October Reflection 

The corn harvest was early this year and certainly in my garden the soft fruits ripened early and were over sooner than usual.

The fruits of the harvest have been celebrated worldwide over millennia and will vary from country to country depending upon which crop is of greatest significance. In some parts of Spain they celebrate the grape harvest, traditionally this is done by jumping into vats of grapes and stomping them barefoot. In Japan it is the rice harvest that is celebrated. At a festival known as “Oeshiki” people walk through the streets with massive lanterns, spinning them like helicopter blades. But while harvest traditions vary around the world, they all have something in common: thanksgiving. Whether it’s rice, grapes, or wheat, harvest time is when we pause to give thanks for what the land has produced.

In an age where food moves around the world so that we do not feel dependant on the success of the local crops, we often have little connection with the production of the food we consume. In years gone by and in areas where subsistence farming survives, the success or failure of crops can have immediate consequences for the local people.

Harvest is a time of thanksgiving for more than just food, it’s a time of thanksgiving and reflecting on all of God’s provision.

Throughout the Bible, harvest is mentioned over and over again, and it is not just about food. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus says, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’

Jesus wasn’t talking about grain or fruit here—He was talking about people. Jesus sees the world as a harvest field, and He’s calling us to be workers in it. There are people who are ready to hear the Good News, people who need to experience God’s love, and we’re the ones He’s calling to bring them in.

The Bible calls on us to be fruitful and this fruitfulness most often refers to the development of our character by which, in turn, we influence those around us. Each of our characters is constantly being shaped and formed by the world around us. Unlike the fruit trees in my garden who had no say in where and when they were planted, (I admit they are not all in ideal situations!) we have choices that we make each day that can affect the sort of person that we are becoming. Our choices become patterns, our patterns become habits, and our habits ultimately shape our characters.

We are not the same person we were a month, a year or ten years ago. One of the most important choices that we can make is to open ourselves up to the presence of God in our lives. It is the presence of God at work in us, shaping our characters that ultimately makes the real difference. And it is the presence of God that will enable the flourishing of the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to grow and to flourish even when the conditions of life feel arid or even hostile.

So, as we reflect on the harvest, let us think about what we’re harvesting in our own lives. Is it love, kindness and peace? Or have we been too distracted to even notice what God is growing around us?

And so we pray that whatever we may be facing at the moment, we will know that transforming presence of God with us, breathing the life of the Holy Spirit into us, and enabling us to choose wisely in the little things that enable us to flourish in all that we have been created to be.

Richard Byas (Reader)