"The harvest is plentiful."
Vincent van Gogh Harvest at La Crau, with Montmajour in the Background.
National Vincent van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Poem

Harvest,
by Carl Wayne Jent.

Readings

Isaiah 30:19-26

Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, ‘Away with you!’

He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

Prayer

Lord of the harvest,
with joy we offer thanksgiving for your love in creation
as we shared in the bread and the wine of the kingdom:
by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us
that we may be generous and wise stewards
of the good things we enjoy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Music

Antonio Vivaldi. Lauda Jerusalem [Psalm 147.12-20] in E minor, RV609
Bach Consort Vienna, dir. Rubén Dubrovsky.

Lauda, Jerusalem, Dominum: Lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum, benedixit filiis tuis in te.
Qui posuit fines tuos pacem, et adipe frumenti satiat te.
Qui emittit eloquium suum terrae, velociter currit sermo eius.
Qui dat nivem sicut lanam, nebulam sicut cinerem spargit.
Mittit crystallum suam sicut bucellas: ante faciem frigoris eius quis sustinebit?
Emittet verbum suum, et liquefaciet ea; flabit spiritus eius, et fluent aquae.
Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob,iustitias et iudicia sua Israel.
Non fecit taliter omni nationi: et iudicia sua non manifestavit eis.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion.
For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates: and hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.
He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: and his word runneth very swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool: and scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who is able to abide his frost?
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he bloweth with his wind, and the waters flow.
He sheweth his word unto Jacob: his statutes and ordinances unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation: neither have the heathen knowledge of his laws.