Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
“The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Overview
Today we celebrate the Harvest Festival. Our readings try to get to the heart of why we celebrate harvest and what makes it relevant for us.
When the people of God bring their first fruits, Deuteronomy 26:1-13, they are encouraged to recall their history: that a stranger and a foreigner was their ancestor, that they were slaves, that God liberated them and gave them a land of plenty. Having been reminded that they once had nothing and were dependent on the goodness of God and others, the people are sent home to feast, not only with their families, but with the slaves and foreigners and strangers in the land. After the festival is over, the people of God are reminded that they should be putting aside a share of their wealth every year to give to those who are most needy in their community.
In the Gospel, John 6:32-35, Jesus explains that we give not just to help others but to help ourselves: building community, giving of ourselves, sharing with others is what brings us life.
At harvest time, as we give thanks for all the gifts we enjoy, we are challenged to think about how we can live abundantly and help to build a community of plenty.
FIRST READING
Deuteronomy 26:1-13
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments.
GOSPEL READING
John 6:32-35
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
