Scripture Text (NRSV)
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
26:1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is
giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and
settle in it,
26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the
ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is
giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that
the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
26:3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and
say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come
into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us."
26:4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it
down before the altar of the LORD your God,
26:5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A
wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived
there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation,
mighty and populous.
26:6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by
imposing hard labor on us,
26:7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard
our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
26:8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs
and wonders;
26:9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a
land flowing with milk and honey.
26:10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you,
O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God
and bow down before the LORD your God.
26:11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who
reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD
your God has given to you and to your house.
Comments:
What strikes me early in the week about this scripture are the words, "God to the
priest who is in office at that time." I spoke this past week to a clergy friend, who
after 3 years in his church is experiencing some difficulties. Although I have no idea who
or what is right in this situation, it saddens me to hear that people are going to church,
they refuse to give during the time of offering, and right before the sermon, serveral of
them as a sign of protest get up and walk out of church. The point I make is, "Do we
as God's children have a holy obligation to worship?" I think we do. In Deuteronomy,
the people are encouraged to give, "worship" regardless of who the priest is in
office at that time. I don't know who is right or wrong in a local church situation, all I
can do is be a loving listener and pray for healing. I do think there comes a point that
regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with everybody about everything, all of us
have the holy obligation to worship God Almighty. Staying home because you don't like the
priest or the preacher becomes a laim excuss for doing what God requires of us. Not
participating fully in worship...not giving our gift in the basket as mentioned in Deut.,
is to miss something very important. When we give and serve, we give to God and we serve
God. We are not giving to a priest or a preacher, and certainly, we are not serving that
individual either. This ties in with the scripture from Romans, "If you confess with
your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved." Here we have a simple, easy to understand directive about how we
enter into a saving relationship with God Almighty. While it is simple and easy to
understand, we often times try to excuse ourselves from the spiritual necessity and the
importance of confession in our lives. We either delay having faith, or we fail to believe
in our hearts because we don't have enough proof and evidence that Jesus has been raised
from the dead. The simple truth is that confession and faith are the "ABC's" of
the christian life. That is required of everyone regardless of who you priest or preacher
is. That is required regardless of whether or not you like what the Board of Trustess or
the Finance Committee has decided to do in a meeting. The decision not to worship and not
to participate fully in worship, is not turning our backs on an individual or a committee,
it is as if we are turning our backs on God, and the working of the Holy Spirit in the
hour of worship. Dave in LA.
It always amazes me that with all the Lord has given us that we need reminders to
return to him the first fruits of our blessings. Ron Kennedy
What a wonderful way to begin the Lenten season... So many people "give up"
stuff for Lent without any real understanding of why it is helpful or important for them
to do it. One woman even gave up "going to church" for Lent- because she enjoys
it so much, it is a real sacrifice for her to absent herself from the community (D'oh!)
Here we have the command to celebrate all the bounty we have been given- but at the
same time, set the best portion of it aside as a sign of thanksgiving, a sign of trust
that, through the Grace of God, there will be more where that came from.
It suggests a meaningful Lenten discipline- to "give up" the best and most
extravagent of the bounty we experience in our culture, in order to celebrate the gift of
Daily Bread.
Just Monday Musings from Nay-oh-mee
Dave in LA, that must be very disheartening to say the least for your friend to have
folks walk out each week in protest. I read once of a preacher who was asked to preacher
for his brother who was a renowned preacher. No one was told ahead of time that the
"great" preacher wouldn't be there. But as the service progressed and people
came to that realization, some started to leave. The "lesser" preacher stood up
and announced that yes his brother would not be there, and those who came to worship him
should leave, but those who stayed would worship God. Maybe your friend could try it?
Deke of the North
So how did this passage about coming out of the wilderness and into the promised land
of milk and honey get selected to accompany the Gospel text about Jesus going INTO the
wilderness?
pHil
The idea of the wilderness is not the main point, as I see it. All of the texts point
out that salvation is through the power of God. The Jews were to remember it wass God's
power that rescued them from Egypt and gave them the Promised land. Paul wanted the Romans
to remember what Jesus had done as the Son of God and Savior of the world to save them
from their sins. Jesus turned to God to get the power to resist the temptations so that he
could live his sinless life and offer himself as the perfect Lamb of sacrifice on the
cross of Calvary. Let everyone know that all they have is a gift from the power of their
loving powerful God (Jahweh Elohim)
JDK
To Dave in LA. So sorry for your friend I'll pray for him. Been there and done that. In
one of the churches I served one of the elderly ladies took a disliking for me and instead
of coming into the service she stayed in the Sunday School and prayed. Then she had a
tragedy happen in her family and I ministered to her and prayed with her and all of a
sudden we were great friends and I was her pastor. If she had gone off then we would never
have come to love each other. If I were your friend I'd try to meet with those who had a
problem and ask them to pray with him for a solution.
