Harvest Thanksgiving
The world of the Old Testament was based on agriculture. Many of the Old Testament scriptures were written not to people who lived in urban settings, but those who lived in rural settings. Wealth for example, was seen to be situated around land ownership. The book of Joshua has vast lists of families’ ownership of parts of the promised land - it was central to the covenant that defined the spiritual life of the nation.
The Covenant outlined in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy made the point that this land was not earned but was given by God to his people. It was placed in trust. Throughout the year there was to be three harvest festivals that were celebrated: The Unleavened Bread, Pentecost (or Shavuot) and Tabernacles (found in Exodus 23:14-17).
We are coming up to the time of Harvest in our churches, a tradition first founded in the mid-nineteenth century when there was still a strong dependency on agriculture. Despite the move to dependency on industry-based jobs, resulting in less people being directly involved in farming, it is still important to honour the time-old tradition of thanking the Lord for his provision.
Agricultural themes are dominant throughout scripture. One example is the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 21:33-40: “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance. So, they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”
This parable could have several meanings but in the last few years, with the greater awareness of global warming and inequality, it may be taking on a new significance.
We have come to think that we have a right to our lifestyle, particularly in the West. The world belongs to us and we can do with it as we like. Whether that is how we see “our” possessions or the environment. Some Christians are wary of the “Green” movement, seeing it as something that worships the created not the creator. However, we have a unique voice to offer to the world. The first thing we are told about God in the Bible is that He is the Creator.
The landowner in planting the vineyard, building walls with a watchtower, and providing a winepress, gave the tenants everything they needed to prosper. The Lord in providing the Promised Land gave the Israelites everything they needed to prosper as a holy people. God our Creator provides for all our needs.
Yet to enjoy God’s creation, we must do our part and pay our covenant ‘rent’ so to speak. In the Old Covenant, this included caring for the land, their fellow Israelites, and the foreigner. Jesus told this story to the Jews who didn’t partake in their covenant duties to care for the land or people, instead, they looked down upon the gentiles and exploited one another. The lifestyle many of us live in the current industrialised era continues to exploit both other people and God’s Creation; we often forget our new covenant duties to love God and others.
This brings a challenge to our Thanksgiving this harvest time. Do we pay rent on our covenant promise year-round or just at harvest time? Are we kind to the earth and others once a year when we are reminded of the way God uses us to provide for us or can we adjust our lifestyle year-round and continue living in covenant blessing, having all that we need from the Lord?
