Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, September 3, 2023
by Madison L. Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: God’s grace transforms giving from an obligation to a joy—from a chore to a deep and very true delight.
Verse 11 of Deuteronomy Chapter 7 hits the reader like a ton of bricks: “There will never cease to be some need on the earth.” It feels exhausting, doesn’t it? No matter what we do—no matter how well we serve others and how preemptive we push ourselves to be in doing good—someone will still be missing something at the end of every day. Someone will still need something.
A crucial part of our continued reflection on sabbath rest is reframing this view of need. What would happen if we looked at the fact that need is a constant as an opportunity instead of an obligation? As an outlet instead of another checkbox on our to-do lists? As a joy and a relief instead of an additional stressor?
That is what God is encouraging us to do by naming need as a part of the context for God’s law. After all, if need is a constant, then grace must a constant, too. Mercy must be a constant, too. Connection and security must be constants, too. Instead of feeling overwhelmed knowing that we are swimming in need, we can feel relieved understanding that we will always have a chance to bring God’s grace to life in our day to day. We will always be able to identify places where we can unclench our fists and soften our hearts. Where we can grow closer to God by growing closer to God’s people in their most vulnerable moments.
Perhaps we can also feel relieved knowing that if the people around us are also doing this reframing work, we will be safe in our inevitable moments of need. When things don’t go the way we planned them; when we make mistakes or bad decisions; when we find ourselves lacking in scary ways; we will be able to lean on our community to have our needs met. To get back on track—or maybe to start on an entirely different track.
Our thesis today has to be that generosity is just as much a learned skill as it is an instinct. We can practice the things that this portion of Deuteronomy is calling us to. We can flex them like we can flex muscles. Liberal giving. Ungrudging giving. As we serve others and push ourselves to be preemptive in doing good, we will get better and better—more and more natural—at both. This is the vision God has for our individual and collective postures of faith.
