Seeing is believing - or would it be more accurate to say that believing is a particular way of seeing? Teachers teach facts, but great teachers teach a particular way of fitting the facts together, a particular way of seeing the world, the universe, and life itself. In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites laws. In the New Testament - and in Christ and in the Spirit - God shows us how these laws fit together. And our belief in God helps us approach each day with a particular way of seeing the world, the universe, and life itself.

In 1 Corinthians 9:9, Paul quotes the Old Testament law that states, “You shall not muzzle the ox as it treads out the grain.” Then Paul asks, with apparent vehemence, “Do you think that God was talking about OXEN?” No, he says, God had PEOPLE in mind. God wants us to know that we can live and work in HOPE. We have every reason to believe that our God intends for us to share in the product of our labors.

With these ideas in mind, we ask, “Are this week’s readings, ostensibly about corners of garments, truly about CLOTHING?” Most likely NOT. Rather, they point to God’s desire that we live in awareness of both God’s law and God’s love.

The Israelites were commanded to place tassels on the four corners of their garments, so that they would have a visual reminder of God’s 613 laws. Over time, the PRACTICE became one of placing tassels on rectangular shawls worn during daily prayer times - usually only by men, since women were generally exempt from the demands of the law. When a man died, a tassel would be removed, in recognition that the deceased man was no longer subject to the law.

In today’s verse from Ezekiel, we see a powerful picture of God’s mercy and love. Not only does God intend LIFE where death might have been decreed (surrounding cultures often left baby girls to die), but God also promises to MARRY (enter into covenant with) Jerusalem. The picture God uses is that of a man placing a corner of his garment over a woman, promising to be her husband and lover and protector.

May our devotion to God mirror God’s devotion to US!