Leviticus 18:19-21:24 Part 2

I don't anticipate doing the "part 2" thing very often, but I passed over something very important in my previous post regarding this section of Leviticus, and I must go back to it. In this section, the Lord essentially re-explains the Ten Commandments to Moses, elaborating on them further and providing examples to facilitate a better understanding of what is meant by them. I am struck by this: Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. This last sentence is, of course, cited by Jesus as the second greatest of the commandments in Matthew 22. In all my years of reading and hearing the story of Jesus' identifying the two greatest commandments, I had assumed that these were "new" and revolutionary. New or not, what a challenge it is! I am a grudge-holder, sadly, so this statement speaks to me directly and powerfully. I hold them against others and I hold them against myself. In fact, I am often much quicker to forgive others than myself. Yet both sides of the statement are equally important. It is not "You shall love your neighbor more than yourself," nor is it "You shall love your neighbor less than yourself." 

Leviticus 18:19-21:24

I was afraid that I would shortly run out of things to say about the litany of "do nots" in Leviticus. But I find this passage to be rich (although still plenty of "do nots"). I am struck by these words of the Lord to Moses: Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. And again a little while later: Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. We are called to holiness. So many saints and Catholic writers have said the very same thing. I am currently reading Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, and he makes this a central part of his message. It's a powerful idea, that God has created me and called me to be holy, as He is holy. St. Athanasius said that the Divine became man so that man could become divine. Doesn't that very powerfully convey the message of Christianity in as compact a way imaginable? The Lord goes on to expand on the Ten Commandments, providing some more insight and explanation. I was struck by this sentence: You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. One could obviously take this literally, because to do these things would be not only wrong, but cruel. But they spoke to me as a metaphor. Do I dismiss or condescend to those who don't believe what I believe? Who I perceive to be deaf to God's message? Do I judge them without knowing them as God does? Do I make it harder for those who seem blind to God and His message by failing to show them love, compassion or mercy? Unfortunately, yes. And in doing so, I fail to "fear" or respect (much less love and honor) God and His creation. Perhaps if I cleared the path for them a bit, rather than acting as a stumbling block, their blindness might be "cured"--or at least their vision, their view of God, might be improved. So, my call to personal holiness is not, strictly speaking, purely personal, but rather can and should impact my community as well. 

Leviticus 15:1-18:18

The Lord institutes the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), on which the priest confesses "all the sinful faults and transgressions of the Israelite community" in order to make "atonement for himself and his household as well as the whole Israelite community." It is a day of fasting  to be observed on a set day each year, "so that you may be cleansed of all your sins before the Lord." On that day, the priest places the sins and transgressions of the community on the head of a live goat that is then sent away to the desert. I did not know until now that this is where the concept of a scapegoat came from! The Lord instructs Moses about the sacredness of blood, since "the life of a living body is in its blood." The Lord is very explicit about not partaking in blood, making me wonder if this might be a contrast to other religious rituals of that time. The Lord instructs Moses regarding the sanctity of sex, although it is essentially a list of sex one may not have, rather than a positive discussion. Not exactly John Paul II's Theology of the Body. In this section, however, there is also this powerful statement: Keep, then, my statutes and decrees, for the man who carries them out will find life through them. I am the Lord. Jesus the Lord ultimately fulfills the law and is the Way to new life. 

Leviticus 13:40-14:57

The discussion of leprosy continues and provides more support for the idea that it serves as a metaphor for sinfulness. The leper must rent his garments, keep his head bare, muffle his beard, and cry out "Unclean, unclean!" Moreover, the leper must be separated from the community and "dwell apart." When I sin, when I am less than the best version of myself (the self God created me to be), then I do set myself apart from the community. My sinfulness diminishes me, eats at me if you will, and prevents me from embracing God and my community. My sinfulness isolates me. I find it isolates me even from myself. As if I lose myself and cannot seem to find my way back. When this happens, I find it very frightening. It feels cold and dark. I imagine it is what Hell is--not flames and pain, but dark isolation, like outer space. No connection to anyone; no light and no warmth. 

