THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH

TUESDAY, THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Apoc 14:14-19; Ps 96:10-13; Lk 21:5-11

The harvest of the Fruits of the Earth

The vision of John given in today's passage is about the time of harvesting the fruits of the whole earth. God did not reveal when the complete harvest will be done to John, for nobody knows except the Father, as our Lord informed us. Harvesting of the righteous is done by the One like the Son of man with a gold crown. The descriptive name seen in Daniel and the Book of Revelation denotes a mystical figure. The figure could mean Jesus Christ as the Risen Lord or Jesus Christ with his members reigning with him. The summon of each soul, his judgment, and the world's judgment is reserved for the Son of Man. From the ahistorical nature of the vision, the earth's harvest is ongoing. The Lord harvests a soul when he summons him to judgment, that is, at the moment of death. It is foolhardy to wait for a general harvest time for the whole world before getting ready, for the end time is known only to the Father. We must prepare for death individually. The Archangel will summon us to the judgment seat of the Son of Man, who sits on the cloud. “I, John, saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.”

The harvest of the earth is at different times for different people. Only the Father determines when a soul or collection of souls is due for harvest. The statement that only the Father knows when the end will come holds for individual cases, collective cases, and ultimately for the general and ultimate end of the world. All creation does the Father’s will; nothing happens without the Father knowing and determining it by his knowledge. Every knowledge comes to the Son from the Father. Hence, the Father has committed every judgment to him. As the Lord informed us in the Gospel, the just are harvested differently from the sinners. The difference here may not be a reference to time but to the category or manner of the harvest. Love and care are employed in the harvest of the just, while these are lacking in the harvest of sinners. The harvest of the just is done by the one like a son of man, Our Lord Jesus Christ, alone or in the company of the saints. “Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the earth’s harvest was reaped.” The harvest of sinners is by an angel of God’s wrath. “So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger.” Thus, the difference or priority does not imply different times but more of a difference in the category and manner of harvest.

The words of our Lord in the Gospel clarify and confirm the explanation we have given above. When the people fixed their attention and admiration on physical and passing things, he used the opportunity to teach us about the passing of these things and the need for us to be ready always for life that matters. “All these things you are staring at now—the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.” The time he referred to is the time for the harvest of Jerusalem. He used the opportunity to mention the harvest of different places. The tools for the harvest are various: wars, revolutions, earthquakes, plagues, famines, etc. These are collectively the sickle used for the harvest in the vision by John. “Then he said to them. ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.’” The Lord told us not to fear because the Father ordains all things, and all things happen according to his divine will. Since they come from the Father’s loving plan, they are for our good. In wars, earthquakes, famines, etc., both saints and sinners die, but God harvests the two differently because the saints are for eternal life, while the sinners are for eternal damnation. Even in these upheavals, the loving providence of the Father cares for the faithful; because of this, the Lord encourages us not to be afraid.    

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to have our focus on the true life that you have promised and given to us in your Son, that working conscientiously in your vineyard, we may resolve to accomplish your good pleasure here on earth, so as to come to our heavenly home when our time has elapsed. Through the same Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.