As we continue our topic of God and Money, next in the book of Deuteronomy, we encounter an ethic on debt that seems to have shaped Jesus’ teachings on economics. Jesus called for the year of the Lord’s favor the first time he taught (see Luke 4:18-19). The year of the Lord’s favor was a year when all indentured slaves were set free, all lands were returned to their original owner, and all debts were forgiven/cancelled. The goal here seems to have been the same as in the manna story: there need be no poor or needy among their people.
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(Read this series from its beginning here.)
At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed . . . there need be no poor people among you,” (Deuteronomy 15:1-4)
In our reading this week, Jesus is accessing lessons he learned from growing up on these stories: Those who have more than they need are to take care of those who have less than they need.
Years ago, I was deeply moved by how James Robinson describes Jesus’ teachings in the synoptic gospels in his classic book The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News:
“The human dilemma is, in large part, that we are each other’s fate. We become the tool of evil that ruins another person as we look out for ourselves, having long abandoned any youthful idealism we might once have cherished. But if we each would cease and desist from pushing the other down to keep ourselves up, then the vicious cycle would be broken. Society would become mutually supportive rather than self-destructive. This is what Jesus was up to. Jesus’ message was simple, for he wanted to cut straight through to the point: trust God to look out for you by providing people who will care for you, and listen to him when he calls on you to provide for them. God is somebody you can trust, so give it a try.” (James M. Robinson, The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News, Kindle Edition Loc. 58)
On the next page Robinson continues:
“Put in language derived from his sayings: I am hungry because you hoard food. You are cold because I hoard clothing. Our dilemma is that we all hoard supplies in our backpacks and put our trust in our wallets! Such ‘security”’ should be replaced by God reigning, which means both what I trust God to do (to activate you to share food with me) and what I hear God telling me to do (to share clothes with you). We should not carry money while bypassing the poor or wear a backpack with extra clothes and food while ignoring the cold and hungry lying in the gutter. This is why the beggars, the hungry, the depressed are fortunate: God, that is, those in whom God rules, those who hearken to God, will care for them. The needy are called upon to trust that God’s reigning is there for them (‘Theirs is the kingdom of God”’).” (James M. Robinson, The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News, Kindle Edition. Loc 71)
Robinson’s words give us much to think about. We’ll wrap up in Part 3 with unpacking his thoughts here a bit and a possible application for us today.
(Read Part 3)
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