Leviticus 8-13:39

Aaron and his sons undergo the ceremony of ordination, the details of which were commanded and carefully prescribed by God to Moses. At the end of the ceremony, Aaron "raised his hands over the people and blessed them. Then the glory of God was revealed to all the people." God reveals His glory through the priest-mediator. This is a concept that continues to this day. Jesus of course is the ultimate Priest and Mediator. In some ways, so too is Mary--a mediatrix who intercedes for us in a special way. Catholic priests have a mediating role as well.  Their special, integral role in the sacrifice of the Mass, established through their ordination, becomes the medium through which we can eat and drink Christ's body and blood. I am not sure, though, what to make of the brief story of Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron's sons. Consecrated as priests, they make the mistake of burning incense not approved by God, and because they offered up before the Lord a "profane fire", the Lord causes a fire to come forth and consume them. Moses attempts to explain the Lord's ways to Aaron, but he says nothing in response. As I said, I am not sure how to understand this. It seems an incredibly harsh punishment for an act that I do not see the evil in. Perhaps Aaron's silence reflects an inner conflict between love for his sons and his respect and trust in the ways of the Lord. But I wonder if Moses, who repeatedly challenged and questioned God, would have stayed silent had it been two of his sons. Another aspect of the priest's role as mediator is captured in the following direction that God gives directly to Aaron: You must be able to to distinguish between what is sacred and what is profane, between what is clean and what is unclean; you must teach the Israelites all the laws that the Lord has given them through Moses.  So, the priest does not simply mediate the sacrifices that cleanse sins, but also must teach the law and must discern between clean and unclean and good and evil.  Priests are called to these very weighty responsibilities in the Church today as well. Finally, Aaron and the other priests are given an important role in diagnosing leprosy, which is a focal point of a long section in Leviticus. This section suggests to me that leprosy serves as a metaphor for sinfulness. It is a disease that eats away at the body just as sin eats away a person's spirit.  At my spirit.  Like leprosy, sin has a social dimension as well, as both can be contagious and can infect and negatively impact a whole community.

Leviticus 5-7

The Lord continues to instruct Moses as to the proper means of making holocausts, sacrifices, and offerings. The priests serve as the intermediaries for those who have sinned and have come to offer sacrifice--"the priest shall make atonement for the sin [using the offering brought by the sinner] . . . and it will be forgiven." But through this mediation the sins are forgiven. Similarly, Jesus as High Priest is the mediator for our atonement. His dying on the Cross was the sacrifice that atoned for the sins of all of us.   

Is it too simplistic (or worse, condescending) to note that the Old Testament, up to this point, makes me think about God as a parent and the Israelites as children? God tells Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. He doesn't explain why, just as you don't explain to your toddler why not to eat food off the floor or why you shouldn't put a fork in an electric socket. As the story of the Chosen People continues, God is very directive and prescriptive about what the Israelites are to do--explaining why in some instances--just as you would with an older child. It is possible that God needed to lay the groundwork gradually for what was ultimately to come many hundreds of years later. Now, perhaps my reaction is a function of my ignorance of Biblical scholarship or reflects my lack of sophistication, but no criticism is intended. It just that the tone of much of what I have read so far feels so parental to me.  

Exodus 40:17-38; Leviticus 1-4

We come to the close of Exodus, as the Dwelling has been completed according the Lord's precise instructions. Moses puts the commandments inside the ark, and the ark inside the Dwelling. The presence of the Lord, in the form of a cloud during the day, and cloud of fire at night, settles over the Dwelling. When the cloud lifts, the Israelites continue their journey. The Book of Leviticus begins with a very detailed description of the ritual of sacrifices. Depending on the reason for offering the sacrifice, a different animal might be used. But the animal offered as a holocaust or sacrifice must be unblemished. Just as Jesus, the ultimate Sacrifice and expiation for our sins, was a spotless Lamb. An interesting aspect of the description of these sacrificial rituals is that some of the offerings to be made are as a result of sins committed by an individual (e.g., a priest, a prince)--but the text is clear that these are sacrifices to be offered when the sin is "inadvertent." It is not clear to me what this means, because my understanding of sin includes as a condition that the act (or omission) was intentional, done with knowledge. As we leave Exodus, let me retrace my steps to mention one other thing that struck me. After Moses returned from the mountain, after having been called there by the Lord, we read of his "radiance." This radiance was so striking that Aaron and others were afraid to go near him, and he was given a veil to wear over his face. What a powerful metaphor for the transformative potential of prayer and of giving oneself to God!