Thanks Giving - Harvest Festival 2019Texts: Psalm 104:10-15+27-30; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 12:15-21

Introduction.There is a bumper sticker that says: “Don’t talk badly about a farmer or farmworkers with your mouth full!” When we think of Thanksgiving or Harvest Festival, we think of the fruit of the fields; the cane, wheat or the maize that we have harvested. We also think of the vegetables like cabbage and butternuts, spinach and lettuce. We think of fruits like avocados and oranges, lemons and nuts, bananas and pawpaws. We think of the eggs, milk and the meat from animals; the biltong and the steaks. We think of the trees like pine and eucalyptus and we think of the flowers like Strelitzia, and Roses, Daisies and Agapanthus which we could pick from the garden.

A) Tangible HarvestHarvest Festival starts and ends with the seeds with a long process in between. Sugarcane stalks are harvested, but can also be planted again. The same is true for e.g. maize cobs containing the mealie pits. You start and end with the seed. In general, the first thoughts about Harvest Festival are about ploughing, sowing, planting, weeding, growing and in the end, often after many months; the harvesting. If the season was good or fair, then it is easy to celebrate Harvest Festival. If the prospects of next year’s crop are not so good, due to the drought or low international market prices, it becomes more difficult. But would you really have no reason to celebrate? Does your joy and thankfulness only depend on a good result, or a strong bank account at the end? If they are, then you are in a sorry state of living. Harvest Festival is first and foremost about God himself and the life which he allowed to flow into your life and through your life through creation. Yes, many things are tangible and can be placed in storage like the sugar, the maize, the bottled jam and meat in the freezer. But to limit Harvest Festival only to the animal and plant end products, would be short sighted. Everything we have comes directly or indirectly from God our Creator. Let us look at other examples that also produced a harvest:

B) A Harvest that cannot be Stored Away:Think of the children that were born during the last year, the couple that became parents, parents that became grandparents. Think of the people who got engaged and married. Think of the passing of another year at school, or varsity. Maybe you are at a new phase in your life, a new job or promotion, a new hobby. Think of the new friends you made that brought meaning, laughter and joy into your life. Think of a new song you heard, a compliment you received, a word of encouragement, a hug, a dance, a holiday. Think of the old friends you have, your spouse, your children, your health over many years. Think of the green environment most of us may live in. Nature and the comparative safety we experience. Think of the freedom of your Christian faith, the word of God that came alive for you, that guided you, that broadened your horizon. Think of the talents and spiritual gifts you have discovered or rediscovered and are put to good use in the congregation and community. All these should make us aware how abundantly blessed we are.

The harvest of these experiences, we cannot store away in a room, in a jar, in the bank account and you cannot take hold of them whenever we are “hungry”, “thirsty” or “ill”. These experiences shape our lives even more than the physical food we eat and the material possessions we have. Harvest Festival starts and ends with the seeds with a long process in between. Are you sowing the good seed which you have harvested? Or are you trying to store these away solely for yourself?

Yes, if we are honest, we have also harvested during the last year the shadow side of life. We experienced pain and suffering, illness and death, disappointment and disaster, crying and mourning, loss and depression, anxiety and broken relationships, fear and failure, etc. These are things we try not to harvest, and yet they do cross our way. Some of these tough experiences can shatter our faith in a good God, can make us go through dark valleys in life. Yet, they have also the potential to make us grow and experience God and reality in a new way. Often the people who are or who have gone through deep waters, have the ability to make us aware that we need to appreciate life and relationships more and don’t take them for granted and do thank God for them. Life can be compare to a tree that also has to weather the storms in life and produces thick and thin rings each year due to the experiences in that particular year. Yet if fully grounded by deep roots it will survive even storms in life. It is only mushrooms which popup overnight and look good for a short while. Do you prefer to be a mushroom or a tree?

C) A Harvest through an Offering. In 2 Corinthians 9:6 we read: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” And most of us will nod and say: “This is how it works in nature. If you are stingy with your seeds, only a small crop will result. To get a good crop you have to sow the optimal amount of seed, you need to be generous.” But Paul is here not speaking about agricultural practise per se, rather he is using the analogy of sowing and reaping and applies it to encourage congregation members to make an offering which will benefit those in need. Now normally when a congregation or a pastor talks about money the following question automatically pops up in the minds of people: “What does he want from me?” OR “How much does he want from me?” To that I want to respond and say: “Hang on, you are on the wrong track. You have the wrong perspective. Give Paul a chance to present his case. He wants you to have the right perspective from God and from the right perspective flows a bigger chance for the right actions.”Paul focusses on God’s unsurpassing gift of grace in Christ Jesus (Verse 15). This grace is God’s boundless source from which all Christian giving flows. Because of God’s grace, we Christians can make an offering. This grace has the ability to transform “dead” money into living seeds; into a love offering which helps those in need and will not leave the giver poorer, but richer. Some will say: “Sounds good, being richer. Bring it on…” and so we might only think of the harvest in monetary, or financial terms. Paul then explains the harvest that will result from the source of grace, the seeds of the offering which are planted:1. It will reveal your expression of faith in the gospel of Christ. (Verse 13)2. It connects and unifies giver and receivers (Verse 13)

3. There will be thanksgiving to God for your generosity. (Verse 11+13).4. The receivers will pray for you and bless you (Verse 14).This will result in a harvest of worshipping God. The Harvest Offering is to be a love offering – “each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give”; are seeds which will bring about a harvest for the Kingdom of God.

