Harvest Thanksgiving 2020

 

Harvest Thanksgiving 2020

Lectionary readings: Deuteronomy 8:7-18, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Luke 12:16-30

Today is our Harvest Thanksgiving. Our Old Testament reading from the Law of Moses, and our New Testament reading from the letters of Paul, both remind us of God’s goodness. Both stand as an invitation to participate fully in divine generosity. Both stand in contrast to the fool, who, in the parable Jesus told in our Gospel reading, sought to keep abundance for himself instead of sharing it with others. I am struck by the words God said to him: This very night your life is being demanded of you. These are, I would suggest, the words that God says to every one of us, not only at the hour of our death but every day of our lives: your life is being demanded of you. By God, by our neighbours and all creation, by our own deepest being. Not to be consumed by many demands, but set free by this sole demand: that we turn up, not as spectators, and give our lives away in love, in response to Love. As Isaac Watts put it, were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Although today we are celebrating Harvest, I want to talk about Christmas. This has been a hard year, not only for those for whom we are stocking up the food bank shelves ahead of winter, but for all of us. This Christmas will be a strange one, in which Covid-19 restrictions will prevent us from gathering as extended families, prevent us from joining together with neighbours at carol services, nativities and Christingles as in previous years. This Christmas, we will live with the strange mix of the numbness of loss and the longing for the sort of celebration that strengthens our bones to get through the cold, dark months. And this year, with this tension in mind, the Church of England’s Christmas theme is Comfort and Joy.

Jo and I decided that we would try something, to share some comfort and joy. Jo had the original idea of putting a Christmas decoration through every letterbox in the parish, to create a community-wide Christmas tree; and to invite people to take a photo of their bauble, on their tree or hanging in their window, and post them on the church Facebook page, to curate a record. I asked around, and approached a local business, who made up some samples, and on Friday we placed an order for 7,000 laser-cut baubles that each say Comfort and Joy.

The cost is underwritten. But the idea does not stop there. We wanted to find ways in which we might invite other people into the fun of spreading hope, bringing good news, proclaiming tidings of comfort and joy. We started to tell our friends the story of what we hoped to do, and how they could get involved.

Could they donate towards the production costs (£1,750, for 7,000 baubles at 25p each), through the Just Giving page I had set up? The link is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/comfort-and-joy

Did they have any ribbon in their craft boxes, for which they had no use? Our baubles would need ribbon to hang them from: 7,000 strips, 15-20cm long and 3mm-(max.)10mm wide; of any colour.

And, nearer the time, could any local friends help us deliver these gifts across the parish?

Straight away, people started responding. Within one day, they had already donated almost £300; while others had let us know that they would go through their craft or sewing boxes in search of ribbon we could have, which they would either drop round or post to us. Simply in response to telling a story and asking for help to tell it wider.

Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul observed that God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek is the word from which we derive our word hilarious: it is the joyful giving of one who is already persuaded, won over. God loves to see a joyful giver, because God is a joyful giver, and we are created to bear God’s image. A joyful giver is someone who is living and moving in the love of God, a person fully alive. And, being made in God’s likeness, people love to give, generously; and do so whenever they are won over, whenever a cause sparks joy. They sow the seed of joy, and it bears a plentiful harvest of joy. Out there, across our parish, and far beyond. Indeed, right around the world.

God knows the needs of our souls and bodies, what is needful for our comfort in mourning and in order to share in the joy that revives us, spiritual and material provision. The fool said to his soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God, alone, is the Giver of true rest and re-creation; of true food and drink, for our earthly pilgrimage and our heavenly banquet; of true victory over the trials of life. Everything that the fool looked for elsewhere: which, of course, is what made him a fool. That is not to say that life is easy, but that, whatever comes, God is so, so good.

Christmas and Harvest might look different this year, but perhaps this is because God is at work to pull down our barns, in order to build bigger ones, not for ourselves alone but to share an abundance with more of our neighbours? And the things we have prepared, whose will they be? Might we dare to imagine?