Plentiful Harvest

Jesus lived in an Agrarian society. Or put simply ,a farming community. So Jesus, in his conversations used farming illustrations, something his listeners understood and connected with. Jesus used these illustrations as metaphors. They were symbols pointing to something completely different. They were used to help the listeners understand a deeper truth. What farming illustration does Jesus use to start this significant conversation with his disciples? A plentiful harvest – assuming grain of some kind. So how would they have harvested? Most likely with a Sickle, Using a cutting action, Sickles are a common farming tool found across the centuries and right across the world. The Scythe during the 15th Century in Europe became the dominant harvesting tool. You will see it in the illustration I made for today. The Scythe uses a sweeping action. After the industrial revolution harvesting went mechanical. Tractors with mechanical Scythes. Now of course massive combine harvesters are used that span quite a few metres. Jesus uses an illustration of Harvest and the labourers would have used sickles, listen out for it. Matthew 9:35 – 10:8 NRSV ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few’ The Harvest has been understood as a metaphor for the mission field but that’s a bit objective and impersonal. I would rather understand the harvest as those to be brought into the loving embrace of God. The field are all those that need to hear of and experience the Love of God. So they too can be one with their Creator. Jesus mission and ministry was to share the Love of God. He recognised that he could not do it alone, that the disciples were needed to join in and do the same. If there was to be a fulfilment of Jesus’s mission. Jesus gave them, the disciples, the authority to go and do all in his name. Jesus though knew that they were at this point in time still small in numbers so he limited their mission field. Later on the mission field was expanded. We are the disciples, we have been authorised to share the Love of God, as Jesus himself shared the Love of God. Although, we need to recognise we are few in number. There is a lot we can do but we can’t do it all. There needs to be an acceptance of our limits and be strategic with the resources we have. We cannot harvest all the fields but we can harvest the field God has placed before us. That begs the questions, What is the harvest field before us? What is your task in the harvest? How can you share the Love of God?