From the Desk of Your Pastoral Intern

Turning… The autumn leaves—drenched in ochers, tangerines, fiery reds and golds—have turned. The days turn to sooner twilight. And summer’s growth has turned to harvest. Change is in the air. The seasons transition and the harvest is brought in. But did you know that we are approaching a transition in the liturgical calendar within the church? November marks the waning of the fiery season of Pentecost as the quiet light of Advent waits to dawn in winter’s darkness. As the people of God, we are called to turn again to God: to turn our hearts to right relationship, to turn any bitterness to forgiveness, to turn our lives to service and justice. In this time of turning, transition and harvest, might we also begin to contemplate what it means not only to be harvesters, but harvest? Autumn is the season to bring in the harvest of Pentecost. What will be harvested from our lives in the Spirit? What will be harvested from Babylon UMC?

When we plant a pumpkin patch we expect vines laden with pumpkins. From the grapevine we expect bushels of juicy grapes. Likewise with us: Jesus is the vine and we are branches. To be a branch that is grafted into the vine means to bear fruit. From the vine—Jesus Christ—we receive the nourishment we need. We receive grace and forgiveness. We receive and grow in God’s abiding love. But as we grow, we realize that we are connected not only to Christ, but also to one another. Being intimately joined in this way, we cannot look the other way when someone is in need; instead we are called to reach out in love towards our neighbor. Being intimately joined, we cannot be judgmental of one another; instead we must encourage and build one another up in love. Being intimately joined to Christ, we are called to offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice. We are to be used by God in the work of reconciliation where there is discord and disharmony, liberation where there is oppression, and justice and peace where there is none. We are called to live out a life that bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we think about sharing our “fruitful” harvest with others, think about tomato or zucchini vines. When the first tomato ripens, the gardener is tempted to solitary enjoyment. But as the season progresses and the harvest multiplies, and the bounty must be shared. The abundance of the zucchini vine, too, demands that its yield be distributed to every neighbor—fresh, or in loaves of bread! So too, the fruit of the Spirit cannot be kept to ourselves but must be shared… as God’s branches in the garden of Babylon UMC, we have been blessed to be a blessing! As we approach Thanksgiving and sing of “raising the glorious harvest home,” God calls us to recognize the gifts and graces that God has given to each and every one of us. As we continue to grow in the Spirit of Love and bear fruit, there are simultaneously more gospel seeds to be scattered extravagantly and sown abundantly! While our holiday is a finite event, our continual thankfulness for our blessings will harvest a lifetime of living thanks, of living our blessings and sharing them. In these things we have an unchanging reason for eternal thanksgiving!

Yours in Christ’s service,
Todd Pick