27th. September. 2020 Service

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Harvest Thanksgiving

The Call to Worship

In the fading of the summer sun,
the shortening of days, cooling breeze,
swallows’ flight and moonlight rays
We see the creator’s hand
 
In the browning of leaves once green,
morning mists, autumn chill,
fruit that falls, frost’s first kiss
We see the creator’s hand
 
The Collect for today
 
Creator God, You have made us stewards of Your earth, You have charged us to tend it and to grow food in season; help us to respect and to use them to Your glory and to cherish all life that comes from You, so that we may share in the labour of all creation to bring relief to those in need and to sustain ourselves in our own well-being; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 
Prayers of Adoration and confession
God of harvest time we meet today as your people and your church to celebrate and to thank you for the harvest we have been fortunate to share in. Enable us to be joyful in our worship and praise and to be fruitful in your service .

 Steadfast God, As the seasons change, we see that you are still at work in the world,
Renewing hearts and transforming the life of the world.
We praise you for all you do to repair injustice, bringing peace to places of hostility,
Working to create goodness and harmony among neighbours and nations.
You have shown us the true face of power in Jesus Christ who, reaches out with healing and hope, touching unhappy and troubled lives with grace and love.

Show us  the face of Jesus in our time of worship, and fill us with divine energy and insight this autumn, that we can may engage in your work bringing  justice and joy into the world you love in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 You have given us a world of beauty ,and we have spoilt it.
A world to feed us, and so many go hungry.
A world of riches ,and we are unwilling to share.
A world to care for, and we think only of ourselves.
Forgive us, gracious God, every time your heart is saddened
by our selfishness, every time we have no thought for others, no cares but ours.
Enable us to see this world as a gift from you that can be shared, and those who live on it as our neighbours.
We ask this that your name may be glorified by  the beauty of this world and the service of our lives.

Assurance of Pardon
 The prophet Micah declared that God requires of us these three things:
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. To all who reject indifference and humbly seek reconciliation with God and neighbour, God offers forgiveness and peace. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

 Prayer for Understanding

 We come with open minds and receptive hearts to hear your word. Give us your Spirit of wisdom, love, and grace that your transforming power may change us into the likeness of Jesus Christ your Son who taught us to pray:

 The Lord’s Prayer (in the words most familiar to you)

 The Readings

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have entered the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ² take some of the first fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land that the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name ³ and say to the priest in office at the time, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ ⁴ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. ⁶ But the Egyptians ill-treated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labour. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. ⁸ So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; ¹⁰ and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.’ Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

Matthew 21: 33-46    

33 ‘Listen to another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall round it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 ‘The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them in the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son,” he said.
38 ‘But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.” 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 ‘Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’
41 ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,’ they replied, ‘and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.’
42 Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
The Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes”?
43 ‘Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.’
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Amen. This is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.

Please add the Amen after each reading and omit the paragraph headings in the Pulpit Bible.
Amen. This is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.

Sermon  

The Lord God said, ” When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.”

I was about to start preparing today’s sermon when I was reminded by a remark in a book about preaching to read the passage in which the sermon is based at least three times before you start. A bit like teacher’s advice before an exam, “Read the question carefully!”  I am glad I did because I realised that there is more than one reason for thanksgiving in this passage.

The First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Israelites when they moved into the promised land. God told them as they came into this land flowing with milk and honey, they were to take the first fruits of the ground, place them in a basket and take it to the priest.

Gratitude for the harvest’s yield is the first element.  The second is that as the land belongs ultimately to God, He has the first claim on its fruit, and it must be rendered to Him by sacrifice. The third element is that  in their thanksgiving the Israelites were to relive through the words of the speech which begins, “A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty and populous,”  This was a reminder of God’s deliverance in their lives.

Because God had delivered and blessed them, God asked them to return to Him the first fruits of the ground, to give thanksgiving to Him for this act of deliverance in their lives.

