When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

– Deuteronomy 6:10-12

I decided to be part of this project right before vacation, figuring I might consider the questions during some free time. The free time never came, but the scripture passage never really left me. Our vacation included a lovely cruise, a real luxury. However, I kept hearing in my mind the passage that says you enjoy “large, fine cities that you did not build, houses with all sorts of goods that you did not fill…vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant”. We did indeed enjoy these things, but there were many people who served us, who built the ship and cooked the dinners and grew the grapes for the wine and made our bed and washed the dishes, who did not get to enjoy the benefits. This is such a contrast to the new creation described in Isaiah 65:21, which says “they shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit…” I think the Deuteronomy passage calls us to recognize that sometimes our enjoyment comes at a cost to others, while the Isaiah passage shows us the new creation where we work to ensure that people enjoy the benefits of their own labors.

PRAYER:

God of us all, Open my heart to the needs and lives of others. Give me energy and courage to work for justice for all your children. Teach us to become family, particularly with those who have less. I pray this in the name of Jesus, who is at the center of our longing for justice. Amen.

– Bobbie Hartman