Harvest Home

A lot has changed since Bible times. Primarily, planting and harvesting was the way of life. Today, most of us go to Giant Eagle or Walmart. Many young people think food comes from a can instead of the ground. 

At this Thanksgiving I encourage each of us to highlight the connection of the harvest to this seasonal celebration.

The harvest home signified the bringing home of the harvest at the time of gathering of the crops. Historically, it was accompanied with a feast after the crops were gathered in. 

Many congregations sang traditional Thanksgiving songs this past Sunday, probably the only time all year. Some think these aren’t as “singable” as other songs, but that may be a matter of opinión. This song struck me in a fresh way as we sang it at our church on Sunday.

 Come, ye thankful people, come, 

Raise the song of harvest home;

All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;

Come to God’s own temple, come,

Raise the song of harvest home.

I thought about those among us whose chosen vocation is farming. Perhaps they, more than the rest of us, understand the meaning of harvest home. Satisfied that crops are in and literally feeling the winter storms begin, they best sense the blessing of their labor and God’s provision.

God told His people to “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your fíeld…” Exodus 23:16a NIV.

There is much more to say about the spiritual application of sowing and reaping, but we’ll leave that to another time. On Thursday, as we sit down to feast with family, thank a farmer. It didn’t come out of a can. Raise the song of harvest home.