For the Israelites, their thanksgiving was seen in the action of God as He delivered them from Egypt and brought them into this land flowing with milk and honey. In America where this year the 400^th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower from Plymouth to Cape Cod between September 16 and November 11 1620, OS  has caused some controversy among the descendants of the indigenous American community.  A year later the Pilgrims gave thanks for the deliverance which came to them during their first year on the North American shore. They were delivered from hunger by a good summer crop, they were delivered from war by peacefully living with the Indians who helped them, they were delivered from cold by building strong sturdy homes, we could go on and on. Deliverance brought thanksgiving into their hearts.

We are taking the third element first as it is a different take on thanksgiving. When we think of this time of Thanksgiving, we usually list all those things we are thankful that we have or have been blessed with. But what about being thankful for all those things we have been delivered from, that we don’t have to experience?

This story illustrates the meaning:

“There was a man who lived with his 6 children in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Just before school was to start all of his children needed new shoes. At the same time the washing machine wore out. To top it all off, because of bad weather, his work as a carpenter had dwindled to almost nothing. How often has that sort of thing happened in your life?

He was able to scrape together enough money to buy the children shoes, but he ran an ad in the paper wanting to buy a used washing machine. One day the phone rang, and it was someone who had a used washing machine to sell. He went to the home and noticed they had all the things he wished for his family. After talking to the man about the washing machine and how he would get it home, the conversation got around to children. Claude, the out of work carpenter, began complaining about how expensive it was to raise six children. Especially when they all needed shoes at the same time. At that he woman of the house ran out of the room crying. Her husband explained that they had only one child who had been paralyzed from birth and he had never needed a pair of shoes.

When Claude got home, he picked up the worn-out shoes, worn out from skipping rope, kicking balls or stone, and jumping puddles, and he went off to be by himself. Kneeling by his bed he gave thanks to God for the worn-out shoes in his house. ” (Tim Zingale).

Here his gratitude was for the deliverance he had been granted, his children could walk, run and skip. They could wear out a pair of shoes. Claude had been delivered from the pain of the other family who could not watch their child run, kick a football jump and wear out shoes. Have you been thankful for the deliverance which has been granted in your life?

Think about all the food each of us will enjoy this week. Are we thankful we have been delivered from the pain of hunger, the sickness of malnutrition when countless men, women and children around the world are now dying a slow and painful death because of the lack of food? What about those who have to use the food bank because they are unemployed or under paid?

Do you ever get tired about the round of things you have to do every day and maybe resent them? How often might a housewife think about all those things she had been delivered from as she works around her house, even as she tackles all the household chores many get tired of doing.

Listen to her thoughts: “Lord, thank You for this sink of dirty dishes, we have good food to eat. Thank you for this pile of dirty laundry, we have nice clothes to wear. I also thank you for these unmade beds, they were all comfortable last night.”

She was thankful in the midst of her work because she knew in her heart she had been delivered from hunger. She was delivered from the extremes of the elements with the clothes waiting to be washed. She was delivered from a fitful night sleep as she slept in a warm house and a comfortable bed.

Thankful hearts come as we recall all those acts of deliverance which God brought into our lives. Small ones as much as great and challenging ones. We can and should be thankful for these acts. Could it be that most people take their good fortune, their health, their wealth, their warm clothes, and hardy food for granted or see them as their due. They are not thankful but expect this as something owed to them by life or by God.  Of course, this is not owed but given freely by God. When we realise that everything in life, those things we have been delivered from, and those things we do possess, all come from God, we might have a difficult time being thankful, because we realise we depend on God for everything. And most of us, even if we don’t want to admit it, are self-centred enough not to want to be depend on anyone, let alone God. We’d like to be independent and many Christians pride themselves on being “independent” sometimes to their own detriment especially as they get older.

Paul Tillich, a famous theologian, said this about thanks and thanksgiving:

“The reason most of us do not respond to ’thank you’ or do not say ’thank you’ is because we instinctively realise that it makes us somehow dependent on that person. If I thank you, I am saying that I am dependent on you, and I am publicly affirming it before God and people. Gratitude is an action that has its roots in grace, the free undeserved love-action of God. When we are truly grateful, we become starkly aware that we are wholly dependent for everything upon God and upon our fellow human beings who are made in His image. When we are truly grateful, we recognize that God has favoured us, whether we deserve favouring no not.”

