The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die … - Leviticus 21:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 10, 2018): Leviticus 21

German poet Ludwig Jacobowski (1868-1900) wrote “Do not cry because they are past! Smile, because they once were!” A personalized paraphrase of Jacobowski words has been attributed to Theodor Geisel, who we know better as Dr. Suess - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” The reality is that our lives will be recorded, written down somewhere and it will include a beginning date and an ending date, but the most important dates for us are the dates not written down – the ones represented by the dash between our birth and death.

Because the most important dates of our lives are represented by the dash, they are also the ones on which we need to focus. And this idea is written down in the law. According to God, the purpose of the priests of the nation was to minister to the living. The priests were not to be the ones who concentrated their actions on death and preaching about the life that is to come on when this life is finally over. They were to be consistently dedicated to life, and to those who were alive. And because their focus is life, then they were instructed not to make themselves unclean when someone dies. What that meant was that the modern funeral with a minister officiating over the service would never happen. A priest would not only be restricted from touching a dead body, but they couldn’t even be in the same room as a dead body.

This restriction helps us to understand Jesus story of “The Good Samaritan” from a different perspective. Often we approach Jesus’s parable offended by the uncaring attitude of the Priest and the Levite, both who ministered in the Temple. But this law meant that their actions were not just due to an uncaring attitude, but that if these men thought that the victim lying by the side of the road was dead, they were prohibited by the law from taking any action. God had commanded that their actions to be dedicated to the living. Once a person had died, their job was completed. The body was left to be buried by the family and friends of the deceased.

The reason behind the command was that a dead body was a symbol of sin, and this comparison of a dead body with sin was emphasized by the quick way that the body began to decay immediately following the ending of the life. A dead and decaying body was a picture of sin for the people, and the priest was set apart for God and life. And because the priest had been set apart and made ceremonially holy, he could not make himself unclean at the time of someone’s death unless he was part of the immediate family. The presence of the priest was always to emphasize the importance of life; and, therefore, their duty was to encourage the people to make the most of the dash that separated the date of birth and the time of death.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 22