May the mumbling commence!
Back by popular demand: more rules for priests! To be a priest there were a lot of qualifications that needed to be met in order to serve the Lord. Being an official minister, I look at these qualifications and wonder how many people could meet all them. I would be unacceptable because I am near-sighted due to astigmatism in both of my eyes (Lev 21:20). I have been wearing corrective glasses since the eighth grade. Would that mean, with today’s technology, that I should look into getting corrective surgery done on my eyes?
We could get lost in the details and forbid anybody from being an ordained to licensed minister (I am licensed by the Church of the Brethren). So, I return to the Spirit of the Law. That beautiful theme that ran through yesterday’s reading continues through today’s reading.
1. Leviticus 22:9 “The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.”
2. Leviticus 22:16b “I am the Lord, who makes them holy.”
3. Leviticus 22:31-3 Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord."
That makes ten times in four chapters. Repetition equals importance! Oh, holy Lord, make us holy, set apart from the world and held to a higher standard. May we, as the prophet Micah implores us, act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Make us attentive to the calling of Your Holy Spirit.
And attentiveness sometimes calls us to bend some of the laws for the sake of mercy. Attentiveness sometimes call us to bend the laws for the sake of love. One of the laws contained in Leviticus chapter twenty-two (verses 10-16) was broken by the priest Ahimelech when he gave of the Bread of the Presence to David and his men (as recorded in 1 Samuel 21). It was the only bread that Ahimelech had, so it was used to feed the hungry. Jesus mentions this story when confronted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law over Sabbath observance. These laws were made for the benefit of humanity; so when they are woodenly followed and cause damage to anyone, they are abused without the Spirit of the Law being kept in mind.
Yet, in Leviticus 22:10-16, it is stated clearly that only family members of the priest can eat the holy food. No unauthorized person may it of it (verse 13b). Attentiveness to the Spirit of the Law means that sometimes laws need to be bent for the sake of justice, mercy, and love.
In Leviticus 23, the festivals and the seasons of the Hebrew calendar are laid out. These festivals happen in addition to the Sabbath day observance, just as the sacrifices that are called for are in addition to the regular offerings, the fellowship offerings, freewill offerings, and vows. In the midst of this list of festivals and offerings, there is a repetition of an earlier command. It says basically, “Do not reap to the edges of your fields. Leave them and the gleanings for the poor and the alien.” These festivals were meant, in part, to redistribute the wealth through the oversight of the priests. The greater command is given in the middle of the chapter. Leave the edges of your fields and the gleanings for the poor and the alien. Leave them for the vulnerable.
Who are the vulnerable people today in the United States? Here are some: single mothers, orphaned children, the homeless, the working poor, the unemployed, and the “illegal” immigrant to name a few. Though we may not observe these Jewish festivals listed in Leviticus 23, we are still called as people of God to look after the vulnerable people in our society. To look after the vulnerable and to speak for the silenced is the Spirit driving these festivals. And we look, speak, and act because of what the Lord has done for us. Remember what God has done: I am the Lord, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. Now, God has granted us salvation through Jesus. That is why we look, speak, and act with justice balanced by mercy and love.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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