Today’s Scripture Reading
(December 24, 2018): Deuteronomy 31
There are no surprises anymore.
There is no course of action that no one has ever thought to follow, and no
lament that has never graced the tongue of those who have gone before us. The
course of history just might be set, because we are unwilling to learn and
change our ways. And so we repeat the errors of the ones who went before us,
not because we actively make that choice, but because that choice is easier;
and we like what is easy.
Moses looked out over the
people, and it was not hard to see the
future of the people that he had led. They had been rebellious for forty years,
in spite of his attempts to teach them a different way. He understood that his
absence was not going to change the situation. Moses would die, and the people
would continue in their evil ways. Oh, there would be bright moments of good
that would be contained within the coming
days, but in the end, his people would
face disaster for no other reason than they would continue to choose what was
evil over what was good. The course of Israel’s history was set before they even set foot in the Promised Land.
The future would hold great Judges and not-so-great ones. Good kings and
evil ones. There would be both victories and defeats. And finally, there would
be an exile and the end of the independent, free nation that these slaves were
about to plant in the land that had been
promised to them. There would be prophets that would connect the
unpleasant reality of the nation with the evil that they had chosen during the
nation’s history. Finally, a group that would be called the “Pharisees” would
rise up and teach that God would come and
rescue them if only all of Israel would choose what was good and right even for
just one day. But that kind of morality always seemed to exist just out of the
reach of the people. Moses was right. This
was a stiff-necked nation who could not help but do evil in the sight of God.
And as Moses spoke these words
in the days before his death, God already had a plan. He would send his son to
rescue the nation and help them do good. He would not send him to a corrupt
palace, but his son would be born in the midst of the people whom he was sent
to rescue. He would know what it was like to be poor and not have enough. He
would be trained to be a common carpenter. He would be King, born of the line
of the greatest of the kings of Israel, and yet not experience life as any
other king would.
He would be a shepherd. His
life would echo that of a shepherd and poet-king
who, from Moses point of view, would not be born
for centuries. And yet all of this was already set. The people would choose
what was easy, and because of that reality,
they would need a David; and a Jesus.
Tonight we celebrate the birth
of the one that Moses did not know, and yet knew would be needed. Tonight we
journey to Bethlehem with a scared, pregnant little girl and the man to whom
she is engaged. Tonight, the resting place is cave just outside of birthplace
of David where tomorrow a baby will be born.
Tonight we echo the words of
expectation spoken by another Christmas hero. “Merry Christmas to all, and to
all a good night.” Because tonight, God’s answer to our rebellion becomes our
reality.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 32
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