Spiritual Life Management
March 14, 2014

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field.

                                                   Leviticus 19:9a
Admittedly, it is rare that I get my inspiration to write from the Book of Leviticus. I don't have anything against Leviticus. It is an important distillation of the Torah Law that separated the Hebrew people from their neighbors and reminded them of their covenant relationship with the one true God. But, being a book primarily of rules and regulations, I have rarely found inspiration. I have today.
It is a law, one of many, but one that resonates for me today as powerfully as ever. The LORD instructs Moses to tell the people several important ways to help the poor, the traveler, and all those who need Israel's hospitality.   Verse 19a is among these regulations.
It's pretty simple, and pretty smart. When you harvest your field, don't reap to the edges. In other words, leave the last bit of your produce for any who pass by that need the food. You can have everything in the middle, just leave the edges for whoever might be in need. Simple and effective.
Other than the handful of serious gardeners in the congregation, some of whom are very talented, as far as I am aware...none of us are farmers. So it would be tempting to think that this command does not apply to us. I might suggest that it is even more important to our relationship with God than it may have been for the ancient Israelites. To tell you the truth it's all of the ethics of stewardship in a nutshell.
In American Culture, and in our own social class, it has become absolutely normal to live life all the way to the edge. What do I mean?
Few among us do not reckon our finances based on a full amount, and spend or even save accordingly. We look at our income. Then we think about what school tuition will be, what we might do to remodel the bathroom, how much we can afford to help our son or daughter get back on track, where we want to go this Summer, how often we can go out to eat, or to the theater. That's normal. And there is nothing wrong with any of these things.
But combined, it's just like a farmer's field. The assumption is, what I produce, right up to the edges, is mine to use. I might even give some away, but it was still mine to give.
That's not the command, nor good stewardship.
It is not all ours. It all comes from God, and the remarkable thing has always been how little God expects us to leave behind and not take for ourselves.    

When you harvest your field, do not reap to the edges. Walk away. Leave some behind. You do not need it all.

 You do not need it all! That's the hard bit for us to take in. I only know of one type of person who can really do it. The only people I know who really believe that they do not need it all, the only ones who can truly let go, forgo, and leave behind...are the ones who believe, by the grace of God, that they have it all already.  

Steph+ 

 
Scripture

 

Leviticus 19: 1-4: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God."
 

9-12:

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God. You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord."  
Tradition

 

Collect (traditional version):

"O LORD, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

 

Collect (contemporary version):

"O LORD, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and for ever. Amen."
Reason
Profile of a Steward - Sylvia Wren

 

After reading the last several issues of
Spiritual Life Management Newsletter, I have been pondering frequently on how I am doing. I had always thought stewardship as what I do with my time, talent and treasure. Now I am thinking of what I do with my

life, which includes my time, talent and treasure and everything else. It has become real to me that my life is what God wants, not just my time, talent and treasure. He wants my thoughts, my prayers, my actions, my possessions, and He wants these because He loves me. He wants me to love Him and show that I love Him by living a Christian life, i.e., a Christ-like life. I always knew this but the realization has been brought to eye-level by the messages that are being brought in my daily devotion, adult Christian ed. sessions, and in Spiritual Life Management articles. Now that the challenge is before me daily, I have come to the conclusion that only by welcoming the Holy Spirit into my life to direct me on a continual basis will I be able to be what God expects of me. Will I be able to do this all the time without fail? Not a chance - because try as I might, I am still human and prone to as many weaknesses and failings as the next person. But with the help of the Holy Spirit I will know when and where I slip-up and will be able to ask for forgiveness and guidance. What a blessing to know that God not only has expectations for me, He also has a way to help me meet them. One more thing I have noticed - I am no longer trying to "keep score" to see if I've done enough in the way of giving my time, talent and treasure to God. Its' real easy to know whether I'm walking in His way and giving my all. And that's what it's all about. Thanks be to God for His abundant love. I am wondering, are you being touched too? Or is it just me?
Go to the E-Giving Online Transaction System

The Rev. Stephen C. Britt, Rector,
Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, Stewardship Committee,
San Jose Episcopal Church
7423 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, Fl 32217