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| Moses looks over Canaan. |
- Brian Mendonca
In today's first reading for Sunday Mass, Moses reminds the people of Israel to thank God for what He has done for them. He has led them out of slavery in Egypt, and given them a land 'flowing with milk and honey.' (Deut. 26: 9). By doing so, He teaches them manners, and a way to remain in the Lord's favour. (Deut. 26: 4-10)
The Israelites, according to Moses, needed to be grateful to God for His divine providence. One of the ways to show this is by offering to God the first fruits of the ground; the harvest. Like the first salary is offered to a parent or a spouse, the act is an indication of the debt of gratitude one owes to someone who has enabled you to come this far.
However, sometimes when one achieves what one sets out to do in life, the beings who helped make that possible are forgotten or unacknowledged. Moses ensures that this does not happen.
Throughout the arduous journey - the Exodus - of the Israelites out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, they, for the most part, never lost faith in God. They trusted Him to show them the way. And He did not fail them.
From being the progeny of Jacob, 'a wandering Aramean' (
Deut. 26: 5), a nomad, with a stint in Egypt, God successfully leads them to the promised land. The verse recalls
Ezekiel 47 where praise is offered to God for bringing one to a fertile place by the waters.
Offering the first fruits is a gesture of humility, of an acceptance that all that we have is given to us - and we are grateful for it.
The book of Deuteronomy is one of the oldest books of the Bible and has 32 chapters. It contains the words of Moses to the people of Israel and ends with his death around the 13th century before Christ. It forms part of the Pentateuch or the five books of Moses - the others being the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
The season of Lent has several readings from the book of Deuteronomy, beginning with
Deut. 30: 15-20 on the day after Ash Wednesday. These are among the final words of Moses calling on his people to remember the Lord when he passes on.
To reflect on the book of Deuteronomy is to recall our dependence on God through the ages and the wisdom of nurturing it even now.
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Image courtesy Percept Austin.
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