Today’s first reading is from the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Torah, presenting Moses’ farewell speeches to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. Structured as a renewal of the Covenant, Deuteronomy restates the Law given at Sinai, calling the people to fidelity, obedience, and love for the Lord. It emphasizes the heart of Israel’s relationship with God—not merely external compliance, but covenant loyalty shaped by memory, gratitude, and reverence. 

In our first reading Moses reminds the  people of Israel’s unique experience of God’s direct action in history with them. It was not the interaction with some remote unknown deity. They have had a personal experience of God,  “the LORD, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity” (Ex 34:6) That experience shaped them (and us) as religious people.

We would do well to pause and consider the landscape of religions across time up to now. How do they compare with the claims Christianity makes about God? Perhaps a short review is in order.