A Just Harvest

 The Harvest of Grace and Justice

In our globalized world, the food we enjoy often comes from far beyond our shores.  I’m a huge fan of buying locally, whenever possible – because local food is good for local farmers, and better for the environment.  But modern diets, and modern food production, means that we’ve become addicted to things like coffee, tea, chocolate and bananas which can’t be grown locally to us.  And so, we find, we are intimately connected – at the level of our stomachs – with people all over the world.  The way such people are treated matters.  It matters at the deep level of social justice.  So, today, we are invited to not only celebrate the harvest but to think deeply about how our choices can help bring justice to those who labour for it. This is where the theme of Fairtrade becomes essential.

Just as the farmer tends the soil, we are called to tend the plants of justice and fairness for those whose labour is often unseen and undervalued.  So, let us explore this idea of a just and bountiful harvest—one that nourishes both body and soul. 

The first thing required of us, as people of God, is that we should sow in Faith.  The scriptures remind us that sowing and reaping are not just about agriculture but about the kingdom of God. In Paul's letter to the Galatians, we read, “…whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  But, just like the farmer who waits patiently for the harvest, the seeds of justice and fairness take time to bear fruit.  Fairtrade reminds us of this reality. It is a movement built on faith, patience and hope—working to ensure that farmers and producers, especially in developing nations, receive a fair price for their labour.   Fairtrade ensures that their communities can flourish, that their children can go to school, and that they can live in dignity.

SO we ‘sow in faith’.  And we must also ‘reap justly’.   Everything we receive is a gift from God. There is nothing you own which comes to you by right.  It comes because you were blessed enough to have rich ancestors, or to live in a country with a national pension scheme, or to work for an employer whose greed was, or is, tempered by a national minimum wage.  Or because you had a free education which helped you succeed in life.  But these gifts are not given for us alone. They are entrusted to us so that we might share them generously and justly with others.

In the Bible, the idea of justice is inseparable from the idea of the harvest. In Leviticus, God instructs the Israelites: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you” (Leviticus 23:22). The idea is clear—our harvest, whether literal or metaphorical, is not for us alone.  It is meant to be shared, especially with the vulnerable.

Fairtrade is a modern expression of this ancient biblical principle. It ensures that the fruits of the earth are shared more justly, allowing those who are often marginalized—smallholder farmers, workers in far-flung places—to enjoy the dignity of their labour.  By supporting Fairtrade, we participate in a system that aligns with God’s vision of justice, where no one is left behind, and everyone has a fair share in the earth’s bounty.

When we choose Fairtrade products, we are choosing to stand with those who work tirelessly in fields, plantations, and factories. We are choosing to acknowledge their humanity, their right to a decent livelihood, and their role in God’s creation.

So we sow in faith, and we reap justly.  And both of these are underpinned by a call to generosity. Generosity is a central theme of Harvest, and it is deeply connected to the idea of justice. The more we recognize the abundance that God has given us, the more we are called to share it with others. In 2 Corinthians 9:10, we read: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”  This is not just a material promise but a spiritual one. When we give generously of our time, talents, and treasures, God multiplies our efforts in ways we cannot even imagine.

But generosity is not just about giving from our abundance. It is about giving in ways that ensure justice. Fairtrade invites us to think about generosity not just as charity, but as basic fairness. We are not simply giving to others (by paying a little more for our luxuries); we are recognizing that they, our neighbours in other lands, deserve a fair share of the world's resources. We are ensuring that the harvest is just, not just for ourselves but for those who often labour unseen and unheard.

So we sow in faith, we reap justly, we’re called to generosity, and, finally, harvest is “a Call to Community”.  Let’s remember that the harvest is not a solitary endeavour. It takes a community to bring in the crop. Likewise, our faith is not lived in isolation. We are called to walk alongside one another, bearing each other’s burdens, rejoicing in each other’s joys, and, yes, harvesting together.

Fairtrade is also about building community—global community. It reminds us that we are connected to people we will never meet but whose labour makes our lives possible. Sometimes, when leading assemblies, I like to remind children of how many people are involved in the production of a tin of beans.  It’s quite startling, when you think about it.  The farmer relies on the tractor-maker, and the manufacturer of fertilizer (who in turn rely on a whole network of suppliers).  Once the beans are harvested, they are cooked, and combined with other ingredients from other fields, by skilled cooks and manufacturers.  But that’s not the end of it.  For a portion of baked beans to get to your table requires miners to dig the metal for the tin, smelters to make the can, paper-producers to make the label, ink producers to print the label.  Then lorry drivers are needed to get it to your supermarket, on roads built by labourers, in supermarkets built by construction workers, where shelf-stackers place it where you’ll find it.  Then, you get it home, to find you need electricity or gas suppliers, and saucepan makers to heat the beans up to eat them.  And detergent and water suppliers to clean the plate afterwards. 

Whether it is the farmer in the field, the worker in a factory, or the one who sets the table, we are all connected in this intricate web of life. Fairtrade strengthens that web by ensuring that everyone, from the smallest farmer to the largest consumer, is treated with dignity.  If anyone in that vast community of people is not rewarded fairly for their contribution, then you have exploited their labour.  It’s unintentional, of course.  But the exploitation is real.  Fairtrade helps us to ensure that no-one suffers along the supply-line to our dinner tables.

So, this harvest, we are called to sow in faith and to reap justly.  And we are called to live generously and in community.  May each of us make the changes we ought to make today.  Given the choice between goods made through the exploitation of others, and those whose makers and growers have been fairly rewarded – let’s make the right choices, as we all run over to Waitrose after the service!  May the harvest we celebrate today be one that reflects the faith, justice, generosity and community at the heart of the kingdom of God. Amen.