Deuteronomy 24:17-25:4. I Can't Change What It Says.

Observation: God sets up the very first social safety net for Israel, to benefit the most vulnerable in their community, the "alien, the orphan and the widow." Equal justice. The leftover from the harvest of wheat, olives or grapes. This is not a voluntary program. It's the law, for all of Israel. Why? God says, "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this."

Application: Okay. The first thing I want you to know is this text is part of a daily lectionary, a series of Bible texts set up years in advance, not unlike our three year lectionary for worship. The advantage of this system over some others is that pastors and worship leaders do not choose Biblical texts based on any personal agenda, and that some texts will come up that you'd never think of, which apply to our lives in ways we'd never have predicted. I like to think the Holy Spirit chooses them for us.

I could have chosen to blog on a different text, or skipped today altogether. Maybe I could avoid some heat by doing so. But I feel it's there for a reason. So, with the normal caveat that this is just a conversation starter, and I do want to hear back from you, here it is.

God chose Israel, of all nations, for a very clear reason. They know oppression. They have been slaves. They have been refugees. They have been immigrants, not welcome among the inhabitants of the land God promised them. God chose them, and God gave them this land, so that they would remember what that feels like, and be compassionate. God builds empathy for the most vulnerable into the very foundation of their legal system.

We as Christians (and also Muslims for that matter) know the Lord only through Israel. Through a specific people, with a specific story, and specific ethical commitments formed by that story. We can't change what's in that story. We can't change those ethical commitments. What we can do is interpret them for a new day and age. We can ask ourselves and each other how people of faith can best provide justice for "the alien, the orphan and the widow" in our modern society. We can have a discussion about whether that should be a government or a private response. We can ask how best to balance that ethical commitment with others, like safety and security.

But by God's grace, and through our Baptism into Christ, we are grafted onto Israel's tree. And that tree has roots. Israel is called always to remember. "Once, we were slaves. Once, we were the aliens. Once, we were the wanderers. Once, we were the immigrants. Once, we were the refugees." Some Jews alive today can stand as reminders. This is who we are.

Prayer: Lord, remind us who we are. Amen.