Excerpts from the readings of 33rd Sunday A
Daniel 12 [Speaking of the Coming of The Lord] “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”
Mark 13 “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky… But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
We are in the time of the harvest, a time to gather the bounty of the fields. The upcoming day of Thanksgiving is about that. We hold such an annual holiday because North America identifies herself as a land of faith, with thanks being the right action of recognizing Divine blessings poured upon us. Thus even a governmental thanksgiving holiday is made in Canada (the 2nd Monday of October) or in the USA (last Thursday in November) to our God’s help for us. Our USA origins go to Abe Lincoln officially dedicating this holiday, with remembrance to Plymouth Rock in 1621 of the English and the native Wampanoag people having a meal.
I have not lived the life of a farmer, though I have been priest for a decade in to an area in Southern Maryland that was populated with farmland and its farmers. I also went to a seminary that send many aspirants for the priesthood from dioceses of Kansas and Nebraska. I’ve heard stories about harvest time from them; here’s one.
He says: One of the earliest childhood memories of this heartland person is of the corn harvest. Their father was driving the tractor pulling the corn picker and a wagon. It was cold and evening was falling. Their older brother and sister and were in the wagon with them, where the ripened ears of corn were falling from the corn picker’s conveyer. Their older siblings were there to level the ears to fill the wagon properly. The storyteller remembers his being too small, way back then, to be helpful with that — he was the little boy along for the ride. The copious harvest of golden ears dropping into the wagon is etched into his mind from back then, as an image of bounty, and a call to be thankful for God’s goodness at every harvest. His family always prayed in the home and at church on Thanksgiving Thursday. Because theirs was primarily a dairy farm, a main focus was in milk production. They grew crops principally to feed the cattle. Their main crops back then were alfalfa for hay, green corn for silage, ripened corn for cornmeal, and oats to mix with the cornmeal. They bailed the straw and stalks as bedding for the cattle. In later years, the family also began to grow cash crops — wheat, soybeans and additional corn. Harvest time for them was such a vibrant, rewarding time.
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After all the farming work of tilling, planting and cultivating, the time of the harvest was for all of them a moment to appreciate the fruits of their labor. It was a time of gratitude to give to God for the abundance of his gifts. It was a holy time.
Catholic practice of harvest time prayers go back to our Jewish roots. A simple harvest prayer for the nation Israel is this: “And let us bless the Source of Life, the fertile earth, and the workers who grew and harvested this food. Blessed is the cycle of growth and renewal.
As one blesses the bread at table they pray: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, Hamotzi lechem min haaretz. Blessed are you, Source of Life, who brings forth bread from the earth.
Bar-RUKE a TAH Ah- don-AI El oh HEY new mel ECK HOW lem Ha MOET zee leh KEM mean HAHR etz.
My point of this homily is how “Harvest” is a significant theme in the Sacred Scriptures—both Hebrew and Christian testaments. Of the Hebrews Scriptures we read of the harvest feasts of Sukkot and Shavout. Sukkot is the holiday that commemorates the hut, or sukkot, the ancient Jews lived in during harvest season. Shavout is the holiday of the wheat and barley harvests, as well as Moses receiving the Torah and 10 Commandments from God. Psalm 65, too, is a great prayer of the harvest thanks.
In the New Testament, “harvest” or “harvesting” is used by Jesus in teaching us by it as a powerful metaphor of the mystery of the Kingdom of God, of acceptance of God’s word, of the mission of the Church, of the fruits of righteous living, and final judgment. I will preach on those five areas of the harvest theme.
The image of the growth of the plant from seed to harvest is an image of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Specifically, it speaks of how the Kingdom of God grows and comes to fruition through God’s initiative: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29) In a harvest of souls understanding, Jesus teaches how He is the One Who has spread forth seeds for new life and salvation for people, beginning a Kingdom of God experience that is already at work in our world. He asks the Church to partake in this working of the land, and for gathering people into His Body, the Church, and preparing together for a harvest to Heaven.
