When I first came across the curses in Leviticus and Deuteronomy on my own, I was baffled; OT helped with that a lot, because our reading (Sinai and Zion by Levenson) and Dr. Cook explained that blessings and curses were routinely part of suzerainty treaties in ancient times in the Near East, and in Sinai theology God and the people have that type of covenantal agreement, i.e. there are requirements on both sides; it's not just a top-down unconditional theology, as in Zion theology. And with requirements there are also consequences...

Still, for me these curses continue to be startling to read...and this is just 10 verses in a much larger cursing portion.
 

There are consequences. This is what resonates with me this morning. I don't like consequences but they are not there for my liking.

My gut wants to explain these readings away. My church in not ever reading them seeks to dismiss them. Consequences are difficult. They tend to get in the way of our neat and tied up theology of a God of love.

Love however does make demands. Love demands strength. It demands at times allowing the other to make decisions. In tough love it allows the other to live out their lives and the consequences.

As I read Deuteronomy I wondered about the Prodigal. In the life of the Prodigal prior to the return we have a life of curses. I can not speak for anyone else but I have been one of those people who learn better from pain rather than understanding. My gains in the spiritual life have always come from surrender.
 

Preface: I shut down when I see big blocks of text, so I have chosen to focus each week on only one text. This week I am tired and as such have chosen the shortest text. Thank you Scott for the CC'd kick in the pants I needed.

Ok down to it. Today I'm really focused on the economies of life. I spent an hour this afternoon at an Mosque learning about the five pillars of Islam. Man (read humanity) do they have some stuff right. Imagine if I started every thing I did each day by saying, "to God the merciful and compassionate"! That would be amazing. Of course, I would side with Paul in saying that the law brings death, while the Spirit brings life.

But back to economies, Adam Smith in his book "The Wealth of nations" (how do I italicize?) said that "people, left to their own self-interests, will be led, as if by an invisible hand, to the good of society." This makes sense to me, what does not is what Jesus accuses his audience of doing in the first verse of the Mark text, "And he said to them, 'How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!'" This I cannot figure out.

Take hedonism, murder, or tax evasion. I cannot understand how someone's "self-interests" as defined by God at his/her creation can be so out of line with God's commandments. How did we get to a place where our own "tradition" is so economically harmful to society and to God?

I suppose we could blame Adam and Eve, but I have to think thar in the course of human history we've done a good job of screwing things up a little more each century or so to get where we are today.

Have you ever wondered just how bad was it that God decided to flood the earth and start over? Or instead to send His Son to live and die as one of us, a perfect sacrifice for all of creation? Fortunatly we have God, the creator and sustainer, who is compassionate and merciful enough to throw human econimies out the window for a while; just long enough to fix our mistakes and return things to equilibrium (if only for a moment).
 

How could these readings benefit the church at large...

First, I think the lectionary system means we ignore parts of our Holy Scripture that are troubling and/or embarassing, and while to an extent I understand that when we attend worship services, we seek praise and comfort, not discomfort and embarassment; but at this point no one has declared that the church will only use an edited version of the Bible; so, all of this stuff is considered Holy Writ, and if we aren't familiar with it, all kind of problems could occur. For example, we could feel blindsided by someone from another tradition asking, "Your Bible says this; what does that mean?" We may never figure out what these texts mean, but if we have spent some time with such "problematic" texts, at least we'll have a starting point for conversation.

I also believe that we do need to grapple with God being a God of judgment. It's too tempting to squeeze by with cheap grace.
 

From the first reading my mind returns to consequences. I belong to a spiritual fellowship and I have heard it said. Religion is for people who are afraid of hell and spirituality is for those who've been there and back.

As a strong self willed person I understand now my dependence on God. I don't learn from the warm fuzzy Jesus. I learn from pain which is usually a prompting to return to my God.

I think these readings identify the sense in which God sees our futility to manage on our own. Yes his mercy is great but there are consequences that are the inevitable result of a creation out of touch. The message here for the broader church is that our purpose is only found in following God. Its message is that it is possible to leave that grace. God's will will be.
 

"You will be torn from the country you are about to enter and make your own."
How many time have we been with in reach of realizing a little bit of the kingdom of God, and fallen away from our goal or aim because of discouragement, betrayal, and dissension? On Sunday, the field education intern at my church preached about the various congregations she had been involved in, and how they were each plagued by issues that kept them from doing church, from building community and working together for the pursuit of the will of God. It reminded me of the grand plans we tend to build about who we strive to be (as you can see any time you go through writing a mission or vision statement with any organization), and how we continually fall short because of our inability to treat each other and work together in a way that is honoring to God.
The most exciting congregations I have been involved with are so because they acknowledge that individually and corporately, they don't have it made, but they'll do their best to work for God. At Westminster Presbyterian of Spokane, I saw a session of people who would normally be viewed as crippled because of their income level, addictions, and education come together and effectively serve their community through a multitude of ways including job training for former prostitutes, a sliding-scale medical clinic for the uninsured, and tutoring for the local elementary school. They were able to treat each other honestly and lovingly and in doing so, effectively reach out and achieve a little bit of the kingdom of God.
I have also seen churches with great visions become bogged down and lose their passion as they become divided by bitterness, without working together in the mutual respect and love that is mandated. For example, I spent last year working for a congregation who had a dream about opening up their doors for an after school program for the children of their neighborhood, which was becoming increasingly impoverished. They realized it to some extent, but those working with and for KidzHood were limited by many members inability to work with and accept the children as they were; they saw them as riotous and undisciplined, and so kept them as a token ministry separate from the life of the congregation itself. This only cemented the divisions that were causing this church to shrink.
In part, I believe this phenomenon is what the scriptures are referring too. If we are unable to be the people God as mandated, this "land of which we are about to take ownership of," this vision of who we aim to be and what we aim to do as a church, will fail because we cannot live and work together. If we cannot treat each other with mutual respect and love, then our efforts to be the church will fail, our numbers will dwindle, and we will become slaves once again to the things of the world, because our identity and aims as the people of God cannot be obtained without enacting that vision of community God has blessed us with.
 