Thanksgiving is our acknowledgement that we are dependent on God for all His acts of deliverance and all His blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving now is a twofold time for us. We are “thankful” for being delivered, and we are thankful for the blessings we have.

The third element of our thanksgiving to God is an action commanded by God. Notice in our text, that God commands the people to put the first fruits in a basket and take it to the priest. God mandates a physical act of response, a ritual movement on our part. This is a reminder that nothing on this earth actually belongs to any of us. We won’t take a bit of it with us when we leave. Oh, we may bequeath what we have to our offspring, but they will not own it any more than we did. The First Fruits offering aspect of thanksgiving is an acknowledgment that God has a prior claim on everything we reap, earn, or make.

The beneficiaries of the First Fruits offering were the Levites, the priests who were not permitted to work in the fields, and the foreigners living in the land. We are using God’s resources in order to live. We are to give the first fruits to God symbolically, and through them to others in their need on his behalf. We enter the cycle of grace and providence when we do this.

Thankfulness toward God should not be a self-conscious attitude dutifully displayed in response to the demands of a religious custom. Neither is true thanksgiving just something we say or a gift we bring. True “thanksgiving” is simply the quality of life that we live. Thanksgiving is a daily attitude of gratitude toward God who delivers us from painful situations and who grants to us many blessings. Thanksgiving is an attitude which acknowledges God is indeed in control of life. Without God nothing would be possible. Thanksgiving is an entering into the process of God’s providence for others.

We are a people who have been delivered and blessed. As we look around this world, let us see our deliverance and blessings in a new light and not be jealous, or selfish, or self-centred. Let us truly be a grateful people, dependent on God for all of life.

I hope the following poem is not too corny for you, it does make a point.

Today upon a bus, I saw A lovely girl with golden hair. I envied her she seemed so young. I wished I were one-half so young. I wished I were one-half as fair

When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one leg; she used a crutch. As she passed, she flashed a smile. O God forgive me when I whine, I have two legs, the world is mine!

And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who sold them had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late, ’would do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, “I thank you; you have been so kind. “You see,” he added, “I am blind.” O God forgive me when I whine, I’m blessed indeed. The world is mine! Amen

Invitation to the Offering

 Remembering the needs of others, we bring our offerings and harvest gifts, grateful for the loving providence of God and trusting that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.

Prayer of Dedication

 Gracious God, you are the source of all that is good, of life and everything that sustains it. Bless the gifts we offer to you and multiply them, that your purposes of love and providence may be realised for many in this world. In the name of Christ, our Saviour and Friend, Amen.

 Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 God of all creation, we praise and give thanks for all that You have given to us in our lives. We thank You for the beauty of the Scottish landscape, the beautiful braes, the burns, the highlands and the Islands. We thank You for the orchards, the excellent grazing pastures and the rich soil for cultivation. We thank You for all those who work the land and sea to provide food to feed us; for farmers who grow crops and produce livestock with love and care and those fishing the deep oceans. We thank You God for the rich variety of food that comes from all across the world. We thank You for the enjoyment and pleasure we find in sharing food in celebration and fellowship. We pray for those who grow, prepare and distribute the food we eat.

We pray today for farmers and farmworkers, especially those we know in our parishes. We pray for them in the heat of summer and in the dreich wet and cold of winter, as they tend their stock and cultivate their fields, as they manage the hedges, woodland and waterways.

We pray for safety in a hazardous industry, encouragement for the solitary, and a fair price for their products.

We pray for seasonable weather, good growth and good yields, so that there may be abundant harvests to feed hungry people. For safe work practices and healthy habits for all farmers, so that people and communities may flourish and be strong, For health and happiness in the home life of all farmers, and for families to work together with love, respect and harmony, For wise financial planning, land care and asset management, so that farmers may be confident about the future of their farms, for good communication between country and city, so that we may understand each other’s needs and encourage one another.

We pray for this country to increase its self-sufficiency in food that people and supermarket-buyers will support local growers. We pray for all those who provide seasonal labour at harvest time, for those who clean and process our food – often in tough conditions, for those who transport, inspect and sell our food and for all who cook it for us, remembering particularly all the new school caterers feeding our young children.

