Dirt (2007 Harvest Festival Sermon)

I’d like to begin today with a question for you to mull over:  “What does every one of us have in common with the harvest that we celebrate today?â€?

Have you ever been to a Jewish cemetery? Ever notice the headstone erected on the grave of a Jewish man or woman? Instead of flowers, you may have seen stones carefully placed on top of the grave marker. Sometimes these stones will be lined up across the top, like some kind of train. These stones have a specific, commemorative meaning, a meaning that binds that individual person to the whole history and people of Israel. They are stone testaments to the ongoing relationship between God and every son or daughter of Israel.

Let’s go back to the question of the day.  Any takers?

Let me offer you a scripture, and let’s see where we go: (Genesis 2:4-7).

Any ideas?  Ok… what you and I have in common with the harvest is that God has brought us from the very same earth – or dirt – in which He has caused our crops to grow.  Our lives are all connected in a very basic and essential way:  the Lord God has given us all life!  And from the life of the harvest, He provides the blessing of nourishment and livelihood that we might also have life.

In Joshua 4, the still-wandering Israelites faced the final barrier that lay between them and the long-awaited Promised Land. It was no small bump in the road, however, for between them and their new homeland lay the daunting Jordan River. But as had happened throughout their wilderness wanderings, God intervened to help Israel surmount the obstacle in her path.

Under God's specific instructions, the priests carrying the holy ark of the covenant walked right into the center of the river. At the touch of their feet, the Jordan's waters halted and stood back _ creating dry ground downstream of the ark-bearing priests. As the priests continued to stand there midstream, the entire nation of Israel crossed safely into the Promised Land.

To mark this miraculous safe crossing, God commanded Joshua to choose one representative from each of the 12 tribes and to have each of those individuals select a stone from out of the still-dry riverbed. These 12 stones _ just ordinary river rocks _ were carefully carried to the people's first campsite inside the borders of the new homeland. There, at the place that became Gilgal, whose name means "

Stone Circle

," the stones were carefully set up.

It is in memory of these stone markers, stone testaments to God's gifts of deliverance, freedom, redemption and the land itself that graveside mourners still place a simple rock on the top of the deceased person's headstone. Those solitary stones connect that one Jewish man or woman to an entire history of a people. But it is up to each individual mourner to place the stone there – to keep the connection unbroken.

It’s in the same spirit that we gather each to give thanks to God for the blessing of the harvest.  It is essential that we remember to thank the Lord of Life for the connection that we have with Him and each other through the dirt of the earth.

As we ponder the nature of the harvest, our thoughts cannot help but turn to the spiritual harvest to which Christ calls us to work.

If our bodily existence is nourished by the soil – the dirt – from which we are formed, then it’s only right that we should consider the spiritual soil which has formed us.

Can you identify the spiritual soil you arose from?  What keeps you connected to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to the God who gives you life?

Think of the seeds that have been planted in the soil you are made from.  What fruit has been born of the faith that has grown in you?  What harvest has come from your discipleship?

In 1965, there was a severe drought in the city of Santa Rosa, Guatemala. People were leaving the city. Businesses were going bankrupt. Crops were perishing. Animals were dying. Special efforts were made to bring water in, but it was scarce everywhere. Catholics were holding special Masses. Evangelicals were holding prayer meetings. There was no rain and no water.

Then it happened. In a small Pentecostal meeting, where some believers from the Principe de Pas church had assembled for their regular worship service, the Spirit of the Lord moved in a mighty way. There was a message in tongues, followed a few moments later by an interpretation. It ran like this: Dig a well in the pastor's backyard. There you will find water.

There was much opposition from other churches as the deacons, elders and pastor began to dig. They thought these people were fanatics and/or were hallucinating -- especially when they saw that the pastor's backyard was on a hill. A well would never be dug on a hill, as the water runs low. But the pastor, deacons and elders all continued to dig. Soon one of the deacons became quite upset. Why is it in the pastor's backyard? he asked. Why couldn't it be in mine? Another elder thought that maybe the prophecy was biased. One deacon gave up. Another elder left. But there still remained a group ready to press on.

Because of the drought, the land was hard, so the digging progressed slowly. On the fourth day, they encountered a big boulder. It was so large they thought they had hit solid rock. The disappointments and frustrations were intensified as another elder left the shoveling team.

But they kept digging around the boulder until finally, after two days, they were able to remove it. As they did so, a gush of water came forth. It poured, and they began to drink and drink. It was a remarkable sign for the whole town. What the miracle of the well did to the growth of this church carries on until this day. The number of conversions to Christ was staggering; the entire town was influenced by it. Church membership grew from a few dozen to over 900 within that same year.

The branch does not need to get up every morning and say to itself, I must work hard, or there will be no grapes. The branch's power comes from staying connected to the vine. In the same way, God gives us spiritual growth as a gift, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we connect and stay connected with Christ. I am the vine, you are the branches ... bear much fruit (John 15:5).

May the richness of the soil God created you with become the source of the most blessed harvest ever seen!

Sources Consulted:

“Stone Testaments,� Homiletics Magazine, 1995

Herb Miller, Connecting With God (Abingdon, 1995)

NIV Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible (AMG, 1996)