Harvest is a good time to notice something we usually forget.
A loaf of bread does not start out in a plastic wrapper.
Grapes do not arrive on the vine already in a little plastic box.
Someone plants.
Someone waters.
Someone waits.
And before all of that, God gives the soil, the rain, the sun and the life inside the seed.
That is why Moses says today: “Remember the Lord your God.”
Because when things are going well, human beings are very good at forgetting where anything came from.
We eat the food and forget the farmer.
We use the gifts and forget the Giver.
Then in the Gospel, thousands of people are hungry.
And one boy has five loaves and two fish.
That is not much for a crowd that big.
If I said we had five sandwiches for the whole school, I do not think everyone would be very impressed.
But the boy gives what he has to Jesus.
And Jesus takes it, blesses it, and feeds everyone.
That tells us something important about harvest.
Gratitude should lead to generosity.
If God has given us something, we do not have to clutch it tightly as though there will never be enough.
We can share.
And whatever we place into Christ’s hands can become more useful than we expected.
We may think: “I have not got much to give.”
But Jesus can use what we offer Him.
A little kindness.
A little time.
A little help.
And harvest also helps us think about the Mass.
Bread comes from grain.
Wine comes from grapes.
And at Mass, Jesus takes bread and wine and gives us something far greater:
His own Body and Blood.
Harvest is a time to say: Thank You, God, for what You give us.
And also: Help me to share what I have.
So today we thank God for the harvest, for farmers, for those who prepare and transport our food, and for everything we receive.
But we also remember the little boy.
He did not feed five thousand people by himself.
He simply gave Jesus what he had.
And Jesus did the rest.
