Since pagan times harvest festivals have been annual celebrations for successful harvests. They featured ample food and freedom from the necessity to work in the fields. The common features were eating, merriment, contests, music and romance. Christians adopted these festivals to give thanks to God our creator for God’s goodness in the harvest. Today we give thanks for the harvest we have grown in our gardens, if we have one, and the harvest we are able to buy each day in the shops. We are reminded again of God’s generosity and we join with all God’s people in continuing to give thanks for God’s provision. We are invited to pray “give us today our daily bread” and to know that for most of us that daily bread is far more than enough. Harvest festivals also provide a time reflect on our ongoing desire for more. It is an occasion for us to confess that we too often are not satisfied and many in the West in particular are driven to have more. This has resulted in a signific...