Priest Purification

Lev 4:1-12

The sin of the priest brings guilt onto the entire community. A special sacrificial offering is prescribed to heal the breach.

It’s perhaps a little strange to think that my relationship with God, or with any other person, could be affected by the actions of a third party. Yet, when it comes to persons, that is the way things work.

Rightly or wrongly, for good or for ill, my relationships with other people are affected by the behavior and reputation of my family – my father and mother, my siblings, my wife and my children and even my friends. They all serve as a kind of mirror or reflection of who I am.

“Known by the company I keep”, the saying goes. There is a presumed knowing by association. Human persons do this.

My sins – even my inconsequential, inadvertent, venial, sins of omission – impact my family and friends.

So think about reputation. This also is love.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches, and high esteem, than gold and silver.” Prov 22:1