Pastor's Corner - September/October 2021 - Pastor Paul Grossman

​“See whether I do not open all the windows of the heavens for you…”

Though summer still feels like it is here, I am always amazed at how quickly Fall comes along with those shorter cooler days.  Already we can see the signs, children and youth have started going back to school and so many growing things are becoming ripe for the upcoming harvests.  What about the church?  Are we ready for the harvest, and where in turn do we store those fruits?  

The prophet Malachi has some interesting thoughts from God to share on this idea of harvests, saying “Bring the whole tenth-part to the storage house so there might be food in my house.  Please test me in this, says the Lord of heavenly forces.  See whether I do not open all the windows of the heavens for you and empty out a blessing until there is enough.”  Now, I am struck by this invitation from God to not only share the good things we harvest but this invitation to test the Lord!  It’s not often that we see this in scripture, but I think it is true during this season of harvest.

The Lord invites us to give of ourselves to the house of the God, to invest ourselves in our community.  Our God is a god of action and movement, inviting us to know the divine by what the Spirit does in our midst.  We should embrace this invitation from God because this is a chance to respond to God’s own action with our own actions.  By sharing of ourselves, the harvest of our gifts, time, talents, presence, witness, and service, we invite God to take those and increase that harvest many times over!

The other funny thing about sharing our harvests and putting them back into church is that we will find that we care more and more about our community.  We will start to be the very way God is blessing our church and our neighbors!  We will find our needs filled abundantly!  I hope and pray that this fall, we will look for the ways we can share of ourselves, reinvest our harvests, and participate more fully in our community of faith here in Thermopolis.  I know God will see and bless our work!