Harvest Festival
A Psalm for the Weirding of the Weather
(especially for a Harvest festival service) Our ancestors trusted in you from the goodness of the earth - with them we sing: We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand. He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain, The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain. Our children struggle to trust you with the earth. They begin to doubt its goodness, and yours, O Lord. as the heavens above send violent floods instead of soft rain as the sun shines harsh and the earth warms and warms and warms. As for us, we hold the stable past and the anxious future in this moment, in your presence: We thank you, then, O Father, for all things bright and good: The seed-time and the harvest, our life, our health, our food. We bring you our thanks and our praise as we bring you our fears. As the weather becomes weird we mourn for gentle times. As the earth becomes battered we grieve for tender things. We pray for fragile creatures we weep for lives cut short. All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above; Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love. Send us, also, Lord, the gifts we need in a changing climate. Amen. |
Dedication of the offering – from Psalm 126
When the LORD brought us home how we laughed, how we sang for joy! People say about us, “God has done great things for you.” Indeed he has done great things for us; LORD, overflow your blessing on us and on your thirsty world just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds. Those who wept as they planted their crops, now gather the harvest with joy! We return to you, singing for joy as we bring in the harvest. |
Reflection on Prayer and Harvest
Reading 1: Mark 4:26-29 (The parable of the growing seed)
Thought 1: Prayer is team-work with God
Reading 2: John 12:23-26
Thought 2: Jesus died so that we might live
I love that Jesus told such obvious, simple stories – it’s hardly a story at all, it’s just what happens all the time. A seed goes into the ground, it grows into a plant, and hopefully you get to eat the fruit.
So what did Jesus mean when he said that the kingdom of God is like this?
When the Bible talks about a harvest, normally this is what it means – picking the fruit or gathering in the grain is normally a symbol for a positive change in human community. So the Bible talks about a harvest of righteousness. In the Psalm we just read the harvest is a symbol for joy and celebration, of God meeting the needs of his people, of God’s blessing, abundance and care.
This is what we celebrate this harvest thanksgiving service – not just the fruit we pick of beans and grapes, but the fruit that grows in our lives, the relationships that sustain us with love, the power and grace that give our lives meaning and energy and purpose. This is God’s harvest, the fruit of the Spirit.
Reading 1: Mark 4:26-29 (The parable of the growing seed)
Thought 1: Prayer is team-work with God
Reading 2: John 12:23-26
Thought 2: Jesus died so that we might live
I love that Jesus told such obvious, simple stories – it’s hardly a story at all, it’s just what happens all the time. A seed goes into the ground, it grows into a plant, and hopefully you get to eat the fruit.
So what did Jesus mean when he said that the kingdom of God is like this?
When the Bible talks about a harvest, normally this is what it means – picking the fruit or gathering in the grain is normally a symbol for a positive change in human community. So the Bible talks about a harvest of righteousness. In the Psalm we just read the harvest is a symbol for joy and celebration, of God meeting the needs of his people, of God’s blessing, abundance and care.
This is what we celebrate this harvest thanksgiving service – not just the fruit we pick of beans and grapes, but the fruit that grows in our lives, the relationships that sustain us with love, the power and grace that give our lives meaning and energy and purpose. This is God’s harvest, the fruit of the Spirit.
BENEDICTION
This Harvest Sunday, be filled with thanks and praise. Let it overflow, bursting through every stress and anxiety, trickling gently over every grief and sadness, until thanks and praise is in every word you say, every choice you make, every moment.
Glory and praise to God. Peace be with you.
This Harvest Sunday, be filled with thanks and praise. Let it overflow, bursting through every stress and anxiety, trickling gently over every grief and sadness, until thanks and praise is in every word you say, every choice you make, every moment.
Glory and praise to God. Peace be with you.
(Author unknown)
Photos are details from Lynne Ramage paintings.