The Good Old Days

Story

Once upon a time there were two men. Each inherited a farm from their common ancestors. Now their ancestors were good farmers who had the greatest harvests the land had ever seen. Books were written about the harvest festivals that were held after each harvest. These books described in great detail what happened at the harvest festivals. Everyone in the kingdom knew the glorious stories of the days of old and they longed to see those days come again. 

The first man was so excited when he received the farm that he began to study the stories in depth, taking great care to make lists of all that was involved in those glorious festivals. He began to acquire and gather everything that he read about. For months the first son prepared and promoted a harvest festival like the ones everyone longed for. His expectation was so great, and the preparations were so exciting that all of the noblemen in the kingdom helped in the preparations. Giving their money to help make the event even bigger. Because of their enthusiasm they were each invited to be central figures in the festivities. 

Finally the day of the festival came. The turnout was huge, the atmosphere was electric, and all in attendance marveled at the size of the festival saying 

“this is what it was like in the days of old.” 

Men and women played their instruments in celebration. The children marveled at the immensity and splendor of the erected silos. The scythes and sickles had to be kept behind glass because of their exquisite beauty and unparalleled sharpness. All looked as it did in the pictures and books. The reapers were dressed in glorious gowns which impressed all who saw them. Everyone was in fancy clothes and high spirits. 

Then the second man appeared at the entrance to the festival. He was very dirty and dressed in common workers clothes. When the first man saw him he began to rebuke him, saying:

“Why have you come in that and not in the best you have in celebration?” 

When he got close he noticed that it was the second man, and he rebuked him again, saying:

“Where have you been and why have you not helped to prepare the harvest festival?” 

The second man looked confused by all he saw and asked: 

“What is all of this?” 

The first man replied: 

“This is the harvest festival, just like in the days of old. Don’t you remember the stories and the art, haven't you longed for a celebration like this?” 

The second man looked even more confused by this statement and asked: 

“What crop have you planted which has grown so quickly and multiplied so greatly as to warrant silos such as these? And a festival such as this? For it took me months to till such a great field, and I have only just scattered seed.” 

Now the first man looking confusingly at the second man as though he did not understand the question. And the second man continued saying: 

“Have all resources of the kingdom gone to this celebration? 

Did you think the celebrations of old were the purpose, rather than the result? They celebrated because of the harvest, not because of the sake of the festival. 

I have not come in fine clothing because they is not conducive to working the ground. I have not come with an instrument because they make terrible shovels. I have not come with a gift because I had to buy seed, and I have not come in celebration because there is still much work to be done. 

What kind of harvest festival is celebrated when there is no crop?”

Explanation

When Jesus began his ministry in first century Judea, the Scribes, Pharisees, and sadducees were bewildered by his actions and threatened by the message that he brought. You see, the religious leaders wanted God to return and to restore Israel to its former glory, like in the days of old. They were looking back at the best moments of the past and seeking to reestablish that which was. They looked at the dedication of the temple in the days of Solomon when they were a glorious and independent nation, abundant in wealth and riches, with the glory of the Lord residing in the temple. The religious leaders sought to recreate all that they knew of the former ways in an attempt to usher back in the presence of God. 

We may look back at that and think those are antiquated notions, yet we do the same. We look back at what we consider to be the high points of our faith traditions and try to not only emulate them, but recreate them. If you are one who is inspired by the powerful preachers and evangelists of old then you might try to find a church whose pastor preaches like those powerful preachers once did. If you are one who longs to see a  revival like the ones we read about, then perhaps you will create spaces of prayer or worship that look just like what you imagine those places to have looked like. You may pray for a revival and dream excitedly about how amazing it will be when it comes. 

Many of us carry a longing for what we consider “the good times”. These times are always in the past, sometimes they are in living memory and other times they were long before us. Take into consideration everyone's favorite “out of context” bible verse! 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (ESV)

The recipients of Jeremiah's letter are the first group of people who were exiled from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was still standing, Jews still lived there. Reliving the good days in their home land was still very possible. Additionally these people would have been experiencing tremendous hardship in their exile. They were removed from their family, friends, language, culture, place of worship, homes, everything that has given them their identity for so long was gone. But what is worse is that it was still seemingly in reach. What was, was still right there, if they could only get back. 

But God didn’t want them to get back! He didn’t want them to recreate the harvest festivals of old. He wanted them to become farmers.

Jeremiah 29:4–7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (ESV)

God didn’t tell them to go back, but rather to go forward. It is worth mourning that, what was is not what is. Yet we are called to participate with God in turning what is, into what will be. Many of us are struggling with the reality that the culture which we grew up in no longer holds the same values that once felt unanimous. Many of us are feeling threatened by the competing worldviews that are now in the public sphere. And many of us feel a longing for things to return to the normalcy that we consider the “good old days”. That desire can look like us wanting to completely remove ourselves from the world, and it can look like us wanting to force the world back into what it was before. It is good for us to stop. To be still. And to mourn that, what was is not what is. Then, when we have finished, it is time for us to again take up our cross and to follow Jesus. The one who ate with tax collectors and sinners (Mat 9:). Whose custom was to teach in the synagogue (Luke 4). Who said to give to whoever asks of you without expecting any return (Mat 5). Who said to love, pray for, and do good to your enemies (Mat 5). And the one who, after being mercilessly abused, while still bleeding and suffocating, naked on a cross looked at his murderers and said:

Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. (ESV)