“Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” – Deuteronomy 27:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 13, 2015): Deuteronomy 27

In the fictional “Star Trek” Universe, the character Geordi La Forge is born blind, and by the time of the storyline in which he lives sees only with the help of a visor that interprets the world for him. In one episode an alien remarks that it was cruel of his parents not kill him at birth. In that culture, nothing less than perfection was allowed to live. But as humans, we are often defined by the compassion that we have on those who are handicapped in some way. It was an element of the human condition that “Star Trek” franchise repeatedly liked to play with. But the reality is that our compassion is actually self-directed. Some of our handicaps might be more obvious than others, but there are really none of us that are totally without them. We exist as a broken people. We long to be made whole, but we all know that that is simply not the way that we exist. As a people we have only two choices - to recognize and push against the shortcomings that we all possess, or to deny their existence and hope that no one ever finds out that we were not created perfect.

Last week I led a meeting of leaders reviewing our churches Abuse Protection Policy. And every element in the policy simply reinforces the fact that we understand that we live in a broken world, and that we will take every precaution to make sure that no one takes advantage of the vulnerable who walk among us. We understand fully the truth of “Star Trek;” we know that we are defined by the way that we treat those who are weaker than we do, whose handicaps are more obvious than ours. We know that the vulnerable is us.

The curses presented from Mount Ebal are symbolic in nature. The curse on the one who would lead the blind astray is really a curse on anyone who would dare to take advantage of someone who is vulnerable and dependent on the kindness of others. Such an act is not only cursed and cruel, it lessens who we are as human beings. So we draw a line in the sand and say that it will not happen here. Our humanity is defined by how we treat those who are weaker than us. If perfection were a prerequisite to life, then this planet would be empty. This is the truth that we must understand or we are apt to fall into the trap of the cursed who take advantage of the blind for their own amusement or self-edification.

As Christians, this cannot be us. We must acknowledge and welcome the weak, because we know that we walk with that group. I am the vulnerable one, and I have every right to live and make my way through this life. Our humanity will be defined by the compassion we exercise on all of those around us, but not only that, my Christianity will be clearly reflected in that compassion. This is the way that it has to be. And this is the concept to which we all need to add our personal “Amen!”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 28