When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. – Leviticus 13:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 11, 2012): Leviticus 13

I really like the movie “A Knight’s Tale.” No, it is not a believable movie based on historical fact - Chaucer is a little out of time for the events in the movie, and the rise of the protagonist is ultimately unrealistic, but realism was never high on my list when evaluating a movie. I think the reason why the movie ranks high with me is because of the belief at the center of the movie that it is possible to change our future – to change our stars.

Maybe one of the tasks of a pastor that we do not always excel at is the task of removing people from the community in order to keep the community healthy. I think it is one of the weaknesses of our faith. We always want to look forward with grace and love; we believe that real change is possible. The idea that the stars can change is important, because we have all stood in a place where we have needed those stars to change. And yet, I also realize that sometimes exclusion is necessary. Sometimes there exists a poison inside of people that can destroy the entire community – and sometimes the possessors of the poison just have no real desire to do anything about that poison.

I think possibly that was why the task of exclusion was left up to priests in the Mosaic Law. The thought had to be that they would be the ones most likely to react with grace, and the slowest to react with exclusion. I am also not sure that it always worked the way it was supposed to, but I think that was the plan.

Leprosy was a horrible disease –and in ancient times it was also a disease without cure. Exclusion was necessary because if the patient was not excluded, the disease would destroy the community. But there were also strict rules that needed to be followed, as well as ways of checking up on the patient – and in all of this it was the priest’s responsibility to exclude or include at each point.

Leprosy is no longer a problem in the modern world – it is cured by a simple pill. But there are still poisons and diseases that need to be dealt with – and an unteachable spirit that needs to be disciplined is one of them. And if the poison cannot be dealt with any other way, than exclusion is the only response possible so that the community can thrive. But in our case, exclusion is avoidable by an honest evaluation of our own attitudes – and often just by asking ourselves one question. Do we believe that, with God’s help, the people around us can change their stars? As long as the answer is yes, then grace is still extended and God is still working in our midst.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 14