Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 181)
Let the vineyard be fruitful, Lord, and fill to the
brim our cup of blessings. Gather a harvest from the
seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life.
Gather the hopes and the dreams of all; unite them with the
prayers we offer. Grace our table with your presence,
and give us a foretaste of the feast to come.
Text: Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978; Music: Mary Haugen
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Devotion
My brother-in-law is a farmer and I have witnessed the constant hard work it takes to grow a crop. The amount of thought, preparation, labor, and prayer that leads up to the harvest season is astounding and far beyond my capabilities. And yet, so much is out of a farmer’s control. Prices, crop demand, and especially weather make a farmer’s livelihood unreliable at best. I love this prayer of blessing, but I especially love the line “gather the harvest from the seeds that were sown.” There is such trust in planting seeds and hoping they will bear fruit according to your effort and care, whether you’re talking about parenting or working on a project or actual farming. Often, when God talks about bearing fruit, it’s within the metaphor of a vineyard, and it always centers around the vine. God is the vine, and we are the branches. As long as we keep God as our center the fruit will come. Sure, there may be unruly crops or even bad harvests, but God will be there to see us through.
Prayer
Dear God, “Grace our table with your presence and give us a foretaste of the feast to come.” Amen.