Homily - Monday Vespers - "Responding to Grace"

 2022-10-24 Deuteronomy 26 - “Responding to Grace”

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 

As I read through the lesson from Deuteronomy, I had the impression that I was reading an instruction manual.  For example, this is what I heard. 

Step one - plant the seeds

Step two - after the gathering of the first fruits, put a portion into a basket

Step three - Take the basket of food to where the priest and sanctuary are

Step four - say the following words, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have                 come into the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.” 

Step five - Priest places basket in front of Altar. 

Step six - Say these words, “A wandering Aramean was my father, etc.” 

Step seven - Worship the LORD.

Step eight - Go away rejoicing. “Rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given         to you and your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.”

Step nine - keep it all up in years 1 and 2 and 3.  But in third year, do step ten.

Step ten - Increase your tithe to include the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and                      the widow. 

Step eleven - say these words to the LORD - “I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and morever, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’”

God told all of this to Moses and Moses told it to the people and then Moses wrote it all down for reading and reflection later, because God knows that the people have to be taught from one generation to the next what their heritage is, how they came into possession of the Promised Land, and, what the appropriate actions and words are.  

The tithe is demanded by God as a reminder that the land they live on and the fruits of the earth were first and foremost a gift from God.  God gave Moses the specific actions and words of the liturgy to be enacted at every harvest. We humans learn by doing, saying, and repeating often.  

The Lord is essentially taking us through a step by step process on how to say “Thank you.” The Lord is teaching us not only how to say thank you, but also to recognize that the land and the harvest are gifts. Our lives, the covenantal relationship we enjoy with God, the gift of neighbors and friends and family are all gifts of God. The gifts are not earned, but simply bestowed upon us by God’s grace.  In response to God’s gifts, we then give a portion away to people who cannot pay us back in kind.  We take a portion of the gift and we give it away. 

When we were children, the adults around us taught us the proper attitude and respect toward things and people. For example, Grandpa gives us that piece of candy we really shouldn’t have before dinner. We hold out our hand and then take the gift offered. A watchful parent chimes in with a “and what do you say.” For which there really is only one answer. “Thank you.”  

In Israel’s infancy God is teaching the people through Moses the proper attitude and respect toward the gifts he has given them. The words and actions of the harvest liturgy are an embodiment of the two fold summary of the law and the prophets.  Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. 

The step by step manual begins as an obligation, perhaps even a chore, theologically we call it a demand, a law. But, once faith grasps the grace from which the gift is given, the obligation becomes a response to God’s grace.  This is what God desires.  This is what Moses hopes for as he concludes the second sermon in Deuteronomy. 

We are 3500 years away from that original teaching of Moses.  We receive it through the lens of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We see that the gifts of the covenant and of the promised land are the just wind up for the greatest gift of all.  In the fullness of God’s time, Jesus Christ is born for us.  He is the last and final sacrifice. God’s Son gives his life on the cross for the sake of the world so that all who receive Him with faith may enter the heavenly Promised Land.  Long before that moment, out here in the proverbial wilderness, we receive God’s sustaining gifts of nourishment: Word, Baptism, Holy Communion, the companionship of fellow travelers, the forgiveness of our sins.  In response to the gift of the cross and all of God’s gifts, we too give away our first fruits. 

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.