When you think of ‘harvest’, what springs to mind? In my house, there is a proliferation of apples at this time of year which precipitates a frenzy of cooking (not as many apple pies as my mum used to make, but plenty of apple cake, apple flapjack, stewed apples and apple sauce!) For my husband, it’s searching all hedgerows for the tastiest blackberries on any walk he is on. In church, a harvest loaf; displays of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers; collections of tins and jars of food for distribution in the local area. In gardens and allotments around the country, gluts of produce shared with friends and neighbours. On farms and smallholdings, crops that are sold to feed one and all.
The tradition of harvest festival is one of the markers of the Christian calendar. At one time it was a true rural celebration of the successful bringing home of the harvest. Now that many of us are a little removed from the reality of food production, it is still a time to thank God, not only for the food we eat but also for those who work hard to provide it.
From the Bible we are all familiar with the concept that we reap what we sow – although in my garden the slugs often get there before I do. And whilst it may not be in line with the message with which I began this piece, a passage I read recently struck a chord with me:
Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.
[Galatians, 6:9]
At this time of year when we celebrate harvest festival, whether your harvest be of garden produce or good works, may you feel the work of God all around you.
Taken from the October Edition of The Record