When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. – Leviticus 12:6

Today's Scripture Reading (December 23, 2024): Leviticus 12

I have to admit that I often feel a little Pigpen. Not Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the great original guitarist for the Grateful Dead, but the comic book character in Charles Schulz's "Charlie Brown" cartoons. Pigpen, penned initially as Pig-Pen, first appeared on July 3, 1954. The Peanuts website describes the character this way.

He may travel in his own personal dust cloud, but Pigpen's mind and conscience are clear. He's confident in who he is and carries himself with dignity and respect. He treats others well and hopes they will do the same for him (they often do not, but he perseveres). Pigpen considers it a point of pride that he is cloaked in the 'dust of countless ages.'

It doesn't matter how often Pigpen tries to get clean. He is a magnet for dust. The other characters notice this dirt and reject him. He apparently can't be anything worthwhile, at least, according to the opinions of his friends, because he is not clean. And yet, he treats others well despite how they treat him. The only exception is Charlie Brown, who accepts Pigpen unconditionally and even defends his friend at one point in the comic strip.

Pigpen may have been rejected by his friends, but I think there is a little Pigpen in all of us. Ron McKernan is believed to have earned his nickname because of his unclean habits. But the truth is that none of us need "unclean habits" to get dirty. Like Pigpen, I seem to be able to get dirty sitting and reading a book. 

Life gets us dirty. We often seem to want to reflect on this sacrifice as the penalty for bringing another sinner into the world, but I am not convinced that that is true. The purification sacrifice is a reminder that living gets us dirty as humans. Both the mother and child, regardless of gender, need to be purified as part of the process of life. So, the sacrifice is made, and we are reminded that life gets us dirty, and we all need the opportunity to get clean once again. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9