Workers for the Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV) Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Jesus looks out at the crowds and sees something most of us would miss. We might see a busy street, a marketplace, a crowd. Jesus sees a harvest — ready, waiting, and desperately short of hands. It's worth noticing what moves him to say this. It isn't strategy. It's compassion. He sees people who are harassed and helpless, and his response isn't to organize a program. It's to point his disciples toward prayer, and then, presumably, toward action. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers — and then be surprised, perhaps, at who gets sent. We tend to think of the harvest as something distant, something that happens in mission fields or church committees or somewhere other than our own ordinary Tuesday. But the harvest Jesus describes is the same crowd he's looking at — ordinary people, harassed and helpless, right in front of him. The harvest field is wherever we happen to be standing. And here's the quiet challenge in this passage: the shortage isn't a shortage of need. It's a shortage of workers. The opportunities to do good, to be of service, to show kindness — those aren't scarce. What's scarce is people willing to show up for them. Every day hands us another field ready for harvest, and every day we get to decide whether we're one of the workers Jesus prayed for, or one more person standing in the crowd waiting to be gathered in. Grace doesn't wait for us to feel equipped. It sends us out anyway, into fields we didn't plant, to gather a harvest we didn't grow. Prayer Our Father, the fields around us are full, and our hands are often empty. Make us willing workers — not because we are qualified, but because you have called. Amen. This devotional was written by Jim Stovall. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.