Fields of Plenty

In my final year of seminary, I took my proclamation courses.  I was richly blessed to learn from a great preacher (Dr. Stacy Minger) the art of proclaiming God's Word.  One of the things that she taught us was to always "think sermonically."  In other words, she challenged us to live our lives with our ears and eyes wide open.  We were continually to be on the look out for sermon illustrations, ideas, and ways that we could include contemporary issues and problems into our message.  We were to allow Scripture to invade our society and set us on the path of making Christian teaching, doctrine, and life applicable to a 21st century Church.

This past week, society has placed itself in the midst of my thinking.  Without even trying, thinking sermonically has integrated itself into my vision of what God is doing.  I want to share with you two news reports that the Holy Spirit has led me to this week.

First, from USA Today there was an article this past week discussing that Americans are losing their faith.  According to the article, there has been a rather large increase in the number of Americans (especially younger Americans) who choose the "none" category when it comes to religious affiliation.  To see the entire article go here: USA Today Article

Second, on one of our local news stations, it was reported today that we have several children living below the poverty line in our area.  What really surprised me was that our parish has the highest poverty rate in the area; hovering at approximately 39%.  To see the entire article go here: KTXS Article

Image taken from CLASP webpage

As I've been thinking about these two stories, several things have come to mind.  Those of us who claim Christ need to do more than just talk.  We need to quit worrying about political correctness, what others think about us, and our bank accounts.  We need to reclaim our Christian identity as found in Scripture and Tradition.  People no longer want to be associated with organizations of any kind that don't do anything.  Meeting once a week, talking about the good ol' days, and feeling good about ourselves simply isn't enough. We need to be so ingrained in the community where we minister that if we don't show up then people notice.

Add caption

In the gospel of St. John, there is a marvelous story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well in Samaria.  When the disciples discover Jesus has been talking to the Samaritan woman, they are flabbergasted.  They can't believe that he would stoop so low.  But he replies to them, "I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work.  Don't you have a saying, 'Four more months and then it's time for harvest'?  Look, I tell you: open your eyes and notice that the fields are already ripe for the harvest."-4:34-35

It seems to me that the harvest is getting larger every year.  It also seems that there are fewer workers every year to harvest the fields.  But when I read articles like these, I get really excited.  I begin to think about ways that we can rise up as harvesters and get to work.  I think about the children in poverty who surround my local church and I try to visualize what God is calling us into.  Because when we work with these kids, it gives us the opportunity to love them and their families.  It gives us the chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in a tangible way.  It gives us a chance to live out our faith so that those who checked "none" on their cards take notice and wonder why we bother.  And perhaps as we tackle the child poverty problem, the "none"s will decide to join us.

I have no doubt that God is in the midst of all these things.  He is calling us to be "fed by doing the will of" our Father.  He is giving us every opportunity to step out in faith and to follow his guidance.  The question is, are we willing to open our eyes and notice the fields ripe for harvest?  Until next time...

"Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."--Mother Teresa

Print Page