“So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?”
A Thought
Deuteronomy 10:12-22 opens with a summary of the law. What follows are more expansive instructions for us to be faithful to God’s commandments. The teaching begins with the charge that we are to reverence, obey and love God “with all your heart and with all your soul,” and to keep the commandments. We are told that the purpose of these commandments is “for your own well-being.”
Centuries later Jesus will take part of this charge and summarise the entire law under the single rubric of love: Love God with all your heart and with all your soul, and love your neighbour as yourself.
The Deuteronomic editor says that it all began with love. God loved our ancestors and “set his heart in love” on them. So, love God. So much that follows from here will be a more specific description of what it means to love God, neighbour and self.
It is significant that the first two instructions about how we are to love others concern first, justice for the orphan and the widow, and second, support for the stranger.
The first specific instruction about our responsibilities to our neighbour in this important tract on the law enjoins us to care for the weak, poor and vulnerable, and to care for the alien. The second: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.” The word “stranger” is usually translated “alien.” These two commandments will continue to be central issues for the Hebrew scripture. To obey these commandments is a big part of God’s charge to us to “execute justice.”
Centuries of Christian lawmakers and political policies have seen these two commandments of justice to be at the core of our communal responsibilities. When we make laws today, if they are going to reflect the original laws of God, they will need to promote the welfare of the poor and vulnerable and they will need to make provision for hospitality for the stranger. These are core expectations throughout the witness of scripture.
That is why is seems so shocking to me that people who characterize themselves as Christians sometimes make it central to their political philosophy to oppose laws that give equal and supportive power and security to the poor and vulnerable, to orphans and widows.
How can anyone who accepts the name “Jewish” or “Christian” ever support punitive and inhospitable laws toward the alien or the stranger? To do so violates a core theme of the scripture and of our identity as God’s people.
A Prayer
Artist of souls,
you sculpted a people for yourself
out of the rocks of wilderness and fasting.
Help us as we take up your invitation to prayer and simplicity,
t hat the discipline of these forty days
may sharpen our hunger for the feast of your holy friendship,
and whet our thirst for the living water you offer
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Music
The Lord’s my shepherd
“The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want” first appeared in print in the Scottish Psalter of 1650. This Psalter was assembled by the Westminster Assembly, which also gave us the Westminster Confession and the Book of Common Prayer. In it, portions from various sources were combined to create the beautiful hymn we know today. Though it was well-loved in Scotland, “The Lord’s My Shepherd” did not enjoy popularity outside the Church of Scotland for nearly 300 years. It finally appeared in the Methodist Hymnal of 1876 and later the Congregational Hymnal of 1916. But it wasn’t included in an Anglican hymnbook until 1965. The hymn version of Psalm 23 remains faithful to David’s psalm. Its popularity in England grew in part because of its use during the 1947 marriage ceremony between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. Since that time, it’s become a well-known hymn, often requested for weddings and funerals today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HndQZlmJPpc