Last Sunday was harvest festival. A chance for us to reflect on our Christian lives.

Photo: Raymond Larose
In Matthew 9:37 Jesus says "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few". He is talking aboiut the growing crowd following him; and it is true that at the time of his speaking, the harvest was plentiful. There was a crowd.
But he did not say to his disciples "Go and reap for me". He said (9:38) "therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest". The Twelve were not sent out to harvest; (they were not sent out to seed further either) they were sent to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel".
In a harvest, the reapers bring home the result of a lot of work. Plucking ears of wheat is a crucial task to get our bread; and it needs to come in at the right time, but it can only happen because the wheat has grown healthily.
For that, you need:

  • ploughmen (see the parable of the sower in Luke 8:5-8)
  • sowers
  • people to tend to the crop while it's growing


Not all of us are reapers. Not all of us are sowers. See for instance John 4:37 - "For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.'"
So let us all recognise our strengths, our gifts, and put them into practise where they are. If we are good at admin, or at managing, let us plough the church in which we are to grow into a rich and welcoming soil. If we are good pastors (yay, mixed metaphor!), let us tend to the crop whilst it grows, weeding it out and watering it when it needs watering. If we are outgoing and comfortable in social situations, let us go out and be sowers.
Of course, the same person can take on different jobs. But let us not be ashamed to focus our efforts where they are best put to use; and let us not neglect ploughing or watering because we're just too eager to sow.