Planting and reaping 

A few years ago, my wife and I saw some amazing dark green pumpkins with large ribs at a roadside produce stand. The proprietor called it a fairy-tale pumpkin, because it resembled the kind the fairy godmother might have turned into Cinderella’s coach. 

I cut up the pumpkin, roasted it and used the pulp for several pumpkin-flavored goodies. We saved and dried the seeds and planted some along the driveway the following summer along with other squashes. To our surprise and delight, they grew and grew. Eventually, the vines reached down to the street, so we doubled them back along themselves. Ann and I called them “driveway squash.” 

Only two pumpkins grew into anything worthwhile, one a 28-pounder and another weighed in at 42 pounds. After roasting, pureeing and all that, we ended up with about 70 cups of mashed pumpkin. It found its way into breads, pies, cheesecake, cookies and even chili. 

Last year, we left our Halloween pumpkin out on the yard for the squirrels to nibble. They apparently spread the seeds to our yard and the neighbors on both sides. Everyone has vines growing with pumpkins. It may result in an unintended harvest. 

There’s something about fall that I love. The cooler days, fewer mosquitos, rustling leaves underfoot and, of course, apple picking. Some people don’t like fall because it’s a harbinger of winter’s cold. Some hate that the days are getting shorter and that when Standard Time kicks in, it throws everyone out of whack for a few days, and the sun sets too early. 

But harvest time is special. It’s when we reap what we sowed. We planted tomatoes, green beans and squash. The racoons and deer got to most of them before we did. Even so, we snagged a few more ripe tomatoes off the vines this week. 

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. Some seed fell on the path and gets eaten by birds; that symbolizes those who hear the word but the evil one snatches it before it can take root. Some seed fell on rocky ground, people who don’t perceive the word with depth; in a crisis, their faith withers. More seed fell on thorny ground, where the word is choked out by the anxieties of the world. Jesus loves the seed that falls on good soil, where it is heard, understood, accepted and becomes fruitful. 

Our spiritual life can be similar.  

Sometimes we plant seeds intentionally, hoping for a bountiful harvest. But the animals get to the produce just as it turns ripe. Other times, like the pumpkin seeds scattered in our yard and others nearby, we get a harvest we didn’t intend. 

We plant seeds as we go along, never knowing when we may get an unintended harvest. It might be a verse from Scripture that comes back to you just when you need it. Or you might have invited a friend to join you for Mass during Lent, and he declined. But come Advent, he is looking for a deeper meaning to the season and decides to join you for a prayer service. 

Sometimes, you even plant unintentionally, by the way you live your life. If you live like a follower of Jesus, that should show in what you do and say. By being kind and not adding to the divisiveness we experience today, you can be an example for others on how to treat our fellow humans. A saying oft attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (but probably not said by him) goes, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” 

It also recalls a story about a brother who visited his sister’s large farm and said, “Look how good God is.” She replied, “Sure, but you should have seen what this place looked like when he was taking care of it all by himself.”  

The point is that God needs our help to plan for a great harvest – intentional or not.  

Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org

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