Shock the Wheat

“Shock the Wheat” was born on a hot summer day in the early 1940’s.  This was the first of many identifying moments in my life.  I have heard it said, “Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” 

I think it was 1943 when dad planted a field of wheat.  When harvested, wheat was first cut by a horse drawn binder.  The binder cut the wheat, rolled it into bundles, tied the bundles, and dropped them in the field.   The bundled wheat was then stood upright in round shocks measuring about six feet across. Once the wheat was in shocks, a wide mouth rake picked up and moved the shock of wheat to the thrasher. There the bundled wheat was hand fed into the thrasher, which separated the wheat grains from the straw.

Dad was riding the binder and put me to helping shock the wheat.  I was eleven and had to wrestle the bundles of wheat to get them to the shock. The day was hot and sticky, sweat bees were stinging and since I only wore cut off overalls and no undershirt, the wheat heads made me itch. I stopped dad and said to him, “Dad it is too hot to shock wheat!  The sweat bees are stinging me, and the wheat heads make me itch.” Dad said, “What does it being hot, sweat bees stinging, and the wheat itching you have to do with the price of eggs in China?”  His answer was not what I wanted to hear, and I said back to him, “What has the price of eggs in China got to do with it being hot, sweat bees stinging, and wheat itching?”  He looked me in the eye and said, “Not a thing, shock the wheat!” I shocked wheat all that day.  I have only lately begun to realize the impact my dad’s words had on my life. 

 “Shock the Wheat”, speaks to the urgent nature of harvesting grain.  When grain is ripe it must be cared for or suffer loss.  The Gospels refer to “harvest” in Matthew 9:37-38, Luke 10:2, and in John 4:35.   In each of these ministering moments Jesus is focused on the spiritual needs of people and He obviously compares His mission to earth with a harvest!   A harvest is not about the work involved, it is about gathering the crop.

Matthew records that when Jesus saw the crowds of people who followed Him, He was moved with compassion for them. As He viewed the many afflictions of the multitude Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.[Matthew 9:37-38]”.   The harvest Jesus is referring to is a hurting group of people.  Some of the people were sick with disease while others were like a neglected flock of sheep.  Jesus’ concern here is for what might today be termed pastoral care.   He is saying that one way to reach people with the message of the love of God, leading to the salvation of their soul, is to minister to their deep human hurts.

Luke in his gospel, points to an outreach type of harvest.  In Luke 10:1-20, Jesus instructed His disciples to go out and find people who were in need of spiritual help, even though they might be unaware of their real needs.  The disciples were to help the sick and to share the good news that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  Jesus assures His disciples that they are doing the work of God, that the power and presence of God will be with them, and that the way their message is received shows how close people are to God.  You will notice that Jesus sent the disciples on their way with encouraging words.  He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field..Luke 10:2]”

We, God’s people, seem to have lost our focus on the urgency of the harvest.  Our time on earth is so short and the harvest is so great that we cannot expect to fulfill our purpose from God unless we “Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and . . . run with perseverance the race marked out for us” [Hebrews 12:1]. Therefore as Jesus said, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest[John 4:35]”.  The Father would say, “Shock the wheat.”