How do we structure life together?
In Diana Butler Bass’ latest book, Grateful , she suggests that “Politics is about the way we structure life together.”* Every year we are asked to vote for the candidates who we believe are prepared to carry out the public policy that will best serve our common life together. Yet in the lead up to election day, politics can feel more like a vicious battle, than a civic opportunity to elect candidates that embrace the guidelines we want to live by. Yet the scriptures have something to offer us about politics, particularly today’s lesson from Exodus . Thousands of years ago, God navigated the Israelites out of bondage and into a transitory season in the wilderness that would last a very long time. God gave the Israelites the ten commandments, which are often interpreted as rules that must be followed at all costs. Hebrew Scripture scholar, Walter Brueggemann, in his book Truth & Hope , challenges us to look at this event somewhat differently.** What if the ten commandment