A reflection on Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 for the First Sunday in Lent, March 6, 2022.
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (NRSVA)
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling-place,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (NRSVA)
Initially our passage makes sense: Settle in the land. Plant, grow, and harvest.
But then, strangely enough the command changes: ‘give’, ‘declare’, respond and ‘celebrate’.
Perhaps the first thing to note is that this is anything but a giving to God because God is in need. After all, by the end of this passage all that has been given to the ‘priest’ contributes to a feast attended by all – including any strangers, foreigners and the Levitical priests themselves.
This is contribution – and invitation – to a communal party!
It makes me wonder at the unspecified quantities of produce that are to be given. Take ‘some of’ the produce in ‘a basket’ seems so far from a specific measurement or percentage. Perhaps this makes allowance for a lean first harvest. More likely, I suspect, it leaves room for a generous and extravagant festival of gratitude to YHWH. This vagueness invites contemplation while preparing those baskets. As they pack to set off toward the temple each family has to assess just how thankful they are. A moment – or more – of reflection on all that has happened. After all, the only real requirement is to turn up with something. Quantity or quality of gift is left disarmingly vague.
And yet there are other aspects of this ritual that are very specific. The declaration above was known as the ‘Avowal’ and is a remembering – almost a reciting – of the story that has led this family to this moment: ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ After the gift is taken by the priest on duty the story is more fully told:
“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.”
I imagine there would be some kind of annual practicing of this little speech – in effect a meditation on the reason for this pilgrimage. Who would want to mess up this recitation?
We need ritual. We need reminders. After all, how easily we forget to ‘…say to the Lord,
‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
Conversation Starters:
What are the things you do that remind you to foster gratitude to God?
How do you think this passage relates to beginning Lent?