Get it done!
by Pastor Stephen Abraham
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‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Matthew 9:37,38).
Growing up on the farm, I learnt that when harvest time comes, you drop everything and find people to just ‘get it done’. My mum’s lesson from Dad on how to drive the tractor was ‘get in and drive’! At harvest time, there is this small window of opportunity before the weather may turn and ruin the crop. Don’t think about it, just get it done! And many other industries experience that sense of urgency: chefs during peak service, teachers during interviews and report writing, project leaders when a big job is coming up. You drop everything, working hours into the night just to get it done.
There’s a great story about Tim Cook, the CEO of the tech giant, Apple. It goes like this: a few years back, Tim convened a meeting with his team, and the discussion turned to a particular problem in Asia. ‘This is really bad,’ Cook told the group. ‘Someone should be in China driving this.’ Thirty minutes into that meeting, Cook looked at Sabih Khan, a key operations executive, and abruptly asked, with no trace of emotion, ‘Why are you still here?’
I love that story. If there’s a problem, just go fix it! Sometimes in the church, we see an important need and get so caught up in procedure (forming a committee, organising to meet, setting the agenda, writing the minutes etc) that we miss the opportunity to just act and get the job done!
We get that sense of urgency as Matthew gives the account of Jesus’ ministry in today’s reading; so much to do and so little time to do it.
And what is his motivation? ‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9:36).
Jump onto BibleGateway, or whatever you use, to compare translations and have a look at the different ways this verse is translated. It’s a challenge here with that ‘gut turning’ Greek word splagchnizomai, which has no direct equivalence. ‘His heart broke’, ‘moved with compassion’, and ‘deeply moved with pity’ all give the sense that Jesus wasn’t just sad, he was ‘gutted’ for the lost and broken people he saw!
You see that emotion in our country when there is a natural disaster, when people ‘feel gutted’ for fellow Aussies, drop what they are doing and get stuck and help their neighbours.
And I love in verse 38 Jesus’ plea to his disciples (and to us!): ‘Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields’.
Enough talk! Let’s just do it!
Almighty God, you know our world has been turned upside down by recent events. People are struggling, feeling lost and broken by hardship and tragedy. Lord of the Harvest, we pray for workers to help with this harvest of tears. Lead us in the ways we can help people physically and emotionally and share with them the faith that empowers our loving service. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
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