Today’s Scripture Reading
(October 13, 2018): Leviticus 24
Fresh out of High School,
and on a self-imposed break from University, I worked the night shift at a
local department store. When everyone else was preparing for bed, I was going
to work. There were usually five of us on duty, and we would meet up at various
times during the night. Most nights, there was just the five of us. Every once
in a while a supervisor would show up to make sure we were working in the
middle of our shift, but not often. After all, what supervisor in their right
mind wants to get out of a warm bed at three in the morning to check on a bunch
of guys working at the store. When I worked the night shift, we were the lowest
rung in the hierarchy of importance.
I remember working at a fast
food restaurant (yes, I too am a graduate of McDonald’s) and the worst manager
that I remember working under was one promoted from the night shift. She had
faithfully spent her nights cleaning the store until her superiors decided that
she deserved a promotion. So she was promoted from custodian to shift manager.
But she had never really worked any of the shift stations. She became the only
manager I worked under that didn’t have the slightest idea how to cook a
hamburger, and considering that hamburgers are
the main item on a McDonald’s menu, that was a problem.
Why this trip down memory
lane? Because in my experience most people with seniority work hard to get off
of the night shift. I know, there are a few people who would rather work when
the rest of the world is sleeping but, for most of us, it is those with lower
seniority who work the night shift; there are no bosses who are found tending
the store in the middle of the night.
And yet, that is exactly
what this passage seems to indicate. Aaron was the High Priest, the highest
religious authority in the land. And encoded into the law is the idea that
Aaron was to tend the lamps from evening until morning. The High Priest of
Israel was instructed to work the night shift. It would be interesting to know
how often the High Priest actually did
work the night shift.
But it is also a powerful
illustration of who we are supposed to be. The servants of God are always tasked with taking light into the
darkness. Jesus was “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He carried the light
into the darkness. He could have remained in the heavenly realms, in the light.
But instead, he chose to come to us and
be our light.
And that is also who we are.
We are the ones instructed to be the light in the darkness. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither
do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead,
they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may
see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
We are all called to work the night shift. Morning is coming. But
until then, we are the ones who are charged
with making a positive difference in the world, and to carry a light into the
darkness of the night.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 25
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