A young, wealthy financier was being driven through Hyde Park in his palatial limo on his way home one evening when he saw a group of what appeared to be homeless people kneeling, nibbling away at the grass. As someone who had grown up in a very privileged environment and had spent most of his life sheltered from the more challenging circumstances people find themselves in, he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing so he asked his chauffeur to stop and rolled down the window to talk to the one of the group.

He asked him, “How come you are all trying to eat this grass?”

The man replied, “We have no money and no house, so my family and I live in this park, eat the grass, and drink out of the drinking fountain.”

The financier said, “Well, it’s terrible that you have to nibble away at that grass. Surely you can’t get enough goodness out of that to survive! I'm rich, I’ve a lovely home, plenty of room, set in extensive grounds. Go get your family and friends, and you can all come to my house and I'll feed you.”

Surprised by their good fortune, the man, his family, his friends, and a few passers by (!), all piled into the limo and they drove off.

It was very awkward for a few minutes, no-one quite sure what to say, until eventually the financier broke the silence. “You know, you guys are really going to like it at my home. In the paddock behind the orchard the grass is at least a foot long!”

The whole world appears to have suffered from the impact of the financial crisis and I’m sure that each one of us will have felt the effects in one way or another. But having said that, we are still in a very privileged position relative to the majority of the population of planet earth.

This is the time of the year when, traditionally, following the church calendar, we celebrate Harvest. It’s a time of thanksgiving for all that we have and an opportunity to share some of our prosperity with others. We can’t solve the problems of the world but we can make a difference to someone, somewhere.

With post-holiday credit card bills, back to school/college equipment to buy, (dare I say) Christmas shopping and all the other things pressing for our cash it’s tempting to think that we can’t afford to do anything – except maybe something that won’t cost us.

One of the main emphasis of Jesus’ teaching was the imperative to feed the hungry, care for the sick, ‘make poverty history’ even! We might be feeling the effects of an economic downturn, but the imperative doesn’t change. Harvest time is a good reminder that we can make a difference to some, somewhere – if we choose to.