Deuteronomy 26:4-10The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth of the books of the Torah or Pentateuch – the foundational books of the Covenant. At the same time, this last book is the first of a contemporary scholarly grouping of books proposed as the work of a single editor – the Deuteronomist. That grouping includes Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, and 1&2 Kings. The Deuteronomistic history, as it is known, relates the story of early Israelite history from the exodus to the rise and fall of Israel’s kings. It looks across this history with certain theological perspectives. The works reveal the central importance of the covenant, the fidelity of God to that covenant, and the tragic tendency of God’s people to fail in their covenantal obligations.
Most commentators on Luke see this history as exercising a deep influence on the Gospel of Luke. Luke also contrast divine fidelity and human faithlessness. At the same time, Luke sees this tragic reality overturned by the goodness of God Who saves His people from their sins. The Book of Deuteronomy is cast as a lengthy address by Moses to the people at the end of his service – in a sense we hear his last will and testament. In the passage in question, Moses lays out the ritual offering of the first fruits. The supplicant here is invited to make what amounts to a confession of faith. That confession focuses on the wonder of liberation and deliverance that have come from the hand of this Faithful God. The offering itself becomes an expression of faithful response. And notice that the ritual is not intended merely for the generation arriving in the Promised Land. It is a credo to be recited by future generations many times removed from the fathers who were lead out of Egypt. New generations of individuals will be summoned to recognize their kinship with those who knew such deliverance – and come to understand that this same fidelity of God is to be found in their lives as well. It is no recitation of a dead past, but a profession of a present relationship. 
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Psalm 91:1-2,10-11,12-13,14-15“Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.”
The response to the Psalm this week captures the theological perspective of Psalm 91 – a Psalm that asserts the basis for trust in the Lord. The Lord will not abandon His faithful, but will protect them with a tender care. This beautiful Psalm, particularly beloved of Christians at prayer, figures in the story of Jesus temptation in the desert. In that passage, Jesus quotes the Psalm in response to the false claims of the Devil. Romans 10:8-13The longest of Paul’s letters, Romans offers a beautiful summary of Paul’s proclamation of God’s plan of salvation. The letter is bold in reminding both Jew and Gentile that salvation is ever and always a gift of a faithful and gracious God. Any illusion that we might merit deliverance by our own observance of the moral law or by exalting human wisdom will always be shattered by the truth of human limits and sinfulness. This truth which would otherwise be terrifying is transformed in the person of Jesus Who offers Himself as our salvation – He is deliverance from bondage to sin – He brings us through the waters of death to life in the Father – He is the promise and its fulfillment.
This good news of unearned grace requires a response. God will not overturn human freedom after the Christ event any more than God would limit the free choice of Adam and Eve. We cannot be saved against our will. We must response freely to this gift in gratitude and love. This is the point of this particular passage from Romans. Mortal, limited, and sinful we may be, but all is now possible. The great unknown is the quality of our response. Will we acknowledge the Lord? Will we allow the transforming power of His love into our hearts? Every relationship, including the relationship of faith, requires the participation of at least two persons. |
Luke 4:1-13
This passage, in common with the witnesses of Mark and Matthew, relates Jesus’ journey into the desert where He demonstrates His fidelity to the Father.
The desert, indeed, is the place of testing. These lawless “in between” places were seen as a place of privation and threat. The desert, like the sea, was a place of chaos and disorder – a place where the devil might have his due.
Israel went into the desert and was tested in its fidelity. Without homes, crop fields, or pasture, Israel had no choice but to live by the grace of God. And even thought they experience the miraculous providential care of God – Who lead them out of bondage and gave them food and drink in the barren wasteland – they failed in their fidelity. They murmured, they questioned, they ran after other gods.
In this, we see the heart of the human condition alienated from proper relationship with God. The tragedy of the Old Testament is the repeated human temptation to turn away from God’s will. From Adam to the people in Sinai to our own day and context, we look for security in all the wrong places and mistake license for liberty.
Now at the outset of Jesus’ public ministry, Luke reveals the fundamental stance of Jesus – a loving faithfulness that matches that of the Father. This is what it means to be “full of the Spirit,” to respond with absolute fidelity and openness. In this, we see in Jesus both the possibility of our salvation and the model of our own call. If we really wish to appreciate the importance of this fidelity, then we need to look forward to the Passion. These we see that same life giving fidelity revealed in the most powerful way possible.
The desert, indeed, is the place of testing. These lawless “in between” places were seen as a place of privation and threat. The desert, like the sea, was a place of chaos and disorder – a place where the devil might have his due.
Israel went into the desert and was tested in its fidelity. Without homes, crop fields, or pasture, Israel had no choice but to live by the grace of God. And even thought they experience the miraculous providential care of God – Who lead them out of bondage and gave them food and drink in the barren wasteland – they failed in their fidelity. They murmured, they questioned, they ran after other gods.
In this, we see the heart of the human condition alienated from proper relationship with God. The tragedy of the Old Testament is the repeated human temptation to turn away from God’s will. From Adam to the people in Sinai to our own day and context, we look for security in all the wrong places and mistake license for liberty.
Now at the outset of Jesus’ public ministry, Luke reveals the fundamental stance of Jesus – a loving faithfulness that matches that of the Father. This is what it means to be “full of the Spirit,” to respond with absolute fidelity and openness. In this, we see in Jesus both the possibility of our salvation and the model of our own call. If we really wish to appreciate the importance of this fidelity, then we need to look forward to the Passion. These we see that same life giving fidelity revealed in the most powerful way possible.
