Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Monday, 20 October 2014 - Leviticus 19:Leviticus 19: “I Am God, Your God”1-2 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the congregation of Israel. Tell them, Be holy because I, God, your God, am holy.
15 “Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
16 “Don’t spread gossip and rumors.
“Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger. I am God.
17 “Don’t secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt.
18 “Don’t seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people.
“Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God.(The Message)
The terrain of northeastern Montana and southern Saskatchewan is much the same. So when I accepted a call to a Canadian congregation in early 1973, I naively assumed the move would be much like the terrain. Unprepared for the subtle but very significant cultural differences between the two countries, I was left feeling out of sorts upon my arrival north of the Forty-ninth parallel. By Christmas time, however, the disquiet in me was dissipating and I could begin accepting the welcome which the holy people in Regina had been giving me all along.
They were a holy people not because they welcomed me or because they manifested some attributes commonly associated with holiness. No, they were holy solely because they belonged to a God who is holy. By the grace of a holy God, they not only welcomed an ill-at-ease young pastor but also the poor as they regularly eschewed judgmentalism, slander, hatred and vengeance. Though not perfect in refraining from such ills, they belonged to a holy God who each day called them—and calls us all—to love our neighbor as ourselves.
You are holy, O God, and by your grace we are called holy people. Renew us this day that we may live out our holy calling to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.
Lanny Knutson
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Master of Divinity , 1969
Leviticus 19:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
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 profit by the blood of your neighbor: 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.(New Revised Standard Version)
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