Where did the past month of October go? It seems like the month just started...does it seem like that to you? The old saying, "Time flies" - becomes more and more relevant the older I get - really, where is time going? Paving the way into eternity...
Thinking of timing...timing often causes us to act. When we "act" - there's usually a cause that demands a response...when we act in response to time it's usually an urgent response - something needs to be done...something has got to happen.
It's true that I am one who likes to respond. Response is a way we live life, isn't it?
- Baby cries - we feed her, change her, play with her, give her attention
- Our stomach's growl - we feed it, give it a drink
- The phone rings - we answer it, make a decision to call back
- Stoplight turns green - we release our foot from the brake and press the accelerator
- Music plays - we tap our foot or find our head moving to the rhythm
- Seasons change - we sort through clothes and bring new ones out and pack old ones away
We are a response oriented creation...
Timing and the changing of seasons has caused creation to respond in beautiful ways this season. Fall is one of my favorite times of year, we can SEE creation's response to a change: leaves turning golden, orange, red...the air riding itself of humidity and being replaced with briskness...creation remembers well to respond to time.
Early in John's gospel he gives an account of Jesus speaking to His disciples about timing and response. The scene John depicts in chapter 4 describes Jesus traveling from Judea to Galilee as he was passing through Samaria. This was an unusual passage of choice - Jews usually made their way around Samaria to avoid Samaritans. Jesus again shakes things up and decides to neglect the detour and journey straight through the heart of the neglected Samaritan land.
Tired from the journey he sat down at Jacob's well and began a conversation with a Samaritan Woman about water - water that over time would continue to quench her thirst - would turn into a spring and burst into eternal life. She wanted this water... (response) - a water that didn't require her to return to the same well. After she shares her desire for this water (response) Jesus asks her to go get her husband. Up until this point she has been fairly responsive to Jesus (even though it is completely unacceptable for a Samaritin to be talking with a Jew)...but now - all she can muster to say to this strange man is, "I have no husband". Jesus, a complete stranger to this Samaritan woman doing her recurrent chore of drawing water begins to paint a picture of her life right in front of her eyes. She recognizes Jesus as a prophet and he reveals to her that he is THE Messiah whom she has been waiting for.
Jesus' disciples return from buying food and find him in conversation with this Samaritan woman - John records that their response was one of shock that was plainly revealed on their faces - but they didn't ask anything of the woman or of Jesus. What a scene...the disciples seeing Jesus a foreign Jewish man in this land talk to an unclean Samaritan woman ... and they have nothing to say - they were obviously pre-occupied.
The woman leaves to go spread the news of the strange Jew who told her everything about her life. The town began making their way toward Jesus (response) and his disciples. Meanwhile, the disciples urged Jesus to eat. They were more concerned with lunch time than the harvest time Jesus was interested in. Jesus was interested in this woman and her response to the Father's seeking. Jesus declines the offer of food from His disciples and explains that his food, "...The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest?" - Jesus had his priorities straight - he knew that the spiritual implications of his meeting this woman far outweighed the physical implications of hunger or 'Lunchtime'.
Jesus continued to teach his disciples, "Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time! The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. NOW (urgency) the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That's the truth of the saying, 'This one sows, that one harvests.' I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others."
Fall is harvest time (both figuratively and literally)...Jesus teachings about the urgency of the harvest are so applicable in our everyday lives...many have gone before us and prepared the field...planted, fertilized, nurtured, etc. ...and the field has turned white, ready and prime for harvesting....Harvesting requires a response...we have to do the 'work' of harvesting - responding to that which God has prepared for us to do.
Thinking of all things harvested - corn, beans, tomatoes, green beans - I made a soup today to enjoy with some friends. We ate this hearty soup outside which was made up of the harvest crops and enjoyed sweet fellowship sprinkled with laughter. As I was cooking I was thinking of the ingredients and how they were all harvested...someone planted, fertilized, nurtured each individual ingredient. Putting all of these harvested items together reminded me of God's Kingdom and the work he's given us to do. I think I am going to coin this dish as "Harvest Stew"...because when the words of Jesus penetrate our hearts....a stewing happens within that compels us to be a part of the harvesting of all the peoples of the world and it makes a beautiful collection of people being sought by God and people seeking God.
Now is the time of harvest -It's urgent and requires an urgent response...
Father God, help me to have eternal priorities and an urgency in responding to your harvest timing. Jesus continue to teach me how to go about finishing the work you've left for us to do...your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
