25th September: Andrea’s Letter: Harvest Festival

25th September 2022

Harvest Festival 2022       St Andrews Milngavie

 

Dear All
Today we celebrated our Harvest Festival.  The church looked lovely, decorated for the occasion with the harvest offertory beautifully displayed at the chancel steps.   Many of us then gathered in the hall for a feast of homemade soups, bread, cakes and crumbles.  Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Notices for this week:
Tuesday 10am Prayer Group in the Garden Room.
Thursday 10am Said Eucharist followed by coffee in Friendship House
Saturday 1st October10-12am – Garden Tidy!  Calling all gardeners to lend a hand to give the garden an autumn tidy, coffee will be included.
Sunday 16th October – AGM – in church after the service – please do support.   We need new vestry members, please let me know if you would be interested.

Readings for next Sunday – 16th Sunday after Trinity – Habakkuk 1:1-4,2:1-4       2 Timothy 1:1-14   Luke 17:5-10

Today’s readings – Isaiah 25:1-9   Philippians 4:1-9   Matthew 6:25-34

Harvest festival is traditionally a time of thanksgiving.  We particularly give thanks for our food and for all who work hard to bring it to our shelves.  We also give thanks for God for his creation, our world. The beautiful country we live in and our part in maintaining and sustaining it.

The last two years have certainly been a tough time for our country and indeed the entire globe as we faced the pandemic, the energy crisis and war in Europe.  But it is times of crisis that often bring us up short: the priority of our lives is brought into sharper focus and we start to count our blessings……… and we do have much to be thankful for….. we live in a beautiful country, we have roofs over our heads, food on our tables and significantly family and friends to share the minutia of our lives with – all this set in the context of our Christian faith which is underpinned by the Holy Spirit from whom we deride strength courage guidance and comfort

In the bible Jesus sought to bring comfort to his people. “Come to me all who are heavy laden” he tells us “and I will bring you rest”

In this morning’s gospel he tells us “Do not worry” A fitting text for the world today. This passage in Matthew’s gospel is part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount.  A sermon Jesus delivered to the crowds, people of all backgrounds including the poor and sick to bring them hope, love and comfort. Jesus delivers this sermon not out of any sense of reprimand and caution but out of love and concern for his people.  In his humanity he knows how harmful and unproductive worrying is for us. And so, he addressed this very issue as he explicably says in verse 27 “Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?”

We all know worrying for worrying sake cannot help any of us. In fact, it can damage our health, our relationships even our relationship with God and it steals the joy from our souls. So, what can we do?

We need to start by replacing worry with concern because concern and worry are not the same thing. Concern acknowledges that something needs careful thought and possible action.  Worry is given to consuming trepidation and anxiety. Concern gives way to planning. Worry gives way to fear. Concern leads to healthy attention. Worry leads to unhealthy anxiety.

So, Jesus tells us in verse 34, “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

So, God provides for his creation! But how much more does God provide for the pinnacle of His creation: human beings, us!  So, he tells us ” But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”  Matthew 6:33

In the epistle Paul takes up a similar theme in his letter to the Philippians “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”    Philippians 4:6-7

We are invited to expel our anxieties and bring everything before God to receive his comfort through the act of prayer. In a moment we will receive the Eucharist – the word itself meaning thanksgiving – and we will in the presence of Christ gives thanks for each other, for our harvest and for this great holy mystery which transcends all our earthly needs and anxieties.

As the prophet Isaiah said “The lord has been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat……….
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
In that day the people will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.
Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” 
Isaiah 25:8-9
Amen