Foodbank harvest

 

Harvest is one of the great occasions in the church – in years gone by some of you may remember walking into churches and literally being able to smell the fruit and the flowers… 

Today harvest is often a little bit different, we often now see tins or packets being offered which are much easier to distribute or other donations requested, but what hasn’t changed is the importance of recognising the gifts we’re given and saying thanks to God for them. Through harvest festivals we’re able to provide some of the necessary things to be able to offer facilities such as the foodbank. 

Surrounded by the gifts of God, we may remember the great harvest festivals of the past, and the trees changing colour for autumn – the slow onset of winter and the anticipation of advent and the festive season… It is true isn’t it, that as soon as harvest is gone, Christmas only seems a very short time away ! 

But today, through the readings, the hymns, the gifts here, and the trees outside, we can pause and just see how blessed we are… Being grateful is at the heart of what harvest is about. We are grateful for the gift of food, for the work of those who produce it, and for others to share it with. But we’re also mindful of those who struggle, for whom life is tough… 

 

There’s a story about a Vicar who asked the members of the congregation to go through each letter of the alphabet shouting out the name of some food beginning with that letter. Everything was going well until they reached the letter Q, when there was a deafening silence. Eventually one little girl shouted out, ‘Q for cucumber’ ! 

What this story shows though is just how much food many of us have, and the variety of gifts that we consume on a regular basis… It’s very easy to take it for granted, but the message of harvest is not that we should set aside one day of thanksgiving a year, but that this day should act as a reminder for the rest of the year of all the good things we have and we are given… and also of the need to share our gifts with others… 

Over the past weeks and months, we’ve been reminded a lot of the challenges of the increased cost of living. Many of us have worried about the increased costs we will face, for some the situation is even more desperate. These worries emphasise the fragility of some of the things we so often take for granted. The war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, the costs of living and the continued recovery from the effects of the COVID pandemic have taken an enormous toll. 

But one of the things that never changes is God’s love for us and his eagerness to provide for us and in our readings today we are reminded of this. 

In the reading from Joel (2:21-27) we heard the words, ‘do not fear’ – they’re very common words in the bible written to remind us or assure us that God is in control… It’s been suggested that ‘do not fear’ appears 365 times in the bible, one for each day of the year. It does depend a little bit on interpretation whether that is the right number but it certainly appears a lot ! 

But sometimes we struggle with those words - we struggle so often because we want a solution yesterday to any problems, we desperately want everything to just be ok in our lives, in the world… 

But we know it’s not always like that, but into a sometimes dark world, we are reminded, ‘do not fear’. 

And then we have the gospel reading (Matthew 6:25-33). This is a beautiful reading assuring us of God’s love for each one of us, assuring every one of us of our value to him… Do not worry, I will provide, says God… I will provide physically and materially and spiritually. 

Each of these readings point us to God and our need to trust him. And these aren’t just nice comforting readings, although that would be enough. Actually though, they are testimonies to God’s power – the Book of Joel points to tragedies of the past where God had stepped in and saved people, but also of times in the future when that would happen. God, through Joel, is reminding people that he’s never going to leave them whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation. 

And in that gospel reading again Jesus is addressing some very real needs – people were worried about life and about the uncertain future. They were worried about practical needs. And Jesus said he would provide – they were to trust… 

And at harvest we celebrate the gifts that God gives us and we are called to just take time to think of what those gifts are – yes, they will be the traditional harvest gifts of food and the blessings that we are given in the work of the people that bring the food to us… we give thanks for the work in places like this with distribution and support, but we can also think more widely of the gifts that God provides. 

One of the most important things is relationships and the opportunity to just be with others… And that is a crucial gift – the gift of fellowship, the gift of support… That gift isn’t reserved for gatherings within our church buildings but a gift to be enjoyed and shared.

As we came here today, as we look around us day by day, we are reminded of so many of the wonderful gifts God gives us in creation – just the beauty of the scenery, whatever the weather is, is amazing… And we see God’s gifts too in food and fellowship, in the people around us…. Gifts of God to be treasured… 

And we are also to see them more widely in those people that are struggling, that don’t feel much like celebrating anything. God is there for all – and to all he says, ‘do not fear.’ … And that’s a challenge as well because as we enjoy God’s gifts, we’re also called to share those gifts as widely as we can – we share them practically and we also share them in our prayers. We’re called to recognise God’s gifts to us and respond by offering gifts to others…. 

At harvest we think especially of the food we have, we remember those in need as I’ve said, and we also give thanks to God for all of the gifts he gives, but most especially we are reminded of his gift of love, the love that allowed Jesus to go to the cross and to reach out his arms calling each one of us to come closer to him. That is the sort of love were called to respond to… 

Responding to the gifts of God adequately may well be beyond us, but that must never stop us from trying – to live out the message of Jesus, a message of hope, of peace, of joy, a message of salvation, of justice and a message of love for all people.

Harvest is a wonderful season because it’s a season when we focus on recognising God’s gifts and giving thanks – it’s a time when we focus on the love of God – a love that welcomes all, a love that begins with looking at the positive things in life and in people – a love that never focuses on what is wrong with our lives but focuses on what could be right… a love that God wants us to enjoy and which needs to be shared… 

For all the gifts we have and the gifts around us may we always be thankful and may we live out our thanks in our words and our actions. AMEN