Wednesday, October 9

The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need. (Acts 4: 32 -35, The Message Bible)

        Come, ye thankful people, come, 

        raise the song of harvest home;

        all is safely gathered in,
        ere the winter storms begin.
        God our Maker doth provide
        for our wants to be supplied
        come to God's own temple, come
        raise the song of harvest home. (Henry Alford, 1844)

           I have always appreciated that we, Canadians, celebrate our Thanksgiving in early October as opposed to the American version in November on the cusp of Advent. It stands alone. It has always been one of my favourite traditions of the year. Its simple theme of appreciation, praise and gratitude for all that life has to offer needs little, other embellishment or enhancement as do some of the other holidays.

In all my churches where I pastored, on Thanksgiving Sunday, the communion table would be laden to overflowing on the floor with the fruits and vegetables of a generous harvest. Pumpkins, squash, apples, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, even loaves of bread, bags of rice and flour - you name it and there were ample goods on display. My little, first church in Wainfleet was the best at it.  The whole altar area was bursting in an abundance of harvest. It was like a farmer’s market had exploded.

The better part happened after Thanksgiving was “over” although we should never cease being thankful for all things. It was the custom in all my churches to box up and give the produce over to shelters and food banks. In the case of Wainfleet, we shared with the bounty with couple of the more needy families in the church. But the food never went to waste.

If I were to ask myself, what exactly is a “harvest home” referred to in the hymn, I would point to the act of sharing from our bounty. It is the model we can read about in our text from Acts. The Jerusalem Christian church, still in its infant stage of existence, celebrates its new life in Christ by an unequalled display of generosity. “They shared everything.”

It is almost impossible to imagine. We pride ourselves in ownership. We own our houses, cars, cottages, appliances, computers and so on. I am very grateful for all the stuff I own and count myself blessed. But the idea of selling everything and gifting the proceeds to others seems over-the-top, a crazy thing to do. Yes, Jesus, said to a rich man, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Luke  18: 22) But most of us usually rationalize this astonishing statement  to mean that we shouldn’t  be prisoner to our wealth. Fair enough, but let’s not slide out of Jesus’ expectation that we are to be generous, compassionate, empathetic and liberal with our giving.  It may have been that very verse which was the impetus for the early Christians in Jerusalem. They were a living example of creating a harvest home.

 A harvest home is a home where all are welcome from the very least to the very privileged.  A harvest home is a safe haven which offers comfort, blessings, hope, joy, peace and love. A harvest home has no locked doors to shut people out. A harvest home has a candle burning in the window. A harvest home has a place at the dining room table for everyone. A harvest home is replete with the aromas of food and drink, the sound of laughter, the embrace of love.  A harvest home is the shelter in the storms of life.  A harvest home is a sacred space where all are safely gathered in.

Not just our churches, but our family homes as well.

So let us all be thankful this weekend. God has provided.  Enjoy. Celebrate God’s goodness. Then pass it on! It’ll make the turkey taste that much better!

            Even so, Lord, quickly come,
            bring thy final harvest home;
            gather thou thy people in,
            free from sorrow, free from sin,
            there, forever purified,
            in thy presence to abide;
            come, with all thine angels, come,
            raise the glorious harvest home.

 Dale