Day 109

Joshua 19:1-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14

God is a Refuge. Are We?

A gold star if you tried to read the Joshua passage out loud!

When I was preparing for ordination about thirty years ago, a priest opened my eyes to the significance of geography in the Scriptures. Where certain events occurred did matter, and God, it would seem, had some favorite places to hang out in the Promised Land.

Today’s readings invite us to look at some particular places, and what happened there.

In the Joshua reading, we hear God setting aside “cities of refuge,” places where those who had inadvertently killed another person could live without fear of retaliation by the victim’s next of kin. This was still a punishment of sorts, having to live apart from one’s family and land, but it was God’s acknowledgment, that we are sometimes quick to judge and act out of overzealous anger, and God’s compassionate response, calling for peace.

In Luke, we see Jesus weeping with disappointment, lamenting that Jerusalem, the “city of peace (shalom),” has failed to recognize God’s presence in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Far from being a city of refuge, it is the city that kills the prophets, and will soon kill Jesus as well.

Are our lives, our families, our homes places of refuge? Can both we and others feel peace, forgiveness, love – all of which come from God? Do we recognize and share each day “the things that make for peace,” or are they “hidden from our eyes” by the desire to justify ourselves?

The Rev. Dr. Steve Clifton