Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Recently I read Walter Brueggemann’s Deuteronomy, and like any good book, it has changed and deepened my reflecting on the scriptures. Jesus’s command,
“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
may be the simplest and most accurate synopsis of the moral teaching of the entire Bible.
Scholars believe Deuteronomy was written after the Jews returned to the ruined Jerusalem in the fourth century BCE. Beginning with the exodus from Egypt, they updated their history with an awareness of recent events and an accent on God’s gracious mercy.
The book celebrates the extraordinary renewal of the Covenant; God had arranged for His People's return to His Holy City despite their history of sin, and despite the debacles of conquest and deportation. If their enemies taunted them that their Lord had been trounced by alien gods, their return proved he was Lord of the Universe, and there is no other!
Deuteronomy recalls God’s gratuitous kindness. The Jews were not larger, stronger, holier, more worthy, more virtuous, or more pious than any other nation. There was no earthly reason for their election. God had chosen them and delivered them and would continue to deliver them so long as they remained within his Law. They should worship God with their liturgical sacrifices; they should celebrate the feast days; they should share equally with one another; and they should care for widows, orphans, and aliens who lived among them.
These strings were attached to the covenant. There is no unconditional love in the Bible. Their prosperity depended upon their grateful compliance, and ingratitude would end in real this-world suffering.
God’s people had received much; they should give much with the confidence that God could not be outdone in generosity. Whatever they gave to others would be given back to them:
"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
When Jesus sent his disciples on missionary journeys he urged them to rely on God’s providence, “Take nothing for the journey!” That practiced faith would prove their integrity to the villages who received them. For if they needed nothing from others, they would invest nothing in the effort. They would be tourists, not missionaries.
The Lord knew people would be so grateful for hearing the Good News they would respond with gracious hospitality and open-hearted trust. And if they weren’t grateful, don’t worry about it. Shake the dust from your feet and move on.
Twenty centuries later, the Lord’s command has not changed. Knowing God’s goodness, we have no excuse for hoarding, miserliness, selfishness, or greed. Rather we can greet one another with openness: What’s mine is yours. Mi casa es su casa. Help yourself! There’s plenty more where that came from!
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.