Gratitude, said the Roman philosopher...
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"Gratitude," said the Roman philosopher, Cicero, "is not only the greatest of virtues, but it is the parent of all others." But Cicero never lived in the wilderness.
The people of Israel know the wilderness. All throughout the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, they wander through the desert. It takes them a whole generation to complete their pilgrim's progress from the fleshpots of Egypt to the promised land. Only a handful of those who witness the parting of the Red Sea waters will ever get their feet wet crossing the Jordan. It is only their children who will enter the land God set out for them, the rich land "flowing with milk and honey."
It's possible to take today's reading from Deuteronomy 8 as something like the typical American Thanksgiving Day prayer: "For the bounty of this groaning table, O Lord, we give you hearty [and self-satisfied] thanks." But that would be a huge mistake. Deuteronomy's story of the land flowing with milk and honey is a cautionary tale: "Do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ... [the one who] made water flow for you from flint rock" (vv. 14-15).
The people of Israel know the wilderness. All throughout the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, they wander through the desert. It takes them a whole generation to complete their pilgrim's progress from the fleshpots of Egypt to the promised land. Only a handful of those who witness the parting of the Red Sea waters will ever get their feet wet crossing the Jordan. It is only their children who will enter the land God set out for them, the rich land "flowing with milk and honey."
It's possible to take today's reading from Deuteronomy 8 as something like the typical American Thanksgiving Day prayer: "For the bounty of this groaning table, O Lord, we give you hearty [and self-satisfied] thanks." But that would be a huge mistake. Deuteronomy's story of the land flowing with milk and honey is a cautionary tale: "Do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ... [the one who] made water flow for you from flint rock" (vv. 14-15).
