Thoughts for the Day

You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing: when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.

When you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free,you must help to set it free. You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

You shall not oppress a resident alien, you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Our reading today is from the Book of Exodus. The name for this book comes not from the Hebrew which uses the opening words for its title, ie 'These are the names', but from the Greek translation made in the third century BCE. It's title fits the book beautifully, as we see the Hebrews leaving Egypt and their travails in the desert. It covers Moses on Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments. The laws above though likely come from 'Book of the Covenant' which was probably written later when the people had settled in Canaan. These laws look at the working out of the Ten Commandments in a practical way. They may be centuries old, but they still have a lot to teach us today.

As a society we are too keen to spread gossip, to denigrate those who have different beliefs, or who have life-styles opposite to our own. In Britain we have seen how this led recently to the murder of a Member of Parliament. Rescuing donkeys may not be what we are called to do, but we should set an example to all around us in how we speak about others. Jesus was to say "Love your neighbour as yourself", and no-one wishes others to speak critically of them, or to send them trolls. Such actions start in small ways, so perhaps we should begin by changing our thinking and what we say, so as to love others as we love ourselves.

Heavenly Father,
often we make small comments
that are less than loving about others.
Help us to think before we speak,
and to remember that You call
us to love all people.
May we also remember to treat others
as we would wish to be treated.
Amen.