Sunday September 27, 2026
Call to worship
Pastor: Let us pray and give thanks!
All: Thank You for the gift
Pastor: Of sunshine and rain in due season, of seed, soil and harvest, provision for our needs and others,
if in love we share.
All: Thank You for the gift
Pastor: Of living water that does not run dry and the nourishment of Your Word which feeds our souls and others,
if in love we share.
Thank You for the love which endures and the blessings which satisfy.
All: For the opportunity to share all that You have given, we bring to You our thanks! Amen
The Parable of the Two Sons
A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.”
29 He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went.
30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’
Sermon:
“Going to the Vineyard.”
Today we celebrate Harvest and the abundance of gifts given to us through the miraculous cycle of nature and life.
Today we give thanks for this garden created by God. A place of beauty, beyond our understanding. A prophetic poem written, not in words but in colors, shapes, tastes, sounds and gentle breeze.
Today we celebrate this creation of beauty and mystery.
WE know that the promise of a good harvest is already contained within the beginning, within the smallest seeds sown.
We know that the mighty oak tree began within an acorn.
We know that the bread we share at communion and at lunch began within a grain.
That the autumn crisp apple began within a pip-Appleseed.
The mystery of nature, the gift of harvest, we pause and think about today.
A place of beauty, beyond our understanding.
We are placed in the middle of that mysterious circle of life and nature and seasons and times.
We are fed, equipped and provided for every day even if we might not know or have never been near a cow in the field, or a tractor bringing grains back from the harvest.
We are fed, equipped and provided for daily, even if we have never picked one apple in an orchard or seen grapes in a vineyard.
I am blessed in so many ways.
And I also consider myself blessed as I have been near cows in the fields and thousands of chickens at the chicken farm.
I have been on the tractor bringing back grain or hay from harvest.
I have been so blessed to pick my share of apples in the orchard, cherries, strawberries, peas, blackberries and walking along the living fences of hazelnuts. I have even picked grapes in a vineyard in Santa Ines Valley near Solvang and in the beautiful vineyard of Chateau Pontac Mont Plaisir near Bordeaux.
Today I give thanks for this physical remembrance of Harvest that sits in my body and senses like a vivid living memory and experience that makes the Season of Harvest and the Celebration of Harvest my favorite season of mine.
Again, this year, I have been blessed with an abundance of Californian Pomegranate Harvest. So many Pomegranates on our small tree (that I planted 5 years ago) – too many for us, so many to share.
Picking and harvesting Pomegranate Apples is a particular joy even if it takes hours to pluck, seed and rinse. It takes patience. And out of this patience grows a deep gratitude for the small seeds of taste, health, vitamins and antioxidants.
When I cut the pomegranate open and start to seed and pick all the small deep red fruit seeds, I am often struck by how well organized the pomegranate is. Each apple contains so many small seeds – just like a family. The numerous seeds within a single fruit resemble a family, a community, a unity and the vital interconnectedness of individuals. Each single seed while together they form a harmonious whole.
So today as we give thanks for the Harvest, we also give thanks for all the interconnectedness, all the communities, families and friendships circle we are intertwined in and we grow within and find nourishment from.
In the rhythm of creation and nature, we see a mirror of our spiritual lives too.
Just as farmers assess their crops, giving thanks for what has flourished and making plans for the next season, we too are called to reflect on the harvest in our lives.
So, for a moment:
Consider what has grown in your life this past year.
What seeds of faith have taken root in your heart: perhaps you have grown while worshipping, praying and singing hymns in a wonderful congregation; maybe you have experienced growth in relationships or in personal areas like…. Patience, generosity, forgiveness or reconciliation. Maybe it has been a silent and gradually growth – maybe it has been a surprisingly rapid spur growth of faith, hope and love.
Now consider that not all growth is healthy. Maybe there is a need for pruning as areas in our lives have become overgrown, tangled or unproductive? Maybe certain habits or attitudes need to change? Maybe some relationships are unhealthy for your spiritual and metal health? Maybe the fear of the future, the others and the uncertainty overtaken the sprout of green hope?
Lastly consider what you are grateful for.
Gratitude is at the heart of our harvest season. As we reflect on the year, we are called to give thanks for the abundance, the growth and even for the hard lessons learned. So, what are you especially grateful for this year?
Maybe you are grateful that you did what you promised to do, that you were a faithful servant and a good steward?
Maybe you are a little bit embarrassed that you did not do exactly as you had promised or what you intended to do.
That leads us directly into the parable told by Jesus today about the two sons.
A tale about trustworthy words and promises.
In the parable this morning, we meet two sons, two brothers and a pair of siblings, - that we might know all too well.
The older son is a classic charming manipulator, one whose actions do not correspond with his words. Will you go out in the field and help with the harvest? The father asked.
Sure, Dad, Right away, the son answered. His eagerness should almost raise the concerns and suspicions. But his father wants to believe him. And despite his promise, he does not go.
When the younger son is asked to work in the field, he refuses. Jeez, Dad. Do I really have to? I have more important things to do! Is the father really surprised by the son’s answer? Maybe this son is always obstinate, the child that always says no. The one you must fight. For reasons not shared with us, the younger son eventually puts on his work clothes and gloves and wades into the vineyard and onto picking the grapes.
It is an odd little story – however as a parent or as a friend you know these characters, do not you.
The one always with the right answers, big shiny words, all the right opinions – but no actions, always a lot of apologies.
And then the one who is always too busy to commit helping and then surprises you with showing up.
Not only do we know these characters from our lives and circle of friends – we also know these characteristics to be ingrained in ourselves. In us.
Is it better to say yes and do no… or to say no and do, yes? Who is most trustworthy?
We know from the story about Jesus that later Judas will sit beside Jesus at the last supper… claiming “would I ever lie to you? I would die for you!
We also know from the story about Jesus that Peter, the Rock, would deny and lie when the danger got real.
So, we know we are in the family of people who do not always keep our promises and sometimes show up anyways because we know what is right deep down.
Are we faithful? Are we trustworthy?
The truth is that we are sometimes.
Sometimes we do know that what we sow we will reap, that the words we say matter, that the promises we make we might be able to keep or at least try…… most of the times we do know what we should do.
Important it is that we keep going into the vineyard… that we keep showing up… trying our best to keep our promises and surprise the ones that already had given up on us.
And believe that in the eyes of God we are always worthy of his love. Always worthy for a second chance. Always loved despite broken promises and difficulties to commit.
That we are all like small deep red pomegranate seeds interconnected and embraced by the love of God.
And so, we sing today on this Harvest Sunday with the words of the beautiful old Harvest Hymn from 1782>
WE thank you then, O father.
For all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest
Our life, our health, our food.
No gifts have we to offer.
For all Your love imparts,
But whet You most would treasure.
Our humble, thankful hearts.
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above then thank the Lord, o thank the Lord.
For all his endless love.,