Thought for the week  - 1 September 2008

Harvest

I’m a townie! Born and raised a ‘city boy’ amidst bomb damage and concrete. So what do I know about Harvest?

As it so happens, very little; except what I see with my own eyes. Most days I take my chocolate Labrador for a stroll along a country lane near Alcester and I’ve been watching the wheat [at least I think it’s wheat] survive the rain and wind of our English summer. Last week I surreptitiously picked a stalk, rubbed it between my hands and after blowing away husk after husk, nibbled the flour tasting wheat grain.

I got to thinking. It’s a bit like our faith. The kernel is wonderful, but often we have to blow away the chaff, the ‘stuff’, to reach the wonderful, central truths of what we believe. Like on a recent visit: “I believe in God, but the church is a real turn off”, or simply “I’m a rock fan – your hymns really kill me”.

Somehow we get the kernel mixed up with the packaged product. So how can we blow away that which is chaff and present Jesus - that’s what I want to know? How can Harvest Festival help us to tell people about God the Creator of all things? How can we proclaim Jesus, Lord of the Harvest, and the Holy Spirit who sustains life with His power? And yet at the same time help people to see through ‘religious practices’ of whichever churchmanship, which may important to us but in the end are merely husks that will be blown away as we walk with our Lord in Glory?

Yes, I am a townie. However, as watched the massive Combine gather in the grain and eject the chaff, I considered how much I love this beautiful creation that God has gifted to us. I love the wheat and woods and the animals and even the rain! I, for one, will celebrate Harvest!

Creator God,

You made the goodness of the land,

the riches of the sea

and the rhythm of the seasons;

as we thank you for the harvest,

may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Wallace Brown

Team Rector, Ipsley