Focus
Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.
Read
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 “You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. 14 You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 “You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood[a] of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Reflect
The more I read the Bible, the more I believe that what God is primarily worried about is how we live here, in this world, during this life.
Don’t hear me wrong. I thank God for the promise of Heaven. Yet, from the Law to the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus, the Way of God is quite plain. We are to live in this world as if others matter as much as we do. We are to live together because we are all God created.
The world doesn’t live like that. It never has. The world teaches that some are more valuable than others because they work harder or have particular beliefs. Our world convinces us to draw lines between us and them so that we are right and they are wrong. The world’s way is incessant, but that doesn’t make it right.
The Way of the faith is different than the world, though. It always has been. Leviticus puts detail to what the prophets and Jesus the Messiah taught time and again. As people of God, we are to live equitably with others in every way.
That is why the Church is so important. The Church is the people who show a righteous life in this world. It’s how we can be the bright shining light that reveals God to the world by how we live with each other. The Church is to be different and show a life worth living, now and for all eternity.
Pray
We pray today for the power of the Holy Spirit every moment we are tempted to live as if some matter more than others. We pray, God, that you teach us in every moment to see people the way you see them, as your children, our brothers and our sisters. Embolden us, Lord, to question our assumptions about people and to reorient our way of living with others so that it is like you would have us live, for we pray for our will Lord, on Earth just as it is in Heaven. We pray this in the name of the Messiah we follow. Amen.
Go with God!
