our gospel reading recognised God's gifts they were filled with awe and wonder and they prayed that their lives would never be the same again, 'Sir' they said, 'always give us this bread.'
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 with a determination to share God's gifts and his love wherever we are and however we can. And may we continually pray 'Lord Jesus continue to give us the life changing bread of life always.' Amen
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