Day 67: God's Justice and Refuge

Deuteronomy 19:1-21 The cities of refuge were communities where those responsible for unintentionally killing someone might flee and be protected from vengeance. Deuteronomy makes further provisions for protecting property rights and the rights of someone falsely accused. The law of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was an effort to keep retaliation proportionate to the offense since it was not uncommon for a lesser injury to be avenged with the death of the perpetrator. (CCC 2262, 2302)


Deuteronomy 20:1-20 The regulations on war represent humanitarian progress over a total annihilation of the enemy, which was common in ancient times. The particular harshness imparted on the Canaanites was a protective measure against their idolatry and immoral customs that were infiltrating the people of Israel. (CCC 2327-2330)


Psalm 99 God is both holy and transcendent-infinite in every perfection-and, therefore, BEYOND THE REALM OF OUR COMPREHENSION. Nevertheless, God chose to communicate directly with us through Moses and the prophets. He revealed his Laws and his great love for us, which culminated in the Incarnation, by which God the Son became visible by taking on a human nature. (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, November 27, 2002)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)




Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. We thank you. We give you glory. You are the God of Glory and the God of Justice. Lord God, you care for the people, you care for justice, you care for us. So we ask you today, as we ask you every day, Lord, make our hearts like yours. Make our hearts the kind of hearts that desire justice, that run away from vengeance, but pursue after what is true and what is good and what is beautiful. Fill our minds with what is true. Fill our hearts with what is good. Fill our lives with what is beautiful. We give you praise, Lord God. Thank you and be with us today and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

ANDREW'S PARALLELS

The teaching of Jesus and St. Paul to sustsain a charge on the evidence of two or three witnesses calls directly back to the Law laid out in Deuteronomy 19.

The warning and penalty to prevent malicious witnesseses seemed to be of no concern to the sanhedrin, who themselkves sought out malicious witnesses in order to condemn Jesus to death.