Since I came to the Mount on August 5, we have been in
harvest mode—first green beans, then squash and cucumbers, followed by popcorn
and walnuts, and finally pecans. As the trees shake off the last lingering
pecans, I find myself feeling sad that soon we will be in the earth’s fallow
cycle, with no more harvesting on the horizon until the spring garden yields
its lettuce, peas, and spinach.
Part of the reason I’ll miss harvesting is because I still
find great satisfaction in being able to point to what I accomplished at the
end of the day—pounds of pecans picked, number of pages edited, or number of
chores completed, for example. It’s hard to believe what Fr. Richard Rohr has
noted: “God does not love you because you are good. God loves you because God
is good.”
On Sunday we will enter into the season of Advent, when we
prepare our hearts to welcome God who came to live among us. We were given this
gift of Emmanuel, God with us, not because we earned it, but simply because God
loves us. It’s fitting that we celebrate Advent and Christmas after the harvest
is complete, so we can shift our focus from being productive to remembering
that it is through God that we live and move and have our being. The pecans in
the freezer are just a bonus.
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