Harvest Thanksgiving

October 9, 2011
Good morning. Doesn’t the Church look great all decorated for our Harvest Thanksgiving?

It’s great to be able to celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving on the day it is actually appointed in the lectionary. Most years we host it earlier, as by now the temperature and weather patterns have changed and our harvest has already happened. Not so this year. We have had great temperatures up until now, haven’t we?

When we moved to Winnipeg from Saskatchewan in 1998, one of the first things we did was alter our yard, adding a larger flower bed and making room for rose bushes, a couple of trees and a lot of vegetables.

The last couple of years, we decided to chew up the grass on the south side of the house. Seems potatoes and beans and tomatoes all grow well there, a virtual urban garden, and there’s nothing like fresh vegetables. We had a nice garden again this year, and even grew a couple of pumpkins, one of which grew in the neighbour’s yard!

At this great feast, we get a chance to admire the fruits of our labours, as we plant and nurture and harvest. But more so, we get a chance to reflect on the very Creator who gives everything life! Our God is a great giver of life and for this we need to have thankful hearts. As we grow vegetables, and bring in the harvest, we can also reflect on the many who do not have gardens, the ones who are going hungry and for whom eating a meal is sometimes a luxury. As a community of faith, we give thanks for all God has given us and most especially for giving us Jesus, as the scripture says:

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, to the end that all who believe in Him will not perish in sin, but have eternal life.” God gave His Son that we might have life, and not just life, but an abundant life!

The scriptures today remind us to always be thankful. In the Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy, the people of Israel are wandering in the wilderness, and are reminded of their dependence on God, who has given them all they need. God has told them of the Promised Land which they will enter.

Moses reminded them how God saved them from their slavery in Egypt and will lead them to the Promised Land. “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing…..You will eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you.”

In the second lesson, the Apostle Paul speaks to Titus and others about generosity. “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.” He notes that each must give as they are able, not out of a sense of reluctance or compulsion. In the church, we generally have taught that stewardship is all about taking care of what does not belong to us. The creation belongs to God. Our wealth is generated by the very creation God has made. Our time and Talents are to be used to glorify God. In past, we have taught that our financial offerings to the church, which cover all operating expenses, come from one tenth of our net earnings. Yet, in the New Testament, when the early church was formed, each gave out of their wealth and all was spent to the common good. What we have is generated by God and that is where the sense of thanksgiving arises.

Perhaps the greatest word for us from the scripture today comes from the Gospel reading that speaks of God’s goodness when it comes to those in need. On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus meets up with some lepers. In the Bible, leprosy is described as a terrible skin disease or outer condition of the body, sometimes today described as “Hansen’s Disease.”

Clinically, Jesus was not a “leper” but, if we understand that Biblical leprosy was more than just a disease - it was a “condition” - there is truth in claiming that he was a “leper”. “Lepers” were those who were rejected by society and this is the most devastating thing about neglected, untreated Hansen’s Disease. It can result in rejection where there are no treatment facilities and no health education by which people may be freed from superstition and ignorance. There is a sense in which Jesus was a “leper” because we rejected him. Every time we reject a person in real need, virtually, we are rejecting Jesus - making him a “leper” - because, in the Christian faith, we really come into contact with God through people and particularly people in real need (Matthew 25 34-40). (http://www.webspawner.com/users/lepbible/)

There were 10 lepers in the passage and they are keeping their distance. They recognize Jesus and acknowledge Him. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus hears and commands them to go and show themselves to the priests. These are people who have declared them to be unclean. We are told they were made clean on their way, but one, and only one, when he saw he was healed, turned back and praised God in a loud voice. “He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him,” we are told.

This is the essence of thanksgiving, in recognizing the generosity and love of our God in our lives and in His world He has created. We are to be grateful, as this leper was, for all that God has done and is doing in our lives and we are to praise God with a loud voice in our worship as well. That is what our worship today is all about, giving our whole self to God, our maker and redeemer. We are to give Him our allegiance.

The scripture argues loyalty to God is where our choice needs to be. The more we give to God, the more we are blessed. It has been said money is not the real problem, rather the love of money that gets us into trouble. Greed, pride, envy, those are the real barriers to thanksgiving. As Paul says, “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” This is a wonderful law that works well when we practice it.

If our loyalties are divided and greed takes over, it may be harder to give thanks. There may even be a tendency to say, “My own labor has resulted in my wealth and I choose to enjoy that in whatever way I want.”

While this is true, that very ability to work, to create wealth, to be independent, comes from inner capacity and that capacity is given to us by the One who created us and who knows us.

The flip side of creating wealth is that for many, opportunity does not exist. In economic downturns like we have been facing lately, many have lost their jobs and many visit food banks on a daily basis. Churches in our midst, like Holy Trinity and Agape Table at All Saints Anglican Church feed hundreds on a daily basis. So much so, the call is out for volunteers to assist. Anxiety and fear are very real….anxiety over the next meal and fear of meeting daily needs, especially in the growing face of violence in the city.

When Jesus was with us on earth, He said that when two or three gather, there He is in the midst of them, as He is today. All fear is cast out where love rules. Jesus said that when He came close to another, the kingdom of God was close at hand. Well, dear brothers and sisters, this very same Jesus, who died upon the cross for our sins, promised we would not be left alone to face our struggles by ourselves. He promised to send the Holy Spirit. The very life of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us, in the believer, and it is the Holy Spirit who leads us in faith, who reminds us of the promises of the Bible and who provides for us the way out of misery, pain and discomfort.

As we consider the earthly and give thanks, we remember those who have less, those in poverty. We even read of our governments wanting to eradicate poverty. I have met many in poverty, especially those on the streets, and many of them are thankful—thankful for a meal provided by an outreach, thankful for a spot under the bridge to stay dry and protected, thankful for the friendship of others.

It is helpful at times like this to recall our baptismal vow, to seek and serve those in need and to respect the dignity of every human being. The only consideration we need is the place of baptism in our lives. All Christians are called to follow our Lord and to serve as He served. All Christians are given at least one spiritual gift for ministry and together we have the task of spreading Good News, that God loves us all unconditionally.

Strive first for the Kingdom of God. Discover the Kingdom life within you and share that Kingdom life with others, bringing peace and love and joy. Place God first in your lives and give to Him all of your cares and worries. There is much to be thankful for. When you wake up in the morning, be thankful for another day. Be thankful for the opportunities that lay ahead. Be thankful for the challenges that come our way that strengthen us and equip us so we can help others. Be thankful for a community of faith that shares in ministry and finally, be thankful for our God who lovingly heals, lovingly provides, lovingly nurtures and reminds us… “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

This is indeed Good News that we are grateful for. Thanks be to God!