FROM THE EDITOR
Terry C. Muck
April 1, 1987
From our It-Could-Only-Happen-in-a-Church Department: A nursery worker refused to change a baby's diaper. Why? Because the baby had been brought to church by a baby sitter. The worker didn't feel it was proper for a baby sitter to let the nursery do her work. When the nursery supervisor decided the worker should change the diaper, the worker quit. Anyone who has pastored a church knows people get angry for the strangest reasons. We can wish it weren't so, but it is. The question is, can we help? While that question was running through my mind, my Bible reading happened to take me to the Book of Numbers and the rules for the cities of refuge. You remember the situation. After conquering the land of Canaan, the Israelites set apart six cities as refuges for anyone who accidentally killed another person. The ancient Near East custom of blood vengeance, the execution of a willful murderer by the victim's next of kin, was recognized by the Hebrew people as a valid legal principle. But for involuntary manslaughter, anyone, whether Israelite or foreigner, who committed the deed could flee to one of these six cities for asylum. This was not a legal loophole. The refugee still had to stand trial to determine if the death was accidental. If so, asylum continued. Neither was this refugee program an easy way to start a grand new life. A person who fled to a city of refuge had to remain within city boundaries until the high priest of Israel died, a time of general amnesty for all. That could mean many years away from family, friends, and livelihood. Providing refuge during disputes-the idea intrigued me. I immediately thought of the countless people in our churches either suffering emotional bruises or inflicting them. Perhaps they, too, need ...
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