There goes that old farmer in his garden.
He has that raggedy old straw hat, walking up and down the rows, picking the okra and corn, tomatoes and peppers, beans and all that squash.
Pulling up his shirt like a basket to hold the harvest until it starts to rip open.
Then he fills up his hat.
Then he runs and dances back up to the house and down the street sharing the harvest, the joy of the harvest, leaving a trail of spilled produce.
The joy of the harvest.
Its an image of how life is meant to be lived.
An image of God, of divine goodness and abundance, spilling over.
We see a different image in the Gospel today. The rich man. Possessed by his possessions. Trying to get his camel through the eye of the needle.
And he misses out. “Give it all away.” “Give it to the poor.” There are hints in the story that the rich man made his money by defrauding those in need.
Give it back. Make amends. Then follow Jesus.
The translation I grew up with, The Revised Standard Version, said that the rich man’s “countenance fell.” “Shocked and grieving” is how our current translation puts it, The New Revised Standard Version.
There is something about the fallen countenance, the language, the image is more powerful.
A fallen countenance.
A good description of the human condition, a good portrait.
Lifting up our countenance.
With God all things are possible, the God possibility.
The Gospel message is that we are being freed from what chains us down. The possessions that posses.
Stewardship is about the lifting up of our countenance, finding joy in the harvest of our lives and offering back and sharing out of Thanksgiving, for who God is, for what God is bringing about, for simply being here.
How many ways can we give thanks? How many ways are there to say, “Thank you?”
All ministry is about giving thanks in those particular ways.
Our pledge drive is a way of giving thanks, that our countenance rises with Jesus.
May we be set free to share in the joy of the harvest. Just follow the trail of spilled produce.