Dependence Upon God (Harvest)

DEPENDENCE UPON GOD

Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed on the land: he goes to bed at night and gets up in the morning, and the seed grows - how he does not know. First the blade, then the ear, then the full grown corn in the ear." Mark 4.27-28

The Prayer Book Catechism describes a sacrament as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual truth. The sacraments are the church's visual aids.

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Harvest is surely such a visual aid although it is not one of the seven sacraments of the church. Harvest time is a tremendous story of human endeavour. The preparation of the soil in planting of the crops. The development and maintenance of the agricultural equipment. The harvesting and transportation to the market. The cleaning, sorting of the crops in preparation for bagging or putting into tins . The labelling, marketing and selling of the produce for the consumer to purchase from the supermarket or the corner shop. And behind all that, the application of human effort.

Harvest is indeed an outward and visible sign of our dependence upon others.

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But the Christian goes much further than that. He says we are not just dependent upon other people; we are also dependent upon God.

I came across a saying some years ago which said: "A Christian is like ripening corn: the riper he grows the more lowly he bends his head".

A few months before harvest, if you drive around the countryside you see the first blades of wheat pushing their way up through the soil and breathing their first air of freedom and independence. As each blade discovers its strength and power it .thrusts itself higher and higher until is almost standing on tiptoe. Each blade of wheat trying to outdo the other blade of wheat. Each blade of wheat thinking it is more important than the other blade of wheat.

Yet later, as the grain develops in the ear it gradually bows its head under its weight. It is then that it is ripe for harvest "first the blade.then the ear, then the full-grown corn in the ear". It bows its head as it realises how very dependent it is. It bows its head to its Maker and Sustainer. It bows its head to Him who made it all possible.

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And that is how it is with us in the Christian life.

"First the blade". As we make our first attempts to crawl and walk in the Christian life we are rather like that first young shoot of wheat. We are full of life and enthusiasm as we realise energies which we never knew existed.

'And then the ear". Soon we become conscious of other Christians. Like the growing blade we delight to outshine other Christians. We reach to the sky and show how important we really are. We are proud of our Christian acts of mercy and goodness. We are proud of our church attendance. We are proud of our frequency at the Eucharist. We are proud of our unending attendance at meetings. We are proud that we are Christians and others are not. We are proud of our generosity. But, my friends, pride comes before a fall!

'Then the full grown grain in the ear". Suddenly we become aware of not only how dependent we are upon other people, but also more importantly how dependent we are upon God. We suddenly realise our nothingness and his greatness. We become aware of our weakness and his strength: of our poverty and his richness. And so we bow our heads like the "full grown grain in the ear" in humility to God.

Then and only then can we begin to be of any use to Him because we have discovered how much we need him. Then our only response can be that of obedience. The obedience of a loyal subject to its king. Thus his kingdom comes and his will is done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Yes, The Kingdom of God is like a man who "scatters seed on the land: he goes to bed at night and gets up in the morning, and the seed grows - how he does not know. First the blade, then the ear, then the full grown corn in the ear". It is the harvested grain that is of use and that is true of us.

Yes, harvest time comes then for the Christian for he begins to bear fruit. The fruits of the spirit.

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Harvest is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual truth. That inward and spiritual truth is that we are people who are dependent, not only upon other people but, more importantly, upon God. This is the root of our thanksgiving for the harvest which we can only offer from a humble heart.

Don't forget "The Christian is like ripening corn, the riper he grows the more lowly he bends his head".