It begins with a question and an answer:
What, O Israel, does the Lord your God (sha'al- can mean to inquire or ask, more strongly to request, stronger still to demand) ask/demand of you? To fear God (fear is the awareness of God's Transcendence. It is to look into the fullness of Eternity, the completeness of Perfection, the otherness of the Holy--and to lose one's breath. It is to feel one's pettiness, smallness and sinfulness in the face of the One who is Good and Author of all good), to walk in His ways (faith is always a living expression, and obedience is the fruit of faith. The Ancient texts make no arbitrary divisions between one's internal disposition and one's outward behaviors. Faith is a "way" of life, it is a "path" and it includes the whole person), to love Him (the ancient Israelites saw no conflict between fear and love, of course, because love is intimate and horizontal and fear is transcendent evokes worship. The God of "heaven and earth" is both), and to serve Him. Serve has a deeper meaning, as it is used in the Book of Exodus to describe the forced labor of the Hebrew people to Pharaoh. Whom do you desire to serve--the lords of this world or the Lord God? The word "serve" also connotes worship. We use it in English as well, "What time is the Easter Service?" To serve God is to embrace the creative, loving work of God in the world and it is also to worship God in the communal expressions of our praise and thanks.
Keeping the commandments are the expression of total love for God. Love is not a feeling. Love is obedience (Deuteronomy 11:1 repeats this) to the God who takes care of the widow, orphan and stranger/outsider. In our discussion today, one woman noted that the debates on immigration is nothing new. God tells the Israelite, be kind and take care of the foreigner within your land because you were foreigners in Egypt. The importance of corporate memory in Biblical faith cannot be overstated. Remember who you are and where you came from, God says over and over in myriad ways. Remember and see in those around you the things which you have endured. Jesus summarizes this as "treat others as you would want to be treated."
Applying this to our discussions on immigration requires more rational reflection than most of us seem capable of mustering, but nonetheless the Scripture speaks a relevant word to us today. Wherever we come down on the idea of borders and nation states, the principle of treating others with compassion is always relevant.
No comments:
Post a Comment