Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. – Leviticus 24:2

Today's Scripture Reading (January 7, 2025): Leviticus 24

Sometimes, it is easier to pull at the heartstrings of the giver in order to get a donation. We have all seen the advertisements from compassionate organizations asking you to sponsor a child. It is difficult to get people to give to the general problem of world hunger, knowing that money also has to be directed toward caring for the administration of the organization raising the money. Getting people to send thirty dollars a month to support seven-year-old Elias, living through a famine in some far-off nation, is a little easier. Of course, most of us recognize that our thirty dollars is not just going to Elias and his family. Some of it is being used to pay the company's administration costs, including paying the CEO and other administrative workers, and a portion is directed toward other projects in the area where Elias lives. Poor Elias is nothing more than an advertising prop to get our money. 

I am not saying that any of this is wrong. Money needs to be raised for everything I have mentioned, but few of us want to pay to keep the lights on at World Vision or some other organization. However, without payments that keep the doors open, there won't be anyone around to try to help Elias and his friends survive the famine or the war that jeopardizes their futures. It is a reality that we need to understand, but it also is a recognition that those within compassionate organizations need to keep these expenses to a minimum. 

When Moses raised the need for gold, silver, and other metals so that the implements of the Tabernacle could be produced, the people responded. It seemed that all of Israel wanted to know that they had played a part in building and furnishing the Tabernacle, the place where God would live in their midst. 

But after that successful offering had been raised, there was still a need for more mundane things. One of those more mundane things was pure oil from pressed olives. This oil was used to keep the lamps burning inside the Tabernacle. These lamps were the only light source inside the Tabernacle and needed to be kept burning at all times. And that meant a continual supply of pure olive oil was required.

Maybe it wasn't as "sexy" as donating gold for the Tabernacle, but it was just as important. The olive oil was essential to the operation of the Tabernacle. It was an administrative cost that needed to be paid. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 25

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.' – Leviticus 23:2

Today's Scripture Reading (January 6, 2025): Leviticus 23

Today is Epiphany. I don't know about you, but I don't get up on January 6 and think, "Wow, Epiphany, what a celebration." Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but years have passed without me giving a second thought to the Holiday of Epiphany. Often, I only remember Epiphany when we reach the first Sunday of Epiphany because that shapes the readings that I might use in the Weekend Worship experiences. Maybe we will sing a variation of "We Three Kings." We sing a great version of the song, "We the Kings [Perfect Light]," written by our Worship Leader. We have already used the song twice during the Advent or Christmas season, even though the song belongs more appropriately to Epiphany than Advent. Most of us have left Christmas behind by the time we reach Epiphany. There are exceptions. I worked for a pastor early in my career who believed we shouldn't sing Christmas songs until Christmas Eve. After all, how can we sing of the birth of Jesus before he was born? We sang Christmas songs into Epiphany in that church, but that belief is an exception rather than the rule.

Most of us are unsure what Epiphany even celebrates. On the most basic level, Epiphany celebrates the Magi or Wise Men coming from the East to visit the Christ Child. It is important, not just because it recognizes a biblical event, the Wise Men's journey to Bethlehem, as well as the conflict with King Herod and the subsequent slaughter of the innocents. It also tells a story about the Wise Men, who were non-Jews, and likely Zoroastrian believers, visiting the Jewish Messiah. The idea that God included even them in this biblical tale is a critical moment in the story of the Christ Child. All of this should be a reminder to us that the Christmas message is not just the Jewish Messiah coming to the Jewish people but that the message of the Messiah has been extended to include all of us Gentiles who, by definition, are not Jews.

I have mentioned in other blogs that, in recent years, there seems to have been a move toward not celebrating Christian holidays because they weren't celebrated in the Bible. Some Christian churches have even taken up celebrating some Jewish feast days, like the Feast of Tabernacles or even Passover-related events. But the reality is that there are Christian Festivals that I believe we should be celebrating. 

This passage in Leviticus outlines six annual feasts on top of the weekly Sabbath. But while we don't need to celebrate the Jewish versions of these holidays, we should recognize that our Christian versions are sometimes an outgrowth of these celebrations. Two annual Jewish celebrations are missing from this list: Purim and Hanukkah. These celebrations are not addressed because they grew out of events that happened much later in Jewish history. But the celebration of Purim and Hanukkah do provide a template for us to add our Christian Festivals.

What might be included in a list of necessary Christian celebrations? Let me suggest that a similar list of Christian Festivals might consist of The Lord's Day (Sabbath), Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday (Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement), Easter, Pentecost, and Thanksgiving. These are days that should be celebrated with a spiritual focus. These are our Holy Days, the appointed festivals intended to honor our God. 

What do you think? Have I missed any?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 24

Say to them: 'For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD.' – Leviticus 22:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 5, 2025): Leviticus 22

It is a privilege to be a spiritual leader. However, I have also always believed that the character demands of a spiritual leader are always higher than those of others. The best example of that might be found in the person of Moses. Moses's sin is minor compared to the sins of the people of Israel, yet the penalty is severe. After ably leading the nation for over forty years, Moses is excluded from the list of people who would enter the Promised Land. The sin might have been minor, but the penalty was considerable. It is the caution I give to anyone who declares that they want to become part of Church Leadership because the demands of being a leader are significant. It was a joke that my associate used to tell. She was in it for the money (which, if you saw her paycheck, you would understand was a huge joke), and I was in it for the power (which also is a joke).