We pray for rural and regional networks working to overcome rural loneliness and isolation, the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the National Farmers Union Scotland.

We pray for the Church of Scotland’s Farming Minister, Rev Chris Blackshaw, working amongst the farming community in Ayrshire and across Scotland, supporting farmers and the agricultural community. Generous God, as we celebrate Your goodness to us in Scotland, we also remember the plight of those whose harvests have failed. We pray for those whose land or crops have been affected by floods, drought, or fire by pests and disease. For those whose families are hungry and for those who have no seed or livestock for the future. We also remember those here and abroad who are dependent on food banks. Help us to be generous givers – of our money, food and time, as Christian disciples in this place, and show us how to be stewards of the resources of Your world, for the benefit of all people.

 Benediction

 May God who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds of the air, who leads the lambs to their pasture and the deer to still waters, who multiplied the loaves and fishes and changed water into wine, lead us, feed us, multiply us, and change us to reflect the glory of our Creator now and through all eternity.

And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you now and for ever Amen

 Hymns

Here are some hymn suggestions to check on YouTube if you wish to sing along. Some may not be as familiar as their titles suggest and the ones marked “listen” do not have the lyrics on the screen:

For the fruit of all creation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbBUFSOkbdM

We plough the fields and scatter the good seed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccVEjKFkAV4

God who made the earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kZpif8Xmxk

All things bright and beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgqKfGRT0PM

 

Praise God for the harvest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBB8ki9n8A

 

May God’s blessing surround you each day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_3O_N49GiU

Summer suns are glowing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK0ToFWDr8M

For Children
An old farmer sat on the steps of his small shack chewing on a piece of straw. He was approached by a passing stranger who was looking for a cool drink of water. Wishing to start a conversation with the farmer, the stranger asked, “How is your cotton crop coming this year?”
“I ain’t got none”, replied the farmer.
“Didn’t you plant any?” asked the stranger.
“Nope,” said the farmer, “I was afraid the boll weevils would get it.”
“Well,” asked the stranger, “how is your corn?”
“Didn’t plant any corn either,” replied the man, “I was afraid there wasn’t going to be any rain.”
“If you didn’t plant any cotton or corn, what did you plant?’ asked the man.
“Nothing,” said the farmer. “I just played it safe!”

Well, I guess if you don’t plant anything, it makes the harvest a lot easier, doesn’t it?

In our Bible reading today, Jesus sent out people to bring in the harvest. The harvest Jesus was talking about was not cotton, fruit or vegetables. He was sending out workers to bring people into the kingdom of God. He said that there were many souls who were ready to be harvested, but there were not enough workers. One reason it was hard to find workers was that it was very difficult work. Jesus warned that the workers in his kingdom would often be treated very unkindly.

Jesus is still looking for people who will work for him and bring people into his kingdom. That is what the church is supposed to do. It won’t always be easy. In fact, it will be hard. Many people in the church are like the farmer in our story — they are “just playing it safe.” It has been said that eight out of ten church members have never invited anyone to church and that nine out of ten church members have never won anyone to Christ.

How about you? Are you willing to work for Jesus and invite people to come to church? Will you go and tell people about Jesus’ love and that he died on the cross so that they could have everlasting life? There are many souls who need to be brought into God’s kingdom, but there just aren’t enough workers.

Father, we want to be faithful workers telling others about Jesus and his love. Amen

Here is the Harvest Samba.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdIrlTlXks

 Intimations

Please remember to indicate to Joan More if you wish to attend worship in Inverkeithing. Owing to Government regulations, numbers will be restricted to fewer than fifty persons and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis each week. Please call Joan 01383 414515 on Friday between 10am and 4pm to indicate that you wish to attend. Please do not come without first ensuring your place each week as we do not wish to turn anyone away on the day.

The Inverkeithing Kirk Session will meet on via Zoom on Thursday 1^st September at 7:00pm.

The Bible Discussion Group will meet via Zoom at 7:30pm on Tuesday 29^th. Please note the change of time.  Please let the minster know if you wish to participate and he will send the meeting codes. Email:  calston@churchofscotland.org.uk.