Some years ago, when researching family history, I was fascinated
to discover the occupations followed by some of my ancestors. I found
plasterers, shop-keepers, thatchers, a hydraulic engineer and farm
labourers among others. It was strange to think of ancestors of mine
following occupations of which I had absolutely no experience and could
never imagine myself pursuing. For example I am far too cack-handed to
be a plasterer or a thatcher and I doubt if I would have the stamina to
be a farm labourer!
As the Harvest Festival approaches I have been reflecting in particular
on the fact that some of my forebears worked on the land. Born and bred
in the suburbs of London, farming is an occupation which has always
seemed rather remote to me, even though I love the countryside and
enjoy visiting it. Each harvest time I sing 'We plough the fields and
scatter the good seed on the land' when of course I have never done
these things myself. Yet just a few generations ago members of my
family spent their whole working lives on the land.
Of course some of you who are reading this will indeed have had
experience of scattering 'the good seed on the land'. You may be a keen
gardener or have an allotment, or might even be a farmer. But for many
of us the whole business of food production and of bringing in the
harvest is something quite remote. For all of us harvest will not have
the significance it had to our ancestors or continues to have for many
in third world countries today. If the harvest is bad in Britain we
might just have to pay a little more for our food - if the same thing
happens in some parts of the world it will mean real deprivation or
even death for thousands of people.
It is important for all of us to reestablish our links with the
production of our food. We might simply do this by 'growing our own' if
that is possible 'All is safely gathered in .. .' for us. We could
certainly deepen our understanding of the farming community and its
problems. The BBC programme 'Countryfile' has helped me to understand
countryside issues more fully as has the Radio programme 'On your
farm'.
But it's surely important for us to be re-connected not just with the
farming community and the production of our food but also with the
world of nature itself. To realise that we are part of a wonderful
world brought into being and sustained by God.At Harvest Festival we
are not just thanking God for our food but rejoicing in the wonders of
God's creation and thus praising the Lord of that creation:
Bless the Lord all you works of the
Lord: sing his praise and exalt him for
ever. o let the earth bless the Lord: bless the Lord you mountains and
hills; bless the Lord all that grows in the
ground: sing his praise and exalt him for
ever.
(The Benedicite)
