[Jesus] said to them, ‘The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.’
Luke 10:2
There are so many needs in the world. So much hope to harvest, so much healing needed, so much good news to share! Most of us sitting in our comfortable homes can not imagine how ripe the world is for Good News.
Most of the time I hear this passage in connection to the call to ordained ministry in the church. Who is God calling to tend our congregations?
Fortunately, that is not what Jesus means here. He is talking about bearers of healing, hope, and love in the world. The harvest, the need for healing, hope, and love is larger than imagined, the workers – those willing to be the bearer of that healing, hope, and love in the world – are few.
What are we to do?
We must ask God for the workers. The “workers” are not select people from the disciple pool. The “workers” are people who have responded in discipleship. You see sometimes we tend to read this passage as if this work was the work of a select few, ordained people, educated people, or very involved lay persons. This is not the case!
I believe that the workers needed are disciples of Jesus, all of them. If we respond, we are responding not to be served but to serve, to be about the harvest of God’s work in the world.
Imagine the harvest if all who claimed Christ as their Lord and Savior responded to their relationship as worker in the harvest. Imagine how transformed our world would be!
The harvest is plentiful . . . may our baptism become our initiation into harvesting for the kingdom!