From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the LORD: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. – Leviticus 3:3-4

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 18, 2015): Leviticus 3

Did you know that Jesus had a bit of a reputation as a party animal? Maybe the most famous instance is told in the book of Luke and it involved a tax collector named Levi (elsewhere in the Christian Testament he is known as Matthew – and he is thought to be the author of the Gospel of Matthew.) In Luke, Levi was throwing a party, but because he was an outcast from Jewish society, it is very likely that everyone invited to the party was also an outcast – everyone that is other than a Jewish Rabbi named Jesus. And the idea that any Jewish teacher would party with this group was simply unheard of – and yet Jesus responded to the invitation and came to the party.

The Jewish religious leaders were not impressed and they voiced their objection to Jesus disciples - “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 5:30)? The idea was revolutionary – and many took from this and other instances that this meeting between Jesus and these outcasts was absolute proof that Jesus could not have been sent from God. Why would God eat with a sinner?

The idea might have come from the Fellowship or Peace Offering. The concept behind the offering was that this had nothing to do with sin – it was simply what it indicated, a meal of fellowship and peace. According to the rituals, the organs and the fat connected to them were to be burned – the resulting smoke was a fragrant offering to God. Then the rest of the meat was to be cooked and shared between the one offering the sacrifice and the priests who sat in the place of God. The result was a feast – and a party - between God and man. The Fellowship Offering was thought to have been one of the most precious to God – because no sacrifice for sin was involved.

But the question that needs to be asked is simply this – does the existence of the Fellowship offering mean that there was no need for a sacrifice for sin. It might be that the fellowship offering was often paired with the sacrifice for sin, but the life of Jesus shows an image of a God that enjoys fellowship with his people in spite of their sin. The life of Jesus might indicate that the Fellowship Offering was something that God enjoyed regardless of the sin that might have been present in the life of the one who offered the sacrifice.

Maybe the bigger question is this – if Jesus spent so much time simply enjoying the fellowship of the outcasts of his society, why does his church spend so much time excluding the outcasts of our society? Why are we not, as the priests of God, taking the time to have fellowship with the ones who feel they are our outcasts – with us standing in the place of God? Why aren’t we partying with our outcasts like Jesus did with his?

It is just something that I am wondering about.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 4