"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." // Matthew 9:38
It was so hot that day, you could smell the heat rising in the air. My husband and I were spending the summer in the heartland of America, the part of the country where they pray for good weather and safety for the farmers at Mass. Harvest season had just started, which meant over half the town was spending sunrise to sunset out in the fields. Tim was hired to help a farmer that year and always came home with stories to tell.
What I wasn’t expecting on this particular night, was the smell he brought home with him. He crawled into bed after taking a shower and still smelled like rotting wheat. Trust me, it’s not a smell you want to be familiar with.
He couldn't wash off the stink even if he tried, and he couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes either. He had fallen in love with the land he was caring for, even if it meant getting filthy in wheat mold from cleaning a grain bin. It was a small reflection of the love these seasoned farmers had for their fields and the crops that grew there. They gave their entire lives for it, and certain months of the year, they would smell like it too.
In today’s Gospel passage, we receive a direct invitation from Jesus to harvest the land of lost souls. He’s not asking us to observe the crops from afar, comfortably safe in our cars as we speed by on the freeway. He’s asking us to get so close to the crops that their scent becomes our own. He’s asking us to give our very lives for them.
So today, ask yourself what souls Jesus is asking you to smell like? Who is He asking you to spend more time with? Picture their faces and ask Jesus to give you His heart for them.
Don’t be afraid to smell like the harvest of Heaven.
Jana Zuniga Pingel is an artist and designer based in Colorado Springs, where she resides with her husband. She earned her B.A. in Studio Art from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana. She is the founder and owner of January Jane Shop, an online boutique for Catholic art and goods. When she isn’t busy doing entrepreneurial things, she’s cooking a new recipe, hiking a mountain, or party planning.
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