If read in a worship context, these passages could benefit the church by helping people to gain a wider, deeper understanding of Scripture. In addition, while I do not want to denigrate Judaism, I also think that the first passage makes Jesus' comments about the law even more provocative, i.e. when one sees the curses in Deut (or their parallel in Levit), when one understands that such law came with blessings and curses in ancient Near Eastern times. (I also think this comes with a dangerous flip side, of as us vs. them regarding Judaism, i.e. their way is old and bad and our way is new and good, which we must avoid in preaching.)
 

I think one lesson these selections carry for the greater church is that we need to not take our own success for granted; it is easy to see congregations that are successful in the means that can be measured, like attendance, tithing, and number of programs, and assume that they've got it together. However, as we see in Deuteronomy, if we do not continue to strive to follow God's will, and become lax as a people, we will regress to where we were before we started our long journey as the people of God. It's a message to continue moving forward, to continue become more aware and active of God's will in our churches as we continue.
 

Goodness, I just realized that I answered day two twice. I am not functioning with full brain power this week...

At any rate I do NOT want to gloss over the challenges these readings present, because, clearly, they are significant. Such as, God striking people down, even if deserved, and more so God striking one's descendants down. Pretty hard to make a case about why such an act would be OK. It's also disturbing (understatement) to read that God would delight in runining and destroying people. Not an uplifting message for people who show up on a Sunday morning seeking God.
 

The challenges are many. I believe these readings could barely be heard in a church that is satisfied in itself. To ask the question of righteousness is to appraise. It's to acknowledge that we don't always ack in accordance with God.

These would be challenging to a church that see a universal salvation due to Christ. Quite evident to these readings is God quite capable to destroying that which does not conform or seek God out.
 

While difficult (as all these readings are) the most hopeful is 2 Peter. What resonates with me is in its statement that God will save the righteous in the midst of great tragedy and hopelessness. Why I believe this would effective is that as scripture it maintains both grace and judgement.

Preach grace with out Judgement and you cheapen grace. Preach judgement with out grace and you cheapen grace.
 

I have spent the last two days in Tucson, Arizona, worshipping with other Christians from throughout the continent (but primarily in the Southwest), and learning about the plight of the migrant as they arrive in the United States, prompted by new record every year of those who die in the desert as they attempt to enter.
I have a new understanding of the Exodus story; I have heard the stories of those who themselves have wandered in the desert in search of a new and better life, that have survived or succumbed to the "diseases pernicious and enduring," including dehydration and physical destruction. I have a better understanding of what it means for their to be "no rest for the soul of your foot," as you wander from farm to farm in search of a better wage, constantly in fear that you will be sent back to slavery, slavery to an economy where "free-market economics" mean that you cannot feed your family. I have a better knowledge of what it means to be scattered, to be separated from all that is familiar and those you are closest to by thousands of miles that characterized by bandits and barriers.
This passage of curses is a description of the fate that lies any migrant; it is showing the economic reality that people must brave when we as a community do not reach out and provide a fair environment. As long as we continue to exploit our neighbors and shut out the stranger, a direct violation of the Deuteronomical Code, this will be reality for our brothers and sisters, and will be reality for ourselves as well because we cannot escape that which we inflict upon others. I think that is the lesson the church needs to here.
 

The phrase "which are written in this book" Helped me to understand that the blessings and curses are not promised reactions of God, but the expectations of the people. This is a way for the religious leaders to regain and maintain control. A god who would delight and take pleasure in torturing and killing people because they are not able to be perfect is very similar to Satan. It is not compatible with grace. Grace as shown by Jesus does not mean that God has changed in nature, but that humans have grown in understanding the nature of God.
 

I would have a hard time trying to connect these readings. There is judgement. In the first is judgement of those who have not followed the law. The second has God redeeming the righteous from the unrighteous. The third is the judgement of Jesus for they that create unholy righteouseness out the law. Judgement connects these passages.

Today however for the first time this week the first reading floored me. There in the midst of Deut came the vision of Jesus. It was if this passage was akin to the suffering servant piece found in Isaiah. Jesus is struck down. He is afflicted. You will be torn from the country you were to enter. No rest for the sole of your foot. quaking heart, weary eyes, halting breath. Your life ahead of you will hang in doubt. such terro will grip your hear and such sights you will see. You will want to offer yourself for sale to your enemies but no one will buy you.

There are obvious problems saying this is similar to the suffering servant but there are pieces within which hint to the terrors that Jesus faced on his way to Calvary.