D)”He who is sowing in blessings, in blessings also shall reap.” “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” This translation of the verse focuses on what WE do. If you look at the literal translation of this verse, you will see that it says: He who is sowing in blessings, in blessings also shall reap.” Why is this translation so important? Because it redirects our focus away from us to God. Blessings come from the Lord and we are encouraged to be co-workers and participate in his blessings which flow.Let me explain it with a painting called “The Sower” by Vincent van Gogh (1888).

Here we see a figure, the sower, scattering the seeds on the field while the big sun is setting in the horizon. [It is an art to sow seeds by hand. There is a certain swing while you walk and release the seeds from your hand. You have to make sure you do not scatter too little or too much on a specific spot. I remember my dad still sowing wheat this way when I was young. I even tried it myself. Step and sow, step and sow, while the other hand secures the sack with seed around your shoulder and waist.] The sower is moving slowly but surely ahead. Even though there is movement, a certain tranquillity is radiating from the picture. And while the sower goes his course, we can ask ourselves: What did we sow in blessings this year? What germinated? In what did we invest time and energy and resources? In what did we sow expectations and hope? Did something grow, or did we reap disappointments? Was there something new and exciting, or were we perplexed and stunned? Did you and I grow during this past year? Children and teenagers will talk about cm, but we adults will look at growth through experiences, achievements, or even pain.

The fields are massive and diverse on which seeds are scattered - the things we experience in our everyday lives. We see it in the painting in the different coloured fields and in the symbol of the tree. The trunk is dark and sturdy, but bent. There is some new growth, but also a branch which was cut off. There are some red coloured leaves higher up. The tree extends beyond the picture into the unknown. The sun is huge and radiates warmth and light. Van Gogh himself wrote about this painting in a letter: The sower symbolises… the yearnings for the eternal.“ We live our lives between heaven and earth, often with a downcast face due to the challenges and worries we face in life. And yet, God, symbolised by the sun, is there, is ever-present, is near us and is radiating his warmth of life and light of grace into the whole world whether we are aware of it or not. We live our whole lives under God’s blessing and through God’s blessing. Because this is true, we can sow in blessing and our eyes will be opened to reap in blessings. We will see God at work in our lives and through our actions towards others. We can confidently sow a small seed; a word, an act, or a resource and trust that God will provide the growth and the harvest. Therefore, let us be generous sowers under the sun; let us receive and pass on God’s blessings through sowing seeds. The seed of a word of peace that can bring conflicting parties together. The seed of encouragement that can make a person try again, or excel. The seed of friendship that grows and weather storms together. The seed of hope and light that breaks open the prison of depression and anxiety. The seed of food for hungry children. The seed of truth and taking a moral stand in the midst of injustice. The seed of employment or developing entrepreneurship among the needy. The seed of money to help someone in need. The seed of a hug to those who mourn. The seed of the gospel for the lost. The seed of grace to the fallen. Take the “little” seeds you have and scatter them and trust in God to give the growth and the harvest. Trust that the potential of the seed does not lie in your hand, but in God’s blessing. And if you sow, you will reap: If you sow honesty, you will reap trust. If you sow goodness, you will reap friends. If you sow humility, you will reap greatness. If you sow perseverance, you will reap contentment. If you sow consideration, you will reap perspective. If you sow hard work, you will reap success. If you sow forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. So, be careful what you sow now; it will determine what you will reap later. May it bring about a harvest for the Kingdom of God and praise him.

Summary In his dream, a young man entered a shop. An angel was standing behind the counter. The young man ask the angel what he was selling. “Anything you require”, the angel said. The man began to list the following: “ Then I would like the end of all wars on earth, better life conditions towards the marginalised in society, the end of poverty and unemployment, more fellowship and love in the churches and families … and…and…”The angel interrupted the man: “Excuse me, young man, you misunderstood me. We don't sell the fruit, we only sell the seeds.” Harvest Festival starts and ends with the seeds with a long process in between. It is about the Creator and the life he

so generously gives. We are asked to generously and faithfully sow these seeds in blessings and in blessings we shall reap. Amen.

Pastor Reiner Focke 15/09/2019