I love this reading from Deuteronomy, especially the recital of their history, that identifies where they have been and who they are now.  "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt . . .  The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand . . . and he gave us the land flowing with milk and honey."  But then I love history.  By helping us to know and understand the past, it helps us to know who we are. 

This passage also tells of the importance of God in their lives.   They believe that it was God who rescued them from Egypt and brought them to this land.  And so they give thanks.

Does anyone know what happened to the first fruits when they were brought to the alter and given to the priest.  Verse 11 indicates that there was a big celebration.  Perhaps this was a way of sharing the first fruits of the harvest with everybody including those who had no harvest (from the priests down to the widows and orphans). 

A strange matching of readings.  I suspect that a community that had barely survived for 40 years of looking for a new home would have developed the practice of a shared community meal using the offerings presented in worship.  The church I serve is a First Nations congregation and one of the customs is providing three feasts a year (Easter, Thanksgiving, and the last Sunday before Christmas) after the Sunday service and open to whoever wishes to come.  Last Easter we had close to 4 times the regular attendance present for the feast.  The food is provided by members of the church individuallywith some items being provided out of the church funds.

Maybe matching these to the temptation story points to seeing Jesus offering himself to God.

The temptation stories are both extremely familiar and perplexing at the same time.  While I have read several different explanations of their meaning, I suspect there is a cultural wall between us and the original readers that interferes with us having the same experience of these stories.

Here's my children's story for tomorrow: