The little fox and the saucer of milk | Harvest Thanksgiving

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This is a story that I read in Anthony Bloom's 'Beginning to Pray' and which I rewrote for a harvest assembly. 
If anyone would like to send me an illustration that I can put with this, that would be wonderful! 

This is the story of Joachim. He was an old man, kind but simple. He was a shepherd and he had a flock of goats. Every night, after he had milked his flock, he took the best of his milk, the cream at the top, and he put it into a saucer and placed it on a rock.

Rev Moses was visiting and saw him do this and asked him, 'What are you doing?' Joachim answered, 'Every night after I have milked my goats I take the best of my milk, the cream at the top, and I put it into a saucer and place it on a rock. I give it to God. I am saying thank you to Him for all He has given. This beautiful place, my precious flock, this tasty milk and the beautiful people among whom I live. It is an expression of my love for Him. And every night God accepts my offering. He drinks my milk. And that makes me very glad.'

Rev Moses said, 'Oh, Joachim, Oh, Joachim, how can you be so silly? God is big. He is so big that He needs nothing from us and certainly not a saucer of milk. And God is Spirit. He is not material like us. He would not come down and drink your milk. I will tell you what you should do. Tonight, when you place your saucer of milk on the rock, go and watch. And you will learn.'

So Joachim placed the saucer of milk on the rock and watched. And he saw a little fox come out of the woods and drink up the milk and then slip away into the woods. 

In the morning Rev Moses said, 'So Joachim, what did you learn?' Joachim replied, 'I feel sad and empty. I had thought it was God who accepted the offering of my milk, but it was a little fox. And now I do not know how I can express my love for Him.' But Rev Moses said, 'You should be happy because you now know more about God. You now know that God is so big that He does not need anything from us, certainly not a saucer of milk, and that God is Spirit. He is not material like us.'

Later that day Rev Moses was out walking and God called to him, 'Moses, Moses, what are you saying? You silly man. Of course I am so big that I do not need anything from anyone and certainly not a saucer of milk. And of course I am Spirit and not material. But I loved that saucer of milk, because it was an expression of Joachim's gratitude to me and of his love for me. And as for the little fox - he really rather liked the saucer of milk, and it gave me great joy to share it with him.'


We find evidence of the first harvest festival in the Bible from many years ago. People would give the best of their crop, the cream of the crop, to God as an expression of their gratitude and love to Him for all that He had given them. And for thousands of years, people have continued to do that. And even today there are some people who give because they want to express their gratitude and love to God for all He has given to them. And that gives God great joy. 

And God - He knows the little foxes who would be so happy with our offerings. And it gives Him great joy to share our gifts with them. 


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