This is the last of the Lenten devotionals. We have enjoyed our time of fellowship over the past six weeks.

When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11, NRSV)

This is more of the instructions for life in the Promised Land. God has given them the land and when the land gives them something to sustain their lives, this is what they are supposed to do with it. They are to take the first of it and bring it to the sanctuary and put it down. They are to declare that they live in the land that God gave and recite this speech: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.” Then the gift is to be shared with the Levites and the aliens, those who do not have land to support them.

They are to retell the national history that brought them to that moment. All the main points of their history are there and they are to recall it, recite it. They were slaves, they were freed, they were brought to this land and given it. It is remarkable how each individual is connected with the history as they bring their offering. By telling the story of the whole people as part of your story, you join who you once were and what you do today. Your personal story and the national story are mixed together. It is like our holiday of Thanksgiving. We remember, if we pay attention, that the holiday is about how we came to this country and were helped through hard early times. We gained our independence, identified our freedom, grew, fought a war that threatened to divide the nation, and went on to become world innovators and leaders. That is what is behind the feast, that God has helped and provided for us throughout our history. And we are prosperous enough today to celebrate with food and rest and travel and festivities. We do that because we are a part of what happened and is happening; we, too, are a part of the national story.

In giving, like the Israelites, we remember where we have come from and, more importantly, that God is behind the fact we have abundance. We remember God’s hand in history, not only of our nation, but our personal stories. We see God’s goodness around us and in our past. We remember that God’s gifts are to be enjoyed and used. The abundance is not reluctantly given away, it is to be celebrated with joy.

There is more to it than that. Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers of children’s television programming, was asked to write a chapter in an ophthalmology textbook. They looked for his understanding of children to help eye doctors put their younger patients at ease in what can be frightening procedures and exams. He began the chapter, “You were a child once …” and invited the doctors and medical students to understand how they are to act in the present by how they were once young themselves. They were to think back to their pasts so that they could understand others. So, too, the Israelites. They were strangers wandering without a land and God gave them this good land, and now in bringing their gifts they are to provide for those who do not have land. So, too, us. We were strangers once, and someone welcomed us. We were hungry once and someone gave us food. That is why our part of the story is to grow and expand and to include others. That is why we present our gifts. That is why coming into the land is not an end, but a beginning.