Community

Matthew 22:24 - [The Sadducees] said, "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies without having children, his brother shall marry his widow and have children for him."

I think that 'Teacher' here is every bit as hypocritical as when the Pharisees said it. The Sadducees are clearly trying to trap Jesus into saying something incriminating. Since we learned yesterday that they don't believe in the resurrection of the dead, we can safely assume they'll use this somehow. They clearly don't want an honest conversation.

So, anyway, I love my brothers-in-law, but I cannot imagine going through with this plan. That's because my values as an American in the 21st century are vastly different from the values incorporated in this law. American values are largely focused on individuals rather than families or communities. When God handed this law to Moses, the houses of Israel were made of patriarchal family units rather than individuals.

This law then, was intended to keep those houses going - to keep the land in the family and to keep the dead man's name alive through this heir. This seems weird to us, and maybe it seemed weird to them as well. As you can imagine, brothers were not always keen to take on this added responsibility for a son that wasn't legally theirs. Especially if it was the oldest son who died. Onan certainly had no qualms about having sex with his brother's widow while making sure no children would result. I'm sure the women involved were not always thrilled either.

Children were important as workers as well as heirs. As soon as they were able to help out, they did. There was a lot of work to do, and everyone needed to pitch in. Childhood wasn't the magical age of innocence in their minds. That is a 20th century idea. Many children died before their fifth birthday. Today, we have the opposite problem; too many people, because more children live past five, and, at least in the US, we are better off financially. Although that could change. In any case, people today have fewer children, because they are not seen as necessary, and because children are expensive.

The law was also meant to protect the widow and ensure she had a place to live, that she was not thrown out on the streets. The law ensured that everyone was to be taken care of by their relatives in one way or another. God certainly has different priorities than we do. In fact, reading through the Christian Old Testament, it is clear that poverty, justice, fair-dealing, and community were important to God. God wants us to take responsibility for our neighbors, our community. People are important to God; not laws. The laws were to serve the people.

What does any of this have to do with us today? Christianity in America is largely, though not entirely, focused on individuals. Becoming a Christian is an individual rather than a communal decision. We meet in community, but it is a community of individuals, many of whom no longer live in the neighborhood. In this scenario, it becomes more difficult to see the neighbors of the church as our neighbors, as our community. Maybe it's time we aligned our values with God's values. 

What if churches took this commitment to the communities in which we're located seriously? Would your church look different? Would your church be/come an asset to its community?