Deuteronomy 6:1-15 speaks of God's commandments and calls Israel to "Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." When I read these words, I was immediately taken back to the Sunday School class taught yesterday by Prof. Brad Binau. He talked about the historical situation at the time of the prophet Elijah, how as Israel became settled farmers and herders in the land there was a tendency to forget God in the day to day.
Dr. Binau noted that this God Yahweh is a wonderful God in a big crisis, when you need to win a war or escape from slavery. But in the more mundane living of daily life, the worries about rain and crop growth, other local gods seem to be the way to go. Israel maintained their regular worship of Yahweh, but turned to the local customs and rites in order to ensure the crops and herds. Dr. Binau also noted that we often live in much the same way, worshiping God on Sunday but serving other "gods" the rest of the week.
I know that I tend to look for God in the big and grand moments. I want visions, clarity about where our congregation should go, moments of deep and keen insight. But if God, and not other gods, is the God of moments big and small, perhaps I need to heed the words of Deuteronomy and recognize God at home and away, when lie down and get up. I need to keep God and God's ways somehow close to me at all times, even if I don't take to wearing a phylactery. And much of my spiritual endeavors over the past six months or so have focused on this, on becoming more aware of God's presence in the moments of the day.
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