As the Hebrews are receiving the Law from Moses, they are making their way through the desert. By this time in their journey, they have been travelling for years, moving from place to place, threats to their survival coming one after the other. There may have been some among the people who doubted that they would ever see the day they reached their destination. But then in this reading, he paints a picture of what life will look like – one where they have put down roots and planted and watered and tended fields. It is a picture of abundance where the first fruits of their harvest are offered to God in thanksgiving. It is a picture that they would have carried in their hearts and minds as they continued to wander.
Think of a time when life seemed bleak – a time when you may have felt like you were wandering in the wilderness. Maybe it was a time in your personal life or maybe it was during a turbulent time in history. Maybe it is now. Who are the people who have helped you to hold on to hope? Who are the people who have helped you to trust that things will eventually be better? What kind of picture do you hold in your heart and mind for better days ahead?
Today, make a list of what a more hopeful future for your life or for the world would hold. Offer it to God with the words, “May it be so, Lord. May it be so.”