May the mumbling commence!
According to the subheadings for today’s reading, we will encounter “various laws”, “punishments for sins”, and “rules for priests”. On the surface, it appeared that today might be a day of slogging through Scripture that would not speak to me. Oh, contraire! Sometimes those subheadings that we find in our Bibles are misleading.
There is a beautiful theme that continues in Leviticus 19-21. At least seven times in these three chapters, there is some variation of the statement that Israel is to be holy as God is holy.
1. Leviticus 19:2b – “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
2. Leviticus 20:7, 8 – “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”
3. Leviticus 20:26 – “You are holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.”
4. Leviticus 21:8b – “Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy – I who make you holy.”
5. Leviticus 21:15b – “I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”
6. Leviticus 21:23b – “I am the Lord, who makes them holy.”
These six instances are difficult to miss, but there is another more hidden instance at the end of chapter nineteen. In this reference, the Lord shows how He is holy – by His administration of justice.
7. Leviticus 19:33-37 – “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.”
As the chosen nation of the Lord, Israel’s goal was to be holy as the Lord is holy. Israel was called to a higher standard, and so are God’s people today. As the beginning of chapter twenty tells us, we need to be aware of the sin among us. Silence and inaction are not an option because the holiness of the community is at stake. To be holy, set apart for God, is the Spirit that drives all these laws. It is the bottom line.
In these days, many in the church choose to focus on one of these laws in particular. It was found in Leviticus 18:22 – “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” This act’s punishment is found in Leviticus 20:13, and the punishment is death. As homosexuality becomes more socially acceptable, the church wonders what to do with people whose sexual orientation deviates from the heterosexual standard that the Lord set in these laws.
I admit: I struggle with this issue for a number of reasons. I know that I am called to holiness, and I know that the Christian community is called to holiness. I know that we need to confront and remove sin from our midst. But I also know that Jesus has fulfilled all the law for us. I know that Jesus reasserted some of the laws in a new light and even set aside some of the surface, or cultural laws, aside – like clean and unclean foods. And I know that Jesus calls us to love God and neighbor and ourselves (in that order). The question is: How do we balance holiness and love? When they seemingly come into conflict, which one wins out?
If holiness wins the day, we will find ourselves with churches with one member each. What about all those other laws in Leviticus that we ignore? What do we do when we commit adultery and destroy marriages (Lev 20:10)? What do we do with our possessions? Do we reap to the edges, hold on tightly, and leave vulnerable people high and dry (Lev 19:9, 10)? How well do we show patience and deference to the Lord (Lev 19:23-5)? How well do we avoid slander and gossip (Lev 19:16)? Look at the quote above from Leviticus 19:33-37. How well do we treat foreigners in our land? For we are foreigners in this place as well – looking forward to God’s reign. How well do we observe the Sabbath and allow others to observe it (Lev 19:30)?
The list can continue indefinitely. And it leaves no one untouched. Perhaps, I should save my greatest vehemence for the sins that I have a very slim possibility to control – my own. And let love rule everyone else.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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