I also know from experience that much of the trouble I have experienced as a Pastor has been when I was thought to have violated the demands of Christian character, whether that character violation was accurate or not. Unfortunately, the accusation is often enough when talking about these violations, and we are never considered innocent until proven guilty. 

This law concerns accusations that someone was ceremonially unclean when they came to serve in the Temple. And the responsibility is for the participant to know whether or not he, and again, it was always a he, knew that he was unclean. If he had become unclean for some reason, he needed to declare his uncleanness and remove himself from the list of Levites scheduled for service in the Temple. If an unclean person served in the Temple, and then it came to light that he was unclean, that person must be cut off from the presence of God. 

The word that we have as "cut off" means that the unclean person would have forfeited his ability to serve in the Temple any time in the future. What makes this even more significant is that only members of the Tribe of Levi could serve in the Temple, so being cut off from that privilege meant that the person would lose all of the rights and privileges obtained by being born into the tribe. It would be as if the person was no longer a Levite but was now just one with no tribe and no tribal identity within the nation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 23

If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire. – Leviticus 21:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 4, 2025): Leviticus 21

Many years ago, while my daughter was still living at home, I received an uncomfortable phone call from a stranger who informed me that he had picked up my daughter in a nearby park the night before. Asking if she needed a ride, the young girl began going through her list of what sexual acts were available for purchase. He quickly said that he was a Christian and uninterested in what she was selling, but he gave her a ride into the city center area and twenty dollars to get something to eat. The girl excitedly told him her dad was the pastor at the church at which I was serving, so he had decided to give me a call.

I must admit that my first thought went to where my daughter was on the night in question, but trying not to sound like a typical father defending his daughter, I continued to listen without arguing. His description matched my daughter, but at the same time, deep down, I was sure that the report was wrong. I hung up the phone. It didn't take long to confirm that the girl was not my daughter, who was babysitting at a friend's on the night in question. It also didn't take long to figure out who the unfortunate girl was; she was the adopted daughter of a former pastor at the church. The girl had been born with "fetal alcohol" syndrome and had a history of risky behavior. This young woman could sometimes be found sitting in the backyard of her sister's house in the middle of the night or even wandering around the church. She also continued to describe her father as the church's pastor, even though he had left the church more than a decade earlier.

I struggle with this passage. I understand that in Israel, and especially because prostitution in ancient times also involved the worship of pagan gods, the penalties for sin were severe. Yet, when I read this passage, it is this girl that comes to mind. It probably doesn't help that I knew this pastor's daughter as a beautiful child who seemed to have so much going for her when she was younger, or that since I received the phone call, this child of God met a violent end unfortunate, murdered by a misguided individual and the murderer, to my knowledge, has never been apprehended. However, I am told the police believe that the perpetrator might be in prison, having been convicted on unrelated charges. 

I also admit that I never felt that her father had been disgraced. Instead, I think he showed the unconditional love of God in his dealings with this girl and the rest of his adopted children. I accept that this was the law, but I also believe that while this girl might deserve death, in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is available for all of us, including this pastor's daughter as well as the rest of us living in this broken world 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 22

If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek. – Leviticus 20:4-5

Today's Scripture Reading (January 3, 2025): Leviticus 20

A few weeks ago, I walked past a room where a multicultural prayer service was taking place. It was an engaging experience. The prayers and songs were being spoken in a different language that I didn't understand. I stood and listened for a few minutes, vicariously enjoying the spirit of the meeting. But one of the things that amazed me, as I was listening to some very soft-spoken people pray, people who I had talked to and often struggled to hear, was how loudly they projected their prayers to God. At times, it almost seemed that they were yelling as if God was so far away that he might not hear their prayers if they didn't speak loudly. But I recognize that that is just the impression of a Westerner who more often hears the prayers of others almost whispered rather than spoken.

It is interesting how traditions vary. And most of the time, the differences are harmless or even positive changes in how we do things. I think I enjoy the prayer meeting where someone seems to be yelling their prayers over the one so quiet I can barely hear the prayers being offered. However, I am sure that God hears both of them.

My one nagging thought, though, is how much of what we do is influenced by other religions and is that necessarily a bad thing. I know that people call Christmas "pagan" because it draws from traditions other than those that are Christ-based. I have heard people rail against Christmas and Easter because neither are celebrated in the Bible, and the date of Christmas is based more on pagan celebrations surrounding the shortest day of the year than the birth of Christ, who was likely born in April or maybe even June. I am not convinced that any of this matters. Celebrating Jesus's birth in December, a date that was chosen so that Christians would have an alternative celebration to the pagan shortest-day celebrations that were already being celebrated in late December, doesn't devalue the Christian purpose behind the holiday. We know that Jesus was crucified during Passover, so our Easter celebration is grounded firmly in history, even if it was never actually commanded.