The things of the world and the land shows us of the matters of the spiritual—God has His harvest time. He has His homecoming time, the harvest of souls. Does it excite your faith?
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The harvest and the field of the world indicates that not all soils will grow something for a rich harvest. We could take something from the parable of the sower, posed in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8). Its story by Jesus follows the progress of the seeds from the time of sowing to the time of harvest. Not all of the seeds survive. Poor ground is told to be what resists God’s Word and work in us—this is the soil of obstinate attitudes, spiritual shallowness, worldly anxieties and careless practices makes them (their soul, their bodies) unworthy of their harvesting to heaven by God, but for separation by God from the fruitful ones. The parable’s good soil represents those wise folks who hear the word, accept it and put it into practice. They have the right work of God going on in them. One doesn’t need to be a farmer or harvester to get what Jesus is saying.
In the Gospels, the theme of the harvest speaks of the mission of the Apostles: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.’” (Matthew 9:37-38) In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus pronounces this saying and then immediately puts some apostles on mission to cure the sick and drive our demons. They see themselves, then, as partakers with Jesus in a harvest of souls. Indeed, would we all see and understand of how we have such a calling—with a harvest that is meant to be plenty. It can be a big one, for there are many souls that need to come to Jesus and join His Body the Church. Will enough laborers go forth and see their life as a witness as in helping people find salvation?
Thus, in this harvest picture of faith, we are taught by Jesus of how all of us actually are workers in God’s field, the world. We are participants and collaborators in the growth of the Kingdom when we spread God’s word, and carry out the works of love and mercy that Jesus initiated in his ministry. Do you get that?
Jesus sounds like a farmer in a number of Gospel passages. For example, In John’s Gospel and chapter 4, Jesus tells his disciples, “Do you not say, ‘In four months, the harvest will be here?’” (John 4:35a) He is referring to a proverb that has to do with the time interval between the sowing of the seed and the harvest. However, when it comes to the harvest of souls, there is no need to wait. Jesus explains to them: The time is right now to preach, teach, love and heal: “I tell you, look up and see the fields are ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper can rejoice forever. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’” (John 4:35b-37)
In harvest talk and spiritual life, God has sown his word and it is efficacious. The time to reap is now. The reward of our cooperating with Jesus in his mission and spreading the Good News is the joy of seeing the harvest of believers.
See your part in the Mission as bringing people to the good ground of Christ.
Next, onto the fruits of righteous living and the final judgment as harvest themes.
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St. Paul uses the image of the harvest to speak about the fruits of righteous living: “a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7b-9) Do not tire of doing good, my brothers and sisters, or of being truly Catholic—a harvest is coming!
In the fifth and final harvest image to share, our Advent season rolling in soon tells us how (actually) it will be God and His angels that do the harvest of us in the calling up to Glory. Today’s Sunday gospel in Mark 13 get us pointed in such harvest expectation, in how it describes of Jesus and his very many angels coming at the end of history for the harvest of souls. He has fantastically good plans of reward for those following Him and in righteous living and soul-winning. It will be an amazing reward for us and a great reaping for God; while it also will be a judgment time for the wicked and for God to show His powerful hand against His foolish and arrogant enemies. In the Book of Revelation, the reaping of the grain harvest symbolizes the gathering of the elect in the final judgment. In Revelation 14, the reaping and the crushing of the grapes in the winepress symbolizes the fate that awaits those who have lived their lives in opposition to God’s will. Ultimately, Christ will triumph over evil. In life, we align ourselves with Christ as our Hope that Love Wins and Goodness prevails. God will bring His people up to Himself to be with us for all eternity. Heaven then describes a thanksgiving meal as the launching celebration of that gathering and sharing with God. The Gospel today adds our final thought: (that) if you helped in His harvest to lead many people to justice, then you will shine like a star in His company forever.
Happy harvest time to you, my fellow believers and seekers of the Lord in this church today.