Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. – Deuteronomy 19:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 12, 2018): Deuteronomy 19

On November 30, 2008, a code word was shared among the family of President George H. W. Bush. The code word was CAVU, a word used by pilots meaning “Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.” It was a word that the forty-first President of the United States believed summed up his life. Anything was possible. There were no limits to what he and we could do. But when the family heard the code word on this occasion, it carried a different meaning. George H. W. Bush had died. And yet, the ceiling and visibility were still unlimited.

Life is filled with possibilities. And yet, some moments happen in all of our lives that feel very limiting. George H. W. Bush’s life was not without obstacles that had to be overcome. What seemed to make a difference in his life was the graciousness and persistence that marked his reactions to those obstacles

Moses commands that cites of refuge be set up in Israel. At a time when justice was often carried out by family members or informal groups of people and was often retribution without a trial, these places of refuge served an important purpose. They slowed the hand of justice long enough for a trial to be had and prevented justice from being dispensed in a fit of rage. In doing so, the cities of refuge protected the unlimited future of Israel. An accident can derail many lives. Feuds can develop that can envelop families for generations. The accidental death of one person can cause the murder of another and, in cases where frontier justice ruled, the killing can seem like it has no end. History provides us with many accounts of these kinds of feuds and even wars that have resulted because of these untimely deaths. Then the future becomes a dark place, and not one where the “ceiling and visibility [is] unlimited.” So the cities of refuge really protected the future of the nation.

It is important to note that these were not places where the guilty could run to escape the justice that they deserved. If they were judged to be guilty, then the person was turned over to the family of the one who had been killed. But the cities introduced a pause, at least some kind of a trial with more than one witness, and the protection of both the individual life and the society. A guilty verdict would provide a legal reason for the execution of the offender by the victim’s family or friends. A verdict of innocent would protect the life of the individual and the society, ensuring that the future continued to be filled with possibility and that the ceiling and visibility remained unlimited.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 20