Molech, or Molek, was an ancient Canaanite god. From the biblical record, it appears that this God demanded child sacrifice as part of his worship experience. Even the Kings of Israel and Judah seem to have fallen to these demands, sacrificing their children to please this Canaanite god. However, some experts question whether this was ever true. Maybe these reports are just horror stories told around campfires or tales to make Israel's enemies seem worse than they really were. 

But the more disturbing possibility is that we are not talking about a god here, but rather a practice. This theory questions if Molek might not have been a foreign god but rather a foreign practice; that molek could be the practice of sacrificing children to the gods that would even include Yahweh. The thought that child sacrifice might have been used to worship the God of Abraham is almost too much to imagine. And it is no wonder that Leviticus demands that such activity must be erased from the house of Israel. God instructs that the practice is so bad that even those who knew the behavior was happening but decided to do nothing about it must be removed from the community.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 21

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. – Leviticus 19:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 2, 2025): Leviticus 19

I am sometimes not incredibly compassionate. Maybe I need to rephrase that. I am compassionate with people who I know need help. I am not rich, but I help as I can. And sometimes, with the stranger, I can be compassionate. To be honest, I am a sucker for a sad story. One of my "practices" over the past few years is to stop carrying cash with me. However, once in a while, someone will catch me on a day when I have money, but by the time I go home, my pockets are often once again empty.

But I also know that very few people who come to ask me for money need the money. A while back, such a person wandered into my office. First, there was the request; in this instance, it was for a hundred dollars. The reason for the need was that his car had broken down, and he had to get it towed home, a destination he said was on the opposite side of the city. Next came the reason why I should want to help him. His wife actually attended my church. I asked my new friend her name, and this was his first mistake. He gave his wife's surname as Hunt. Hunt happens to be my wife's former surname, the one she had before we got married. As a result, I tend to remember people named Hunt. But I didn't recognize this woman's name. I asked what she looked like, and he told me she was medium height, had brown hair, and was slightly overweight. I admitted that that described half the women who attended my church.

The reality was that I didn't have a hundred dollars. And so, my friend asked if I had a credit card. I said yes, and he asserted that I could go to the restaurant across the street and get $100 cash put on my credit card. I was reluctant to do that, knowing that vendors sometimes pay pretty high bank fees for their credit card transactions, and I know how much they love customers who come in wanting money (sarcasm). 

I did have an idea. I would go to where his car had broken down and put the tow on my credit card. My new friend quickly backed away from that suggestion. His mother-in-law was with him, and he didn't want her to know that he couldn't afford the tow himself. She thought he was at the bank getting some money out. At this point, I began to suspect that I was being played. (I know, you probably would have realized that much earlier.) I assured him I would come and pay for the tow truck, but that was the only way I would be involved. And my new friend went away very disappointed. 

In my experience with people, I often find that the ones in most need of help are also the ones most reticent to ask for it. They are embarrassed, frequently too ashamed to ask for my assistance. Most of the ones who ask for money don't really need it. Yet, I admit that if I have cash on me, I usually give it to them anyway.

In ancient times, the farmers provided the solution to feed people experiencing poverty. Farmers were instructed not to reap to the edges of their fields. The edges and the corners were to be left for those who were hungry but could not afford food. Someone who was experiencing need didn't have to embarrass themselves by asking for food; they could just go to the edges of a farmer's field and collect what was there. An example of this principle is seen in the story of Ruth. People experiencing poverty could come and pick up what was on the edges of the field and even what the harvesters had missed on their first pass through the fields. In this way, the poor were blessed by those who had food to share. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 20

Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. – Leviticus 19:29

Today's Scripture Reading (January 1, 2025): Leviticus 18

I must admit that I have struggled with something Jesus said over the past few decades. Maybe struggle is the wrong word. It is not that I don't believe what Jesus said. Quite the reverse, actually. I take the words to heart, but I don't want them to just flow out of my mouth; I want to understand them deep in my being, and I want the words to be reflected in my life and teaching. What are the words?

 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40).

The impact for me is that all of the Bible, what Jesus calls the Law and the Prophets, somehow connects to the Law of Love. Every time we declare that something goes against the desires of God, what we are saying somehow violates the Law of Love.

We can become very heavy-handed with the Law, and sometimes especially with this passage in Leviticus. One commentator wrote;

This chapter is one of the most extensive and direct passages in the Bible reflecting God's stated will and commands regarding the expression of human sexuality. These are the words of God, and as such they have immeasurably more authority than the words, opinions, theories, desires, feelings, longings, or wishes of any person or persons (David Guzik)

I agree, but somehow, as we struggle with this passage, we must understand how it violates the Law of love. And some of it is easy. Adultery, in whatever form we find it, violates the trust and love between two people. By sleeping with relatives, we violate the love between people who are bound together in a family unit. Every time we violate these bonds, we are endangering the essential community in which we live, and it is no wonder that violating these rules means we must be cast out. 

But our theology must continue to connect the reason for our sin to the Law of Love. Only then can we get to the root cause of our sin, our unwillingness to love as God would have us love. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 19

Happy New Year to all. I wish you all the best in 2025.