By Fr. Kenneth Borowiak
Pastor, St. Joseph Parish in Friend
Fall, for many, is the best season of the year. Cooler weather, the changing of colors, shorter amounts of daylight, football, balmy nights, the transition from summer to fall and harvest are all parts of the season, a great time in Nebraska.
Fall brings a welcome respite in our busy lives, a sense of nostalgia and gratitude to the Lord for the yields anticipated for a season of hard work realized as the growing season ends.
It has been just three short months since the summer solstice until the autumnal equinox.
To enjoy fall is not simply the sentiment of the human dimension but the realization that Christ our Lord is the master of all things, especially the created world in which we live. It is He who plants and waters and reaps. (1 Cor. 7)
For many, fall is the culmination of months of hard work – field preparation, planting, cultivation, crop management, irrigation and harvest. In all these elements, God is omnipresent and generous in His gifts.
Jesus invites us to be partners with Him in the great endeavor of being stewards and guardians of the earth. On our part, it involves strategic planning, vision, hard work and the realization that we are partners with the Lord in providing for others and feeding the world.
Livestock production, in the area of pork, beef and poultry, has seen and continues to experience monumental changes and advances in production. These changes have brought unexpected blessings and rewards.
While farming and ranching have achieved unexpected technological advancements in every aspect, it is the Lord who is the beginning and end of all our efforts. It is He who provides the rain, guides the growth and gives the yield. (Deut. 11:14, Zech. 10:1, Lev. 26:4, Job 5:10, Isaiah 30:23)
In one of the prefaces of the Eucharistic Prayer of Holy Mass, we are reminded that the work and the blessings of the fields is a cooperative effort between God and man: “For you laid the foundations of the world and have arranged the changing of times and seasons; you formed man in your own image and set humanity over the whole world in all its wonder, to rule in your name over all you have made and forever praise you in your mighty works.”
With the ingenuity given to mankind by the Lord, there is no reason why any person on earth should go hungry because of a lack of food. The difficulty of hunger and food insecurity arises from geopolitical situations, wars, distribution problems, theft, fraud, and a host of other issues that do not allow food to get to the people who need it.
For us here in Nebraska, continuing growth in yields is a realization of the ingenuity that God has given men and women, in the creation and development of drought-resistant hybrid crops that allow us to fulfill His mandate to have dominion over the earth and subdue it. (Gen 1:28) It is our response to God’s invitation to humans to rule over and care for the Earth, and in doing so, to make sure that all of mankind has enough to eat.
In his papal encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis calls us to remember that we are not true owners of the earth, but rather stewards of the land. In this capacity we are cooperators with the Lord in the defense and oversight of the earth, which is our home. He writes:
“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home.”
As men and women across Nebraska sit in the cabs of combines, tractors and trucks this time of year, watching the bountiful harvest coming through the headers into the storage bins, it reminds us of God’s ample blessings.
It is a moment of realization and gratitude to Him who made all things for the yields of the year. Thank you, Lord, for Your gifts, Your blessing and Your love.
