Blasphemy

Lev 24:12-25:3         9/22/2017

Capital punishment for the man who blasphemes the Lord’s name.

Holiness.

To call by name is to have power over the named. To presume to know God by His name, this is one thing.   To take the Lord’s name in vain – to curse invoking the name and the power of the Lord, this is another.

The universe is all connected. The ripples of my actions cannot be eliminated because they never really stop being.

Our natural desire is to control everything, including God. I may never say it; but too often what I really want is to recreate the universe around my wants. I want to be the one who curses and who blesses.

Perhaps I’m not the type who attempts to command God like a man commands his dog. But then again, maybe that’s just who I am.

The way of givenness is a way out of this self-destruction. That we could find God in humility and then act in accord with His purpose in power. That’s what we were all made for.

Your unique possibility is wrapped in the simple willingness to respond.

“I delight to do your will O Lord”.

Bread and Light

Lev 23:44-24:11         9/21/2017

The Israelites are to burn the lamps and place show-bread in the tent of meeting.

Bringing stuff back to God – in the form of offerings and sacrifices.

By now, we know that He doesn’t really need our stuff. He has let us know through the prophets that He doesn’t need earthly food for sustenance and that, before anyone else can make a claim of ownership, He owns everything anyway. He made everything.

The demand to return a portion back to God is for the benefit of the Israelites – the children of Israel – individually and collectively.

It is said, “that you can’t take anything with you when you die.” It’s not really true. You take your soul which will be given a new, resurrected body. That is our faith.

Your soul is with you now, and you will take your soul with you. So the good of the stuff of this world lies in its potential to help fashion a soul that you will live with for eternity.

Own this. You can’t transfer this responsibility.

Make the commitment to work with God. Fashion a soul worthy of the life you have been given – worthy of your salvation.

Feast of Booths

Lev 23:33-43         09/20/2017

The final ingathering – a weeklong harvest festival.  The Israelites were told: “You shall make merry before the Lord”.

The holiness of God is rightly a cause for great reverence. He dwells in unapproachable light. His holiness is overwhelming. He is rightly to be feared.

But God is also the sort of person who rejoices with us and even because of us.

When He sees you, when He thinks of you, when He encounters you – it brings Him joy. In your harvest time, in your successes, in your happiness – He is celebrating with you and because of you.

You have the power to make the universe a better place. He can’t wait to celebrate your victory.

“The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior, Who will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, Who will sing joyfully because of you.” Zeph 3:17

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Lev 23:21-32         09/19/2017

The seventh month things begin anew.

The beginning of the sacred cycle. The curiosity of a cyclical year. We celebrate again. Another year has passed. We’ve grown. We’ve succeeded. We’ve failed. We’ve blessed. We’ve sinned.

What does this mean?

Judah said to Jacob “Hakir na.”  “You decide.”

A new day. A new year. A new forgiveness. A new possibility for you and for me.

In this moment in time, make the decision to live fully in the possibility of your life.

First Fruits

Lev 23:11-20         09/18/2017

The Israelites were directed to offer a portion of the first fruits as a memorial sacrifice.

Gratitude is a sense of thanks for the good that has been done. In this way, I recognize the fundamental contingent fact: The good I enjoy may not have been done. The good could have been absent; could have been withheld.

I am owed nothing.

And if I can dwell in this moment in thought, then everything is miraculous. I live in the miracle.

“But blessed are your eyes because they see…” Matt 13:16

Feast Days

Lev 22:28-23:10         09/16/2017

A description of the Sabbath and other holy feast days.

Pray and Work. Rest and Remember.

You were made to be active. You were made to create value. You were made to relate to God. This is essential human activity.

You were given to rest. You were given to reflect. Because with these, your work is balanced and your relationships are meaningful.

Work hard. Rest deeply. Love with all your heart, mind, soul and body. Celebrate the memory of God’s goodness in your life.

Unacceptable Offerings

Lev 22:17-27         09/15/2017

It is unacceptable to offer a blemished animal for the altar sacrifices.

Tainted value. The temptation seems to be universal.

The cow won’t get up, can’t get up. I have $300 invested in this animal. What should I do? I know – I’ll sell it into the food supply before it dies on its own.

Another case of mad cow disease.

Cigarettes or thalidomide or the second rate, plagiarized term paper- why is the temptation to deliver inferior value to others so strong?

There is a freedom in delivering your best; to leaving everything on the court. It feels right. Every victory has this depth of self-knowing. Every defeat has at least the satisfaction there was nothing left to give. No haunting questions. Every athlete knows this.

Your faith in Jesus Christ. Everything left on the court.  Just do it.

Sacred Portion

Lev 22:4-16         09:14/2017

The priest has the privilege of sharing his portion of the sacrificial offerings with his family and servants- those for whom he is responsible.

Provision comes with a purpose.

In a culture and time where widespread famine is a distant possibility – where many possessions are relative luxuries – it is easy to disconnect the provision we enjoy with the purpose for which it is given.

A way of givenness. Seeing what we have in the context of the good we might do – were meant to do – rather than the pleasure, or pride, or power, it might afford.

No Blemishes

Lev 21:13-22:3         09/13/2017

No one with disease or physical deformity can serve as a tabernacle priest.

The descendants of Aaron were told: no person who is deformed can serve as a priest. The line can pass through such a person, and that person can participate in the provision given to priests, but they cannot mediate between God and men.

The tabernacle was always a physical manifestation of a much deeper reality – a representation of the throne of God.

My blemishes and brokenness have nothing to do with my skin or bones.

Yet, the longing for wholeness is made more acute by the glaring of inapproachable light.

There’s no going around this. I have to be healed.

Holy Priest

Lev 21:1-12         9/12/2017

The priest must remain holy.

Mediating relationship between men and God. Under the law of Moses, the commitment of the high priest is to remain wholly devoted to serving God in His holy place.

In a world of utter flux and change, the idea of remaining stable in one location is perhaps strange, and even undesirable.

But constancy isn’t necessarily bound to some location on earth.

The constancy for which we are called is to love. To give, to bless, to help, to lift up, to bind up, to visit – the action of Christ follower constancy.