Reflection for September 2024
HARVEST
The beginning of September
marks the end of the school summer holidays and the beginning of a new school
year.
September is also the month when many churches celebrate harvest, the end
of the growing cycle. Most crops have been harvested and the fields are
ploughed and prepared for the next cycle. Although weather patterns are changing,
the four seasons of the year are fixed, which should not be a surprise as God declares
in Genesis
8:22, “As long as the earth
endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night
will never cease.” The school
year is fixed by man and can be changed. The seasons are fixed by Almighty God,
who has declared that they will never change.
Why do churches celebrate harvest? In Exodus 23:16 God commanded the Israelites to
“Celebrate the ‘Feast of Harvest’ with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field.” I well
remember my old church (which was in a rural area) being decorated with all sorts of crops and vegetables, including fresh bread from the local bakers.
Firstly then, harvest is celebrated because God told the Israelites to celebrate it and many churches still follow this tradition.
Another reason is to give thanks for God’s provision. In Deuteronomy 16:17 God adds a condition to the celebration saying that no one is to appear at the feast, which was celebrated for a week, empty handed. “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
Many churches, including Emmaus, now encourage their members to bring non-perishable goods to a Harvest service. In Old Testament times, food was shared directly with the poor and needy. Today we have food banks, who gratefully receive donations all year round to distribute to those in need. At Emmaus, we have a box in the entrance foyer where people can leave donations which are taken to the Avonmouth foodbank who have a satellite centre at Emmaus on a Thursday.
In the New Testament, the image of harvest is used in a different way. Jesus, in three of the Gospels, uses harvest to describe the many people who need to be led to faith in God; to be saved for eternal life. The Apostle Paul, James and the writer of Hebrews all use harvest as a metaphor for the people who need to hear the Word of God. Jesus commissioned all believers to go out and spread the Gospel, a theme picked up by these writers. As Jesus said, this harvest doesn’t rely on seasons or weather. This is a harvest to be ‘reaped’ at any time.
As we enter the new school year and the next growing cycle let’s remember what Jesus said to the disciples (John 4:35). Look around and see that the fields (people) are ripe for harvest. We will all share - sower and reaper - in the reward as people give their lives to following Jesus.
Paul