harvest the fruit

Jesus told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”’

This time last year when we gathered for Communion I talked about the Edible Garden which is on the other side of FCH. It had become a bit sad and overgrown, the paths covered with weeds, the pond choked, the good plants hard to find.

We started an activity called Project Grow, and an amazing group of students started getting involved. The paths were rediscovered, the pond was cleared and tadpoles arrived, lots of things were grown – flowers, vegetables, and fruit on the many trees. Now we call it the orchard garden and it’s back as a vibrant space where students and people from the local community can garden together and enjoy the harvest – like these apples – and the wildlife that the garden attracts.

It’s all taken a while, and it is still a work in progress. There’s a need to learn this garden’s seasons, to notice what is thriving and what isn’t. To know when to plant, when to prune, when to harvest the different crops – pears are always tricky!

Jesus was a country boy from a small village. He grew up understanding the rhythm of the seasons. And in the natural cycle of the countryside he saw something about the way God works in our lives – sowing, tending, pruning, harvesting.

What might he be saying to us in the parable of the fig tree? There is an expectation that a fig tree should yield figs – and a frustration when it doesn’t. There is a suggestion of patient care – one more year, improving the soil with manure, waiting to see what happens. And then there is the willingness to take decisive action – to cut down the tree and use the soil for something else.

Yesterday I watched a video by Rob Bell. He talked about the way Jesus had a clear focus. He responded t people that he met but he didn’t get distracted or sidetracked. He didn’t always meet people’s expectations. He knew how to say no, because he had already said a bigger yes to what God was calling him to do.

Autumn might be a time to look over our lives and see if there are parts that are not bearing fruit as we hoped. Places where we are being driven by our own expectations or the expectations of others. Times when we have got into the habit of saying yes, but we might want to consider saying no, because of some other yes that God is calling us to.

One practice that I have found helpful is getting into the habit of reviewing each day with God. Noticing what one thing in the past 24 hours has been most lifegiving for me. What has helped me thrive and grow. Where is the good fruit? It might be a conversation, something we watched or listened to, a walk in the park, 2 minutes quiet…

And what has been least life giving? What has failed to produce the fruit of connection with God, with other people, with our deeper selves?

Here’s a little guide that you could use…

A Review of the Day
Find a place and a time where you can be still, at the end of the day or next morning.
Become aware of God’s presence, and ask for his help during this time.
Gently look back over the day with God.
+ What was most lifegiving?
Return to that time & savour it thankfully.
- What was least lifegiving?
Is there something to notice and learn?
You may want to talk to God, as a friend, and then simply rest in his love.
Offer the day ahead into God’s hands. 
You may like to use a small notebook to record your reflection, maybe just with the date, the + lifegiving thing and the - least lifegiving thing, and anything else that arose in your prayer time.

Doing this reflection can connect us more deeply with our lives. We are able to ‘harvest the fruit’ of those life giving moments – enjoy them again with God, with Jesus. We may begin to learn how to shape our lives towards what is life giving and away from what is life draining. We may understand ourselves more deeply, and sense the direction that God seems to be drawing us in.

You might like to hold an apple or something else that has been harvested as you spend time in prayerful reflection…

Reflect on what is giving you life - life in all its fullness - at the moment. Is there anything you notice? Enjoy that recognition with God.

Is there a part of your life which is less fruitful? Where you begin to sense a call to let go, to say no to yourself or to others…?

Where are your quiet moments of noticing? Where could they be?

Lord of the harvest, we thank you for the miracle of growth. 
We thank you for all that is good harvest, in our world and in our lives. 
Help us to notice with gratitude. 
Give us wisdom to discern where you are growing new things, 
and when it is time for pruning and letting go. 
May we learn to work and to live in your rhythm, 
the unforced rhythm of grace.