Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Deuteronomy 26:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 26When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, Verse 2you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. Verse 3You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us." Verse 4When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, Verse 5you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. Verse 6When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, Verse 7we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Verse 8The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; Verse 9and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Verse 10So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Verse 11Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Devotion
Change is constant. It sounds contradictory, but life confirms it. The Israelites were a people who endured constant change throughout their history. We are a people of constant change in our fast-paced world. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were transitioning into the Promised Land. This week, we transition from our joyous Epiphany celebrations that declare Jesus is the light of the world, to our penitent Lenten confessions that destine Jesus to the darkness of death.
How can we cope with this constant change? We can tell our stories! Moses instructed the Israelites to repeat the story of God’s constant love throughout their history of change. This is our story, too. In thanksgiving, we proclaim God’s constant love for us throughout our transitions from joy to penitence, celebrations to confessions, light to darkness and over again, while we remain sheltered in grace. Change is constant, but so is God’s love. Tell the story!
Prayer
Faithful God, throughout all the changes in our lives, remind us of your constant love and help us to tell the story to all the world! Amen.