WEDNESDAY AFTER CREATION 6
16 October 2013
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Jas. 5:7-8: “Be patient… until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the previous fruit of the earth, being patient over it… You also be patient.”
John 4:37-38: “… the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you haven’t labored.”
Reflection
Now that I think about it, I do know the difference between sowing and reaping, unlike what I said this past Sunday. I realized this when I read the Gospel lesson for today. When Jesus’ disciples urged their Master to eat, he politely declined, saying: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” Future generations speculated that Jesus didn’t need to eat, or he ate without corrupting the sustenance through digestion. But the historical Jesus had to have taken food just like the rest of us. Tradition says he went to the desert and fasted, that is, stopped eating, and afterwards he was deeply hungry.
But today Jesus tells us what he really hungered for—to fulfill his Father’s mission. In a saying reminiscent of this Sunday’s, Jesus says that the fields are already ripe for harvest. God has already sown his salvation among his people, through the very act of creating them in the image of God, through the prophets (like Amos), and now through his Son. To God belongs the hard work; all Jesus’ disciples have to do is reap the harvest just as the saying goes, “one sows, and another reaps.”
Ah, but I thought the saying went, “You reap what you sow.” Isn’t that what most of us are more familiar with? It’s certainly how modern society operates. The more effort you put into something, the better results you get. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. You can’t get something for nothing. In many cases, these are true. But the implication is that those who did not succeed, did not try. Those who did not reap, did not sow.
But this isn’t how God works, according to Jesus. God is more like the patient farmer in James’ letter. We moderns can’t appreciate the art of farming or planting. Some plants ripen like clockwork by the yearly harvest time; others take a lifetime to fully mature. But with each one, the farmer had to be patient, providing and protecting—knowing full well that he’d never see all the fruits of his labor. And this makes clearer the selflessness of farming. You plant to provide for yourself and your family, of course, but also for those who will come after you, whom you will not see.
God’s ways are not fair here, at least by society’s standards. God calls us to harvest what God himself has generously planted, what we haven’t worked for. Maybe that’s what kept the prophets going. I’m sure that’s what kept Paul going. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “We were well pleased to impart to you… the Good News of God… For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you.” (1 Thes. 2:8-9) Paul was ecstatic to see the fruits of his labor, but Paul worked hard for God, not for happiness. He worked to harvest what God had planted. And because God had planted it, Paul didn’t need to see it to the end. Those who would come after, those whom Paul (or James, or Jesus) would not see through earthly eyes, would be well-provided for.
And that’s the seed of faith.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, eternal Father,
Creator of earth and Sustainer of all life,
we bring you thanks and praise
for your goodness towards us this year,
and for prospering our labors and our earth.
Grant that we may use your temporal gifts
in true piety and charity.
Grant us grace, so that with all our heart
we may always give you thanks
until the great harvest comes,
and your faithful enter into eternal happiness
with your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
—adapted from the “Special Collects for a Harvest Service” in the Danish Hymnal, 2011, p. 1337; translation by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Hymn: “We plow the fields and scatter”
(Words: Matthias Claudius, 1740-1815; translation by Jane Montgomery Campbell, 1817-1878; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Tune: ‘Wir pflugen’, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, 1747-1800)
We plow 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.
Refrain:
All good things around us
Are sent from heav’n above.
Then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord for all his love.
He only is the Maker
Of all things near and far.
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star.
The winds and waves obey him,
By him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, his children,
He gives our daily bread.
Refrain
We thank you, then, O Father,
For all things bright and good,
The seedtime and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food.
The gifts we have to offer
Are what your love imparts,
But chiefly you desire
Our humble, thankful hearts.
Refrain
Amen.
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