Good Morning Friends,
A farm can only go on so long without a harvest. There is a law of sowing and reaping, and a time for both if you are serious about growing things. There is joy in the harvesting and a purpose in the feasting that misses many places of worship and lifestyles. It defeats the purpose to turn the process into a sideline interest of just growing greenery without bearing fruit and it also defeats the purpose to harvest and feast all the time this side of heaven. Well, I guess you could but there are unintended consequences. Certainly, our grocery stores are stocked with the same fruit all the time. But if our current culture is evidence, this approach physically and spiritually may not be as healthy as we might think. If people are going to modify their behavior for a healthier life the thing that changes behaviors from childhood is intergenerational. We need to think through how we plant and harvest from one generation to another. There is a season to the whole thing that should prompt us to find more successful ways of harvesting the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of the next generation. Unfortunately, we graduate kids having made the mistake of failing to plan for the harvesting. And that prompts today’s question. Are We Wrestling With The Sowing and the Reaping God Desires Us To Do?
Scripture: He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.
Genesis 32:23-33 (NRSV)
After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.” Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:32-38 (NRSV)
Message: Moses, Jonah, Paul, Elijah, and Gideon all wrestled with God. Most of their stories may warm our hearts but at the same time challenge our heads. We do so like the underdog to win but we do not want them to be humiliated. Today’s scripture includes a story about such a struggle…wrestling with God…and wondering who is going to win that contest. Jacob was a good wrestler. He had been wrestling with his brother before they were born. He was grabbing Esau’s heel to unseat him in the womb. He had practiced for many years. The problem was that Jacob needed to deepen his relationship with God. Jacob needed a little humbling…he needed a name change. And that is just the blessing he receives. So, in today’s scripture we learn about sowing the seeds of spiritual leadership, saving the faith in the face of difficult times, as we keep the message alive, keep the garden growing, keep the family in the word carrying out the tasks for the harvest. God is looking over our shoulder even now. Hopefully we are mindful of the last words of the resurrected Jesus as he tells His followers what they must do, what we must do to sow the seed of Christ. But we wrestle with the scripture even as that scoundrel and a deceiver, Jacob. He had tricked his brother out of his birthright and its blessing. Still he teaches us that when we struggle with God we must keep a firm grasp of our faith. To receive the greater blessing of grace we must receive, read, reflect, relate and respond to God’s word. Cling to the words and carry them out. We are to sow and reap what God has planted in our hearts. We are to show compassion.
And So, let the Word and the Word made flesh and the presence of the Holy Spirit save you, grow in you, and produce fruit in you, so that you will for the next generation save the seeds of our salvation. We must accept the call to share the light in us, sacrifice the seed in us and be patient enough to await the harvest. Even though we are just mortal mud, He molds us and grows in us a seed of connection to the eternal. Let us remember that the law of sowing and reaping proclaims that life is everywhere God’s Kingdom prevails. So, friends, plant the seeds. Tend the plants. Reap the harvest. Keep the dream alive. Those who sow seeds of love and tend them will harvest friends. Those that plant and tend faith will harvest blessings. Those who plant and tend a belief in Christ’s grace will harvest fruits in God’s Kingdom of eternal Grace. We have a choice about what we sow and so a part in the making of the harvest, but when we are all wind, the whirlwind in the reaping can be a devastating thing. Having been though hurricanes in Florida I know a bit about it. Whirlwinds ruin the harvests. Now follow me carefully with this. Sowing and reaping is a well-known fundamental, physical principle of life. And the thing is that we are always to reap more than we sow. If I was to go into my garden and plant a sweat potato into the ground – in a few months’ time I would not reap one potato, I would reap lots of potatoes. If I plant a pea or bean, then in a few months’ time I would not get back one bean or pea – I will get back lots of them. That is the principle. We are to always reap more than we sow. But not only do we reap more than what we sow. We will reap more of the same of what we sow. It is no good to plant a potato if one desires carrots. There is a connection in the kind of seeds we sow, and that relates to the harvest we have. That is how it works. There is a relationship to what we sow and what we harvest. And friends, God is watching exactly what we do in this regard. So, we are to sow seeds of righteousness and love so that we might harvest righteousness and love. And one of the reasons that we are here today spending some time with God is to celebrate the fact that seeds of righteousness were sown in our lives and they have grown, and they have matured, and now God is with us to reap the benefits for the Kingdom to come and plant the right seeds for the next generation.
Pray we sow seeds of hope. Pray the power of the seed of the Word bears fruit in each of us. Pray that our faith grows like a mustard seed. Pray that we prepare our hearts and minds, so the seeds of love might grow in us. Pray that we see that the power of the Word of God is the power of the Seed of God, Jesus. Pray that we prepare for our next encounter with God by living a life of sowing the seeds of our faith.
Pray we share our faith when we hear a cry for help. Pray our motive is always one of love. Pray we sow the seed of the good news of God’s grace to His glory. Pray this morning that the seeds we plant will grow and produce an abundant harvest for the Kingdom of God. Pray we realize that the harvest is not getting someone into a pew but getting them to plant more seeds for an even greater harvest. Pray we celebrate the season of harvest with great joy. Pray we realize that the harvest is valuable and plentiful but that the workers are too few. Pray we experience the joy of the harvest. Pray we realize that the fields are ready for reaping right now. Pray we realize the need to fill and send out workers into the harvest but also to plant seeds for the next crop. Pray we celebrate the results of the seed planted in the lives of others as they wrestle to share a testimony of a hope in a future harvest celebrated to the glory of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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