Preaching at Harvest Thanksgiving Evensong at St Mary the Virgin, Rufford , Danny Abraham (Ordinand) claimed “Humankind, including Christians, have through an anthropocentric arrogance raped the earth of her natural resources for personal gain and to seek satisfaction, creating stark and unjust divisions between nations and people, and brought this planet to the brink of an ecological disaster.”

 

Read his sermon in full:

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”; no not Christmas, although that is of course, wonderful. No, I am talking about Autumn. As someone who is passionate about nature, Autumn and the annual Harvest is a time for me that is normally earmarked by shortening days, the winter coat emerging from its summer hibernation and the latest offering from David Attenborough on the BBC. It is a time in the year when I get to marvel at the sheer variety and diversity of God’s creation; bright autumnal colours, all sorts of birds beginning to feed for winter and the offerings of seasonal fruit and vegetables beginning to change from those offered in the summer months. And it is as the season settles all around me, and the harvest is gathered in that I am starkly reminded that this world and all it has to offer is not ours. It never has been and it never will be. This earth belongs to the triune God, but as an alien visitor to this planet, you would be forgiven for thinking that it belonged to human beings.

Humankind, including Christians, have through an anthropocentric arrogance raped the earth of her natural resources for personal gain and to seek satisfaction, creating stark and unjust divisions between nations and people, and brought this planet to the brink of an ecological disaster. It is hard to hear, but I make no apologies for the language used, as the time for a softly softly approach is long gone, and the time for concrete action is now upon us.

This is NOT the vision God has for His creation, a creation that is deeply interlinked with one another, and a creation who share the same Creator. While human beings are made in the image of God, we would also do well to remember we too are created, made from the dust of the earth of which we inhabit and have our being through the grace of God.

This evenings passage from Deuteronomy 26 speaks of the Israelites impending journey over into the Promised Land that the Lord had vowed to give them as part of the covenantal promise given to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis. As part of the conditions set out by God and spoken by Moses before their entry into Canaan, the people were reminded that the land they were entering was not their possession, but God’s. They were therefore to honour the land and their covenantal relationship with God by offering up the firstfruits of the harvest in thanksgiving and worship to God as they recalled their divine deliverance from Egypt and God’s goodness and provision.

The prospect of a land filled with an abundance of good things to eat and drink, a fertile land in which to grow and harvest must have been tantalising for the Israelites, after eating manna for 40 years in the desert wilderness, but God’s intention in his command was for the Israelites to recall whose land it truly was, who they were to worship, whose land it who it was that gave them life itself.

Life is not found in material possession, and this is one of the biggest lies the world has ever believed. Actor Jim Carrey once said that he wishes that everyone could taste what fame and fortune really is like. It is not the Hollywood portrayal, and is often a life of fear, anxiety and loneliness, with money and possessions used as circle shaped blocks to fill the square shaped hole in the soul. Our world is hungry for something more than they will ever possess in material goods, but the source of life is not found in things, but in a person; Jesus Christ, who says “I AM the bread of life”.

Turning to John 6, the gathered crowd were astonished at the material provision Jesus had manifested in the feeding of the 5000, and followed Jesus to ask him for more of the same, uttering silently in their hearts the same response found at the end of the passage; “Sir, always give us this bread”. Jesus however, saw through their false questions and desire for more of the physical provisions they had received in the miracle, and instead offered them another type of bread; the bread of life, life in and with Christ. “Sir, always give us this bread.”

It is this bread, this life, that we receive through faith in Christ, and that we consume each time we recieve the Eucharist, and humankind draws no nearer to Christ than in the Eucharist. As we offer the firstfruits of our souls at the altar of God, we should be reminded how the most important thing we require is Jesus. By feeding us with himself, both physically in the material hosts of bread and wine, and spiritually by the work of the Spirit, we are equipped to serve the world, to work the harvest fields of God’s people in His name, whilst continuing to sow Kingdom seeds for the glory of his name. These seeds are planted by us, watered by the Church, but we must remember that it is God who gives the growth, not us.

Jesus, the creator of all things, and for whom all things were made is the true source of life, and life in all its fullness. All of creation finds its purpose, direction and meaning in Christ, and it is only Christ who satisfies true hunger; the hunger for relationship with our Creator,

As we think about Harvest today, we are called to share what we have with those who are in most need. While we can share our material goods to the glory of God’s name and for His Kingdom, what greater gift do we have to share than the bread of life. This life-giving bread is not simply a commodity to feed the Church and its mission, but a person who lives to feed the world, to draw all of creation toward the eternal life only he can offer. We as the Church are called to share this living bread with others, to invite others to taste the imperishable, life-giving and eternal bread of heaven, and to work alongside the Spirit in drawing all of creation into the Kingdom of God, to co-exist alongside our Creator now and always.

As we live our lives and gather as a church, we, alongside a hungry and desperate world, should continually proclaim “Sir, always give us this bread”.