Worship - 28 September 2025

Summary of this week's theme

Harvest thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for the food that sustains us, even if most of us now have little role in agriculture. It is easy to take food for granted - until something like the Tramontana wind leaves Menorca’s supermarket shelves bare. Such moments remind us that we are not as self-sufficient as we like to believe, and they teach us humility.

Gratitude begins with recognising that the harvest is not for us alone. There is a thorny creeper I dislike - Smilax aspera, rough bindweed - that has scratched my legs countless times. Yet in September it produces abundant berries, not for people but for birds. It is a reminder that God’s providence is not for humanity alone but for the whole tapestry of creation. We are part of an interdependent web of life, most of which we barely understand. Even thorn and bloodied shin can point to a richer fabric of the earth and to a wider bread of life than human food alone.

The people of Israel in the wilderness also learned this. Though they grumbled, God noticed them and fed them with manna, both a sign and a gift of care. Feeding someone is often our instinct in times of sorrow or need: casseroles delivered to bereaved neighbours, meals shared with the sick or lonely. Food becomes a tangible sign of commitment to one another’s survival. It reminds us that we are creatures, dependent on one another and on the world around us. Every breath is a reminder of God’s Spirit breathing life into us, sustaining us from the beginning.

Jesus carries this further, declaring, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.' God’s provision is more than physical; it is also relational and spiritual. We depend on joy, play, conversation, friendship, laughter, tears, and care as much as on bread.

Worship, therefore, is not separate from life together. Our love for God is bound up with our love for one another. Congregational life is meant to be a home where God’s grace is encountered, where we can experience wholeness in Christ. Wherever we find ourselves - whether in wilderness or abundance - God’s love follows us. We are called not only to bear witness to sorrow, but also to bear witness to love, as Psalm 100 reminds us: 'The Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age.'