THE TRUTH WE SEE

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
Deuteronomy 24:19

The Old Testament made it abundantly clear that the covenant community of God had a responsibility to provide for the poor and the vulnerable in their midst. One of the ways they were to ensure the welfare of those in need was through the practice described in Deuteronomy 24:19, a practice etched in our memories through the story of Ruth and Naomi. In the story these two women survive by the practice of gleaning – walking through the fields and gathering the grain that was left by the harvesters.

In the United States today some 35 million people – many of them elderly or children – have trouble finding enough food to sustain themselves. In the same United States we leave millions of pounds of perfectly good produce in the fields each year, not in an effort to provide for the poor but because of our use of modern harvesting equipment. I was surprised and thrilled several weeks ago when I heard a story on Chicago Public Radio and learned that the ancient practice of gleaning is still being practiced today. The story profiled a local man who coordinates church groups, boy scout groups, and others to go out into the fields and practice gleaning. They fill boxes with hundreds of pounds of produce left in the fields and donate their gleanings to local food shelters.

Though right now is not exactly the time to be out in the fields (especially here in Illinois!), I thought that this was such a wonderful idea that I had to pass it along. Check out the moving opening slide presentation from The Society of St. Andrew and consider how you, your family, and your church might be able to get involved.