The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. – Leviticus 7:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 26, 2018): Leviticus 7

“Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect - and I don't live to be - but before you start pointing fingers ... make sure your hands are clean!” There are days when I understand these words from Bob Marley from an emotional point of view. And today is one of those days. An email this morning started off my day on a negative note. Someone was making it clear that I have failed. And I have. I have made choices, and I have to live with some of the choices that I have made. Did I fail this person? Maybe. I did not live up to their expectations of what I should do. But at the same time, I am not sure that I could have lived up to their expectations, and still gotten the things done that needed to accomplish in my professional life. Marley’s words “I know I’m not perfect – and I don’t live to be” seems to speak from where I find myself at this moment. It is not that I try to sin, but I do fail on multiple levels. And sometimes I experience guilt for reasons that are false.

The reality is that the Mosaic Law sets out a standard to which we will never be able to live up. The Mosaic Law represents perfection, and all of us know that we are not perfect. There will always be a gap both between the law and our behavior, as well as between other people’s expectations and our behavior. The last part of Marley’s comment is equally meaningful, and something that I hope my accuser understands. None of us make our accusations from a point of perfection. When we point at others, we all do it with hands that are not clean.

So the Law of Moses, as well as the laws of other ancient belief systems, offers a system of release from the reality that we are imperfect people. And that mechanism of release is through sacrifice. If you have sinned or even if you are just feeling the guilt of possible sin, or guilt that is placed on you because you have not measured up to someone’s expectations, the guilt could be released by bringing a sacrifice to the Tabernacle, and later, into the Temple. Your sacrifice is given to the priest, who stands in the gap between you and God and makes atonement for your sin, releasing you from your guilt. You no longer have to suffer because of your imperfection because your sacrifice has been given to the one who “stands in the gap.”

As Christians, Jesus takes the place of both our sacrifice and our priest. Guilt, then, becomes a useless emotion because our confession results in our forgiveness; the sacrifice has already been offered. But maybe the shortcoming of our belief system is that, especially within the Protestant Church, while our sins are forgiven, we seldom get to hear the words.

So let me speak them over you right now.

Hear these words from Jesus, I mean, really hear them:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

So go forward into today in the power of your God, the Lord Almighty,

who forgives you and loves you. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 8