[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 07/Sep/2025]
We were due to have a few people over for a barbecue and as the date got closer, like most people do, we started getting things in order so that the house would look presentable. It involved buying a couple of flowerpots for the front porch, and although it definitely looked much better that it had been, to someone who had never been to visit us, the extent of the transformation would be lost on them. For people who had been to visit us before though, on the day of the barbecue, they commented on the difference, and how good those flowerpots looked. It made me realise that there are times when change happens in us, but it is only evident to those who now us really well.
In the gospel of Matthew, we read that:
Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest”.
Matthew 9 v35–38 [ESVUK]
I look at this passage with a different perspective now. It is quite likely that all that Jesus’ disciples saw were crowds of people with lots of needs that they wanted Jesus to meet. Jesus, however, refers to them not as a collection of needy people, but as a harvest ready to be reaped. I wonder whether Jesus saw what was going on inside these people, and that there were many who were ready and willing to accept the good news that he was preaching and that more ‘labourers’ were needed to reap this bountiful harvest.
I find this particularly helpful as I look at what is going on around the world. The news media are full of reports of disasters, wars, shootings …; full, in one word, of despair. These are dark times, no doubt, but as David says in Psalm 30, “weeping may endure for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”.[1]
Jesus’ words in the excerpt from Matthew’s gospel above set me thinking that in the midst of all of this despair, He is present, and changing the lives and situations of people involved. Although I may not see it, there is hope, lots of it, such that what is needed are not despondent people, but labourers willing to help Him in the work of bringing the harvest home.
Dear Lord, please show us how to be your hands and your feet, to touch the lives of those we meet, and to lighten their loads and put a smile on their faces.
Resources:
[1] Psalm 30:5
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Last Sunday’s reflection: God With Us – Wherever We Go by Dazz Jones
Contributed by David Makanjuola; © David Makanjuola