Ho'omana Health Ministries

Opening Hymn

                           Let's begin our worship time today with a  traditional Thanksgiving tune. 

Ancient scriptures frequently use the metaphors of harvest and of sowing and reaping. The concepts were readily understood by the people of the time. Most civilizations prior to this century lived according to the cycles of nature. In a predominately agricultural society of 1st century Judea, harvest was the most important time of year. It was the time to store the abundance and prepare for time of scarcity. It was the culmination of all the work of the year.

 In our century we have distanced ourselves somewhat from the cycles and patterns of nature. We live in artificially lit, climate controlled environments. We eat foods harvested half-way around the world in the middle of our winters. It is more difficult for us to relate to the importance of planting in the spring or storing crops for winter. It is unfortunate that our civilization has become so far removed from the natural world.  The delicate cycles of nature were put into place by Father and Mother God, who have a purpose in all that is created. Understanding the patterns of nature provides us a glimpse of the Divine Mind.

Yeshua used the concepts of the seasons frequently in explaining the work of God's Kingdom. To Yeshua's followers, the cyclic nature of life was an easily accepted and understood concept. Spring, Summer, Harvest and Winter were unalterable  and well understood facts. Human life, too, was understood to follow the same cycles. Just as there are four seasons in nature, there are four phases of human life. In infancy, life begins. It is the springtime of human life. The seeds are planted for the future. During childhood one experiences the summer days of  rapid growth.  In adulthood, one experiences the autumn of life where each man reaps the benefits of  his maturity. Lastly comes the senior years, the winter of life, where one can share one's accumulated abundance of knowledge and experience. In this phase, one can comfortably complete the cycle of life IF one has prepared appropriately.

All of God's creation follows the same patterns. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:1"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" There is a time to be born (Spring) and a time to die (Winter). Creation itself follows the same seasons. Our Father and Mother God, Creator and Nurturer of our world, have always been and always will be. All that has been created was nurtured and grew and died. This world is no exception. The Hopi tribe in which we live has stories of the previous creations of this world. They say there have been four manifestations of this world. The first creation was destroyed by the breaking up of all one land into many lands. A reference to the breaking up of land of the world is briefly referenced in the Bible as well. The Hopi legends say the second world ended in ice and the the third world ended in a giant flood.

After each world, there have always been some who survive to start a new world. We are currently living in  the fourth world according to the Hopis. They believe this creation, too, is preparing to end. Yeshua used the season of harvest as a metaphor for the age in which we live. Spring and summer are over. Now it is the season to prepare for winter. He frequently and emphatically stated that we live in the time of harvest.  He stated that the age of the sower was complete. Now is time of the reaper. It is time to complete the work of this age... to gather up, to store, to reap the abundance.

The implication is that there is much to do and the time is short. In our finite minds, it would seem to us that Yeshua was mistaken. If the time of harvest started with Yeshua, it has lasted almost 2000 years already. That seems like a very long time from a human perspective.

However, the human perspective is very different from the viewpoint of an eternal Divine Intelligence that has always been and always will be. This creation is one of many creations over many millenniums and many universes. From that perspective, 2000 years is next to nothing. Yeshua states that the next manifestation of this creation is a very important one. It will be what He called the Kingdom of God. In light of that, perhaps 2000 years of Harvest are necessary to prepare humankind and creation for this next manifestation - the new heaven and new earth.

Yeshua, Son of Man, was sent as a catalyst for the beginning of the Harvest age. He was our messenger and our guide to show us the Way. He told us to prepare, to help enlighten and guide. He warned us not to be complacent. In spite of what we see, harvest is here. Yes, it has been almost 2000 years since Yeshua first disseminated this message. His public ministry began at age 30 so, to be exact, he began spreading this message 1982 years ago. But the message is still valid.

In fact it is more valid today. Yeshua also provided us clues of when the next season, Winter, would begin. There will be wars and rumors of wars. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. There will be earthquakes in diverse places. There is the sign of the fig tree (which many scholars believe to be the creation of Israel as a nation again in 1948). All of these are signs that this creation is breathing its last breath. Winter is here.

The Hopi's believe that winter began with the use of nuclear weapons in world war 2 and the creation of the UN. They interpret these two events as manifestations of the "great gourd of ashes" and the "house of mica in the east" that were foretold in their prophecies. I personally believe that the worldwide financial crisis that we just experienced was a tool that our Mother and Father God used to prepare us for winter. It was a way to wake up mankind from a materialistic mindset. It has helped us as a culture to understand the temporal nature of things. It is also pretty symbolic of winter in that all the abundance that we thought we had, suddenly died on the vine in one day of frost.

So how long will winter last? Do we have 2 years or another 2000 years before the death of this world? I personally believe it is going to be pretty swift. I also believe that the right to free choice which God has given man will have some determination on how long and severe this winter will be. This world is predestined to end. All things eventually die. But humankind can help determine the quality of life left in this world by acting correctly. Humankind can also make the winter much more painful by acting incorrectly.

Even if there is going to be another 20,000 years of this winter season before the Kingdom of God on earth, it should not really effect how we act.  Our purpose is still the same and our time available is still limited. The lifespan of man in this age is 70 to 80 years (if we are lucky). That is not much time to complete our life's mission. Each of us has been placed in this creation as part of the Eternal Plan.  We are not here by accident. There is a purpose and a plan to our life.  Before we were born, a special calling was engraved into our DNA by the hand of God.

Mother and Father God do nothing by accident. We each are a thread in the tapestry of God's great plan. Our lives have been intricately woven together into the fabric of this creation for a reason. Our task is to listen to the innate Divine calling within us. Find our purpose and do it. Even if it makes no sense, do it .  I write this blog for a reason. I don't know why. I just do it. You are reading it for a reason. Listen. Do what God calls.

Trust Mother and Father. Don't worry about the winter winds. Prepare as you can. God will see you through. 

Closing Hymn