5th October 2025 10.30am – Harvest – Eucharist

The Readings

Philippians 4.4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you

John 6.25-35

When they found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”
Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Sermon
By Joe, Reader at St Mary's.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Today, we have a ‘giving centre’ to our service where we give
supplies to the Archer Project, before we receive Christ’s body and
blood in the Eucharist.

We are reminded by the juxtaposition of these acts of service and
sacrament that Harvest is a moment to pause, give thanks, and
reflect on how God feeds and sustains us - not just through food and
the air and water we need to survive, but through Christ Himself.
Our readings from Philippians and John’s Gospel remind us that
harvest is not just about barns, bread and beans, but is also about
the deeper harvest of the spirit.

Paul, writing to the Philippians, is astonishingly upbeat. “Rejoice in
the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” This isn’t the voice of
someone with a full belly and a healthy larder. Paul is writing from
prison. He has known hunger, scarcity, rejection - but he insists that
joy is possible, even necessary.

He doesn’t say, “Rejoice because everything is going well.” He
doesn’t say, “Rejoice because you’ve got enough food for the
winter.” He says, “Rejoice in the Lord.” The joy he describes is not
tied to circumstances, but to God’s unchanging presence with us.
That is a lesson Harvest Festival still teaches us. We should be
grateful for the food before us, and the essentials of our lives. These
physical gifts, from God’s creation, also remind us that there is a
giver of the gifts, who has more, much more, to give.

Paul goes on: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God.”

This is … hard. Manchester, Gaza, Ukraine, the return of the threat
of fascism here in the UK, the rise of an authoritarian and corrupt
regime in the US, the constant drip - no, flood - of darkness and
anger in our news and social media feeds.

Even the process of growing food is affected, Climate change,
pollinators under threat, the risk to food supplies caused by war and
civil unrest, let alone the traditional problems of pests and inclement
weather are making things more and more uncertain.

To be honest, if we’re not a bit anxious, and probably a bit angry,
we’re not really paying attention.

Paul tells us that the antidote to worry is prayer laced with
thanksgiving. Gratitude does indeed change us. It shifts our vision
from what we lack to what we’ve been given. It doesn’t deny
hardship—but it places hardship in the larger context of God’s
abundance.

And notice the promise: “The peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.” This peace is not
the absence of struggle, but the assurance that God’s presence is
with us in it. That’s a harvest of the Spirit that no physical drought or
angry, hate-filled floods of social media can destroy.

And so we turn to John’s Gospel. The crowds come looking for Jesus
after the feeding of the five thousand. And Jesus confronts them:
“You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because
you ate your fill of the loaves.”

In other words, “You’re here because of the free lunch.” They want
another miracle meal. But Jesus redirects them: “Do not work for the
food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.”
It’s a challenge for us at harvest. We give thanks for the food that
sustains our bodies - but it rots, despite our best efforts to keep it
fresh. And its benefits are short-lived. We eat today, and tomorrow
we are hungry again.

The greater harvest is found in Christ: “I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes
in me will never be thirsty.”

Harvest is both physical and spiritual. We give thanks for the food
and resources that sustain us. But the harvest of grain and grape
come together in the Eucharistic Sacrament to become signs of the
Bread of Life. In the humanity and example of Christ, God gives a gift
to meet the deepest hunger of our hearts - the hunger for meaning,
love, forgiveness, hope.

Paul finishes his passage with a call to attentiveness: “Whatever is
true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…think about these
things.”

What do we think about most? The news and social media ‘doom
scroll’, with its endless diet of fear and anger? The constant urge to
consume more, to measure ourselves by how much of the world’s
resources we swallow up?

Paul calls us to fill our minds with what nourishes. At harvest, this is
an invitation to see the world differently. To notice beauty, not the
ugliness of our greed. To remember justice, not to believe that
‘might is right’. To savour kindness, not be blindly hateful. To let our
imaginations be fed by God’s goodness, not starved by the world’s
anxieties and ephemeral priorities.

In other words: Let our minds themselves become fertile soil where
the gifts of the Spirit, and God’s peace, may take root and grow.
What does this mean for us today? Three simple takeaways:

First, gratitude. Let’s make thanksgiving a habit, not just a festival.
When we eat, let us pause to thank God for the food before us, and
for the unseen hands that prepared it - farmers, lorry drivers, shop
and factory workers. Gratitude makes us humble, and it opens us to
joy.

Second, generosity. A true harvest is never kept for ourselves. The
barns are meant to be opened, the baskets shared. Food banks today
are a reminder that while some live with plenty, others live with
empty cupboards. Our thanksgiving is hollow unless it leads to
sharing.

Third, put Christ front and centre. We do not live by bread alone. As
we receive the bread of the Eucharist, we remember that Christ is
our true nourishment. Harvest points us to Him - the one who feeds
our deepest hunger, who turns our anxiety into peace, and who is
the bread that endures to eternal life.

Harvest is a time of rejoicing of the world’s bounty, of preparation
for the coming winter; a hinge-point in the year. But deep meaning is
found in today’s readings. Paul reminds us to rejoice, to be thankful,
to think on what is good. John reminds us that beyond loaves and
fishes stands the one who is the Bread of Life.

So let us rejoice - not just in our food and our world, but in the God
who gives them.

Let us be thankful - not just in prayer today, but in habits of gratitude
that shape our daily living.

And let us turn again to Christ, who feeds us not just for today, but
for eternity, and show gratitude for the gifts of the spirit by using
them in our daily lives.
Amen.

The Prayers

Let us offer our prayers to God for the life of the world
and for all God’s people in their daily life and work.

God, the beginning and end of all things,
in your providence and care
you watch unceasingly over all creation;
we offer our prayers
that in us and in all your people your will may be done,
according to your wise and loving purpose in Christ our Lord.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We pray for all through whom we receive sustenance and life;
for farmers and agricultural workers,
for packers, distributors and company boards;
as you have so ordered our life that we depend upon each other,
enable us by your grace to seek the well-being of others before our own.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We pray for all engaged in research to safeguard crops against disease,
and to produce abundant life among those who hunger
and whose lives are at risk.
Prosper the work of their hands
and the searching of their minds,
that their labour may be for the welfare of all.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We pray for governments and aid agencies,
and those areas of the world where there is disaster, drought and starvation.
By the grace of your Spirit,
touch our hearts
and the hearts of all who live in comfortable plenty,
and make us wise stewards of your gifts.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We pray for those who are ill,
remembering those in hospital and nursing homes
and all who are known to us.
We pray for all who care for them.
Give skill and understanding
to all who work for their well-being.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We remember those who have died,
whom we entrust to your eternal love
in the hope of resurrection to new life.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

We offer ourselves to your service,
asking that by the Spirit at work in us
others may receive a rich harvest of love and joy and peace.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

Merciful Father:
Accept these prayers
For the sake you Son
Our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

5th October 2025 10.30am – Harvest – Eucharist