From our passage on Sunday, November 6 at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Charleston, SC, we see Moses give the most inclusive list of the covenant community anywhere in the Bible. Deuteronomy 29:9-15 includes high officials, lowly servants, internationals, and others who are all standing together on the plains of Moab about to enter the Promised Land. God's Family is a mosaic with lots of colors and shapes, but the Pharisees wanted and worked toward a homogeneous, monochromatic picture. When Jesus began his ministry, he worked to radically reform: in the disciples he chose, whom he invited to his table, and whom he allowed in the temple. The Pharisees excluded but Jesus included--the sick, lame, tax collectors, and sinners. The grace of God is for all kinds of people: That's the message of Moab, and that's the message of the cross.
