What do Pumpkins have to do w/ the Gospel?
How Homesteading, Hospitality, & the Fall Harvest Point to Christ
Despite the cold coming through our area over the weekend, my backyard garden is still filled with little tomatoes everywhere! All summer, my kids would simply run by them and stuff a few in their mouth as an afternoon snack while they played. Sadly, the cucumber plants are now dying which means we now have to turn back to store-bought ones. Thankfully, we still have some growth in our garden beds. Little pumpkins are growing along the vines, and the brussel sprouts are beginning to bounce back since they love this cold.
I have always loved connecting gardening, fresh cooking, hospitality, and festivity with what it means to be a Christian. Yet some people have not always understood this connection and have wondered, “What does squash have to do with saving souls?”
The question reminds me of something Tertullian famously once asked, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?” It was his way of saying, “What does Greek philosophy have to do with the Gospel?” Some people only want to tell the simply ‘Gospel message’ that Jesus came to die and save your soul and keep philosophy and pumpkins out of it. This is all well and good if people are already operating within a Christian worldview and understand the basic themes of the Biblical story. But if they do not (most people today), they cannot immediately understand what you are even talking about. The role of philosophy and pumpkins can be helpful if used properly.
This is why our gardens, homesteads, and parishes must become living icons to the world of what the Christian story is all about. Our families and Christian communities reveal that Christ is among us and making us human again. He is turning our depression into laughter and our despair into hope. (And even when we Christians have very real grief, He still give us life-giving grace that the world can still catch a glimpse of through our tears.) He is creating ‘holy homesteads’ out of the ashes of Eden and making them into signposts that point to our true Home (See Revelation ch. 21-22 & Romans 8 on the New Creation).
Every one knows deep down in their bones that something isn’t right with us or the world. We are lonely, lost and trying to find our long way back Home again. But how do we get back Home? Does Home even exist anymore?
This is why a fresh meal with strangers and a warm bonfire next to our pumpkin patch is essential.
It is why we should deliver a hot pumpkin pie to our neighbors or a struggling family.
It is why a cross or holy image of Christ should hang above our fireplaces while we sip on hot cider with our children.
It is why we should pray an evening liturgy to Christ, Lord of the Harvest, with friends during significant ‘fall moments’ like Michaelmas (September 29th) or Hallowmas (All Hallow’s Tide on October 31st, Nov. 1st & 2nd).
It is through God’s people gathered in prayer and laughter that seekers will come to recognize that Christ is not only Lord of the Universe, but also Lord of the Harvest and Lord of our Homes. And He is our way back Home.
The ancient Byzantine liturgy connects Christ’s work on the cross with the redemption of nature:
“Every tree of the forest can rejoice, for their nature has been sanctified by Christ, who planted them at the beginning [of creation] and now hangs stretched out on the tree [of the cross].” (Byzantine Liturgy, Exaltation of the Cross, September 14th. Composed by Cyril of Alexandria)
We should be reminded that not only is the whole cosmos being saved and sanctified through Christ’s death and resurrection, but also our hearts, our homes, and our pumpkins.
Our culture is trying to find its way back Home. Just listen to this Lumineers song, which is a spiritual seeker’s lament (though almost hopeful) about not knowing how to get back home.
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Be entirely His until the Day!
Kyle King