From the Lectionary this morning

A quick reflection on the lectionary text this morning, Deuteronomy 6:4-12

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

In this text we are am tempted to focus on the first half- the all important first commandment, yes? However, this morning I am struck by the overwhelming grace found in the second half. God provides us with land, with homes, with water and food and we can take and eat and be satisfied. It's easy, especially in a first world country, to say "Yeah, I get this! We just moved into this awesome house, and we are going to be stewards of our land and we have unlimited water for which we pay a nominal fee!" But it's not always like that, right? The West is going through a drought. The Jews and the Palestines, not to mention ISIS and the other splinter groups, are fighting for that exact land referenced in these Old Testament passages, physical land they believe God has awarded to them. Does it mean we do not need to work hard for what we have? Our house did not just land in our laps. Brian and I have been stewards of our funds, which in turn allowed us to buy our house. 

When I read that text, I see it describing not physical land and vineyards and food, but God's continuous grace. What else is continually available to us, without price and without end? We have so much good in our lives, and when I see that good, when I see my husband, our son, our family, I see God's grace manifest in the world. I am filled again and again and again. I am careful that I do not forget the Lord, lest I think that I can create this all on my own. That I can create anything, really. 

In the church that I grew up in, we often spoke of God as being right here with us, closer than our own skin. If you listen closely, prayers were affirmations of God's grace and presence, not petitions for future help. I see evidence of those prayers in this passage; God has always and is always providing for us.