Minister’s Letter for Harvest 2019
Dear friends,
How quickly the season's come and go! It only seems like yesterday and everybody was on their summer holidays, we are now in September (as I write this), schools and colleges have begun a new term and in church circles, we also have begun a new term. Activities that had gone on summer holiday are now back in business.
And so in this letter, it is harvest and thanksgiving that I want us to explore. Traditionally at this time of year, Churches have Harvest Festivals.
Harvest festivals and services are traditionally about giving thanks to God for the many blessings that he gives us, and this naturally includes giving thanks for the food and produce that we enjoy.
But sometimes, gratitude is the last thing on our mind, as we may be dealing with one challenge after another, illness, bereavement, problems with family or in my case a psychotic cat demanding attenion!
But seriously, there are times when we become worried, angry, and irritable, (and yes even Ministers get irritable on occasions, especially when tired and hungry!). It is during times like this that we can forget to give thanks to our Creator and a Saviour for the wonderful blessings that he gives us.
In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 verse 1-11, a text often read at Harvest, we hear instructions for the people of Israel, celebrating their Harvest Thanksgiving Festival. These are instructions for a farming community, in the days when people lived off the land, so the community was not to give money, as we do in churches now, but you gave a share of the produce that your land had produced and you gave it to God, as an offering.
The ancient harvest festivals did not just celebrate God’s gift of the harvest, it was also to celebrate that God had freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and that God had brought them to a land "flowing with milk and honey, so the harvest offerings ended with the words “be grateful for the good things the Lord your God has given you".
And I'd like to interpret this to mean not just giving thanks to God for food and produce that farmers and agricultural workers bring to our shops and homes, but to give thanks for people and all the many talents that we all possess. Everybody is good at something, and our friends, neighbours ,and community’s talents should be appreciated and not taken for granted.
At Harvest, it is appropriate, that we think about God’s good gifts, but it is difficult to do so when we are worn down by the cares of the world. How can we feel grateful, when our lives have gone "absent without leave" as one of my friends puts it?
This can be quite difficult, because we can get into a position, where we can wallow in self-pity and although tempting to do is not a particularly attractive position to be in. It is then that the old adage ‘count your blessings’ comes into play for even in our darkest hour we know that the Lord our God is with us; this is a blessing in itself and something that we need to give thanks for, that the Lord is with us in times of joy and sadness.
At Harvest time we need to remember the things that we often take for granted, like the food on our plates, and the many blessings our Lord gives us.
And so in conclusion it is a good spiritual exercise for us to cultivate a habit of thankfulness, for the things that we so often take for granted, our food, our water, our electricity etc .
As a family we as children were made to say thanks and say some form of grace every time we ate together. As my father used to say "remember the farmers and fisherman who brought this food to the table". Let us be grateful for what we have and remember our Lord’s gifts and that we do not live on "bread alone" for the God who gives us all good things loves and cares for us despite on occasions, our absence of "thank you".
Praise God, for the harvest of orchard and field,
praise God for the people who gather their yield,
the long hours of labour, the skills of a team,
the patience of science, the power of machine.
Praise God for the harvest of mercy and love
from leaders and peoples who struggle and serve
for patience and kindness that all may be led
to freedom and justice, and all may be fed.
(Brian Wren 1936).
Yours in Christ
Peter
Dear friends,
How quickly the season's come and go! It only seems like yesterday and everybody was on their summer holidays, we are now in September (as I write this), schools and colleges have begun a new term and in church circles, we also have begun a new term. Activities that had gone on summer holiday are now back in business.
And so in this letter, it is harvest and thanksgiving that I want us to explore. Traditionally at this time of year, Churches have Harvest Festivals.
Harvest festivals and services are traditionally about giving thanks to God for the many blessings that he gives us, and this naturally includes giving thanks for the food and produce that we enjoy.
But sometimes, gratitude is the last thing on our mind, as we may be dealing with one challenge after another, illness, bereavement, problems with family or in my case a psychotic cat demanding attenion!
But seriously, there are times when we become worried, angry, and irritable, (and yes even Ministers get irritable on occasions, especially when tired and hungry!). It is during times like this that we can forget to give thanks to our Creator and a Saviour for the wonderful blessings that he gives us.
In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 verse 1-11, a text often read at Harvest, we hear instructions for the people of Israel, celebrating their Harvest Thanksgiving Festival. These are instructions for a farming community, in the days when people lived off the land, so the community was not to give money, as we do in churches now, but you gave a share of the produce that your land had produced and you gave it to God, as an offering.
The ancient harvest festivals did not just celebrate God’s gift of the harvest, it was also to celebrate that God had freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and that God had brought them to a land "flowing with milk and honey, so the harvest offerings ended with the words “be grateful for the good things the Lord your God has given you".
And I'd like to interpret this to mean not just giving thanks to God for food and produce that farmers and agricultural workers bring to our shops and homes, but to give thanks for people and all the many talents that we all possess. Everybody is good at something, and our friends, neighbours ,and community’s talents should be appreciated and not taken for granted.
At Harvest, it is appropriate, that we think about God’s good gifts, but it is difficult to do so when we are worn down by the cares of the world. How can we feel grateful, when our lives have gone "absent without leave" as one of my friends puts it?
This can be quite difficult, because we can get into a position, where we can wallow in self-pity and although tempting to do is not a particularly attractive position to be in. It is then that the old adage ‘count your blessings’ comes into play for even in our darkest hour we know that the Lord our God is with us; this is a blessing in itself and something that we need to give thanks for, that the Lord is with us in times of joy and sadness.
At Harvest time we need to remember the things that we often take for granted, like the food on our plates, and the many blessings our Lord gives us.
And so in conclusion it is a good spiritual exercise for us to cultivate a habit of thankfulness, for the things that we so often take for granted, our food, our water, our electricity etc .
As a family we as children were made to say thanks and say some form of grace every time we ate together. As my father used to say "remember the farmers and fisherman who brought this food to the table". Let us be grateful for what we have and remember our Lord’s gifts and that we do not live on "bread alone" for the God who gives us all good things loves and cares for us despite on occasions, our absence of "thank you".
Praise God, for the harvest of orchard and field,
praise God for the people who gather their yield,
the long hours of labour, the skills of a team,
the patience of science, the power of machine.
Praise God for the harvest of mercy and love
from leaders and peoples who struggle and serve
for patience and kindness that all may be led
to freedom and justice, and all may be fed.
(Brian Wren 1936).
Yours in Christ
Peter
