Tag: Harvest

15th Ordinary Sunday: Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 65:10,11,12-13; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-9 ~ on fruitfulness

15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:
__________

We gather as pilgrims on a journey, asking God to keep us steadfast until we reach our eternal home.

God of the heavens, God of the earth, all creation awaits Your gift of new life. Prepare our hearts to receive the word of Your Son, that His gospel may grow within us and yield a harvest that is a hundredfold. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
__________

Harvest Scene Paul Gauguin
Harvest Scene
Paul Gauguin

A Reading from the Old testament: Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
__________

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 65:10,11,12-13 (NLT)

You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
_____

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
_____

The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!
__________


__________

A Reading from the Letters: Romans 8:18-23 (NLT)

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

__________

Ultra-Orthodox Jews follow an ancient Biblical command and harvest wheat with a hand sickle in a field near the central Israeli town of Modi'in.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews follow an ancient Biblical command and harvest wheat with a hand sickle in a field near the central Israeli town of Modi’in.

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 13:1-9 (NLT)

Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

__________


__________

Intercessions:

Gracious God – Crown our lives with Your goodness and produce in us the good fruit of Your word:

+ For Your people – that our hearts may hear Your word and understand it….
Lord, hear us.

+ For new believers in Christ – that Your Word may be firmly rooted in their lives….
Lord, hear us.

+ For all whose faith is weak – that Your love may transform them into all that they are called to be….
Lord, hear us.

+ For all who bring the Good News to the ends of the earth – that the Holy Spirit may support the work of those who proclaim the Gospel in the poorest countries….
Lord, hear us.

+ For farmers and all who depend on the soil for their livelihood – that this year’s crop may satisfy their needs….
Lord, hear us.

+ For those who are far from home, for work or on holidays – that they may experience kindness, and travel in safety….
Lord, hear us.

+ For all those who have died in service to their country – that they may share the glory awaiting all believers…
Lord, hear us.

God our creator, You provide for the earth and for all who live in it, hear our prayers we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

__________

__________

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer, 23 Jan – John 4:31-45 ~ come to the well

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence – Chad of Lichfield (?-672)

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.

On Your path, O my God, and not my own, be all my journeying. Rule this heart of mine that it be only Yours.

Morning readings

John 4:31-45 ESV:

Jesus and the Woman at the Well. German image, circa 1420
Jesus and the Woman at the Well.
German image, circa 1420

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

Reflections / Prayer:

Sowing and reaping

Jesus’ disciples are to reap the harvest of what others have sowed and labored over. Their ministry is dependent on that of earlier laborers – all those through whom the Father has been accomplishing his work, the work that is now coming to a perfect completion in Jesus.

This ministry of the disciples is an extension of Jesus’ own work — doing the Father’s will by the presence of the Spirit and embodying and proclaiming the eternal life available in Jesus, the one who completed the Father’s work.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

The harvest

The faith of the Samaritans who went out to see Jesus goes from being based on the woman’s testimony to being based on their own experience. They had heard about Jesus, and now they needed to hear him for themselves.

The lesson: our faith also must be based on hearing Jesus for ourselves, not just on hearing about him. These Samaritans have seen no deeds of power, no signs, but have come to have faith in Jesus.

We hear about Jesus as we read the Gospels in the light of the insight the Spirit has provided to the church, but we must come to the well ourselves to meet him through the means of grace he provides.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

True worshippers

The Samaritans want Jesus to stay with them for two days. The initial religious barrier that had kept the woman from Jesus has broken down… they are not put off by Jesus’ origin.

The Father is seeking worshipers from among the Jews but also from the whole world… and, in the presence of Jesus, these Samaritans come to believe that he is the Savior of the world.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835 – January 23, 1893) Episcopal Church, Boston, MA

“The danger facing all of us – let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously – is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things.

“The danger is that we may fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God – and be content to have it so – that is the danger.

“That some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life – and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible.

“That is what one prays one’s friends may be spared – satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle and thrill which come from a friendship with the Father.” – Phillips Brooks

__________

Canticle:

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.

Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.

On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.

Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Reading: Luke 8.4-15 NLT – Kingdom secrets

Reading: Luke 8.4-15 NLT

sowing seedsOne day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
When they hear, they won’t understand.’

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

Prayer: Word of God – Speak to me today… lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil; refocus my heart and mind on Your Kingdom purposes; take root in me and produce a rich harvest of Life – abundant and eternal. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Word of God Speak” – Mercy Me (YouTube)

Morning Reading: Luke 10.1-2; 8-9 NLT

The Lord now chose seventy-twoother disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields….

“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’”  Luke 10.1-2; 8-9 NLT