Across the Pastor’s Desk by Don Rose

A bountiful harvest in this area is quickly coming to an end. Bins are full, and grain is being stored in huge mounds on the ground as well. It has been quite a season for this part of the country. Such bounty can remind of the story that Jesus told of the man whose harvest was so great that he was set for life, and he meant to tear down the barns he had to build bigger ones to contain what was his, and in that night he died. The story raises issues about being good stewards of the great gifts that are showered upon us.

Farming as with all of life is more and more complex with each passing year. No longer is it a matter of just how the local harvest turns out but as well what is happening in far flung points throughout the world. Such complexities impact issues of hunger everywhere. When strawberries are being raised for export so that those in winter climates can have them year round it means that food to be raised for local people is taking a second place to financial gain. How are the wants and desires of some to be balanced with the needs of others for the simple necessities of life?

Like the man in Jesus’ story, are people to be simply concerned about themselves or are they a part of a greater community of God’s children? God’s promise would appear to be that there is enough for all. Hunger throughout the world is not a sign of God’s not being present. Rather it is a sign that greed, politics and a variety of social upheavals are impeding the necessary distribution of the bounty of the earth to all of God’s people.

As the end of the harvest is celebrated, it is another opportunity to give God thanks not only for the bounty but also for the opportunity to share.  Created in God’s image, the children of God need to be as caring and as sharing as is God. It is part of their nature and it contributes to making them whole. Knowing the fullness of God’s love and grace moves people to see beyond themselves and to recognize opportunities to be of service in God’s name. Thanks for the harvest. Thanks for the opportunity to share.

 

Don Rose is the pastor of Mansfield Lutheran Church in Alden and United Lutheran Church in Walters.