The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. – 2 Chronicles 35:18

Today's Scripture Reading (May 23, 2023): 2 Chronicles 35

One of the beliefs I ran into when researching the relationship between the Bible and the LGBTQ community was the understanding that the church's LGBTQ beliefs have stayed consistent over time. But doing a historical survey of practices indicate that that is not true. There have been changes over time in what we believe concerning the Bible and the LGBTQ community. For instance, early in the Christian Era, one writer argued that LGBTQ laws in the Bible were tied to food laws. The author even went as far as to say that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was that the cities of the plains violated Jewish food laws. This accusation was made even though the destruction of Sodom and her sister cities happened before the food laws were even given to Moses.

During the Middle Ages, the Bible's instructions against homosexuality were believed to be directed at the clergy, especially those trying to get around the emerging demand for celibacy in the priesthood. Apparently, at that time, the prohibition wasn't intended for the average person; it was directed at the clergy who had opted for same-sex relationships in the belief that the celibacy regulations for priests only applied to priests who were in a male-female relationship. When it comes to discussing the LGBTQ community and the church, my position has always been, "If you can make a Biblical argument, I am willing to listen." Still, even I struggle with tying LGBTQ practice to the Jewish food laws or to only applying to the Christian priesthood.

One word we have for the change in beliefs is "drift." Slowly, we change what we believe until what emerges is nothing like what was initially expected. The problem is that we think that our current beliefs haven't changed from the original intentions. And the situation becomes even worse if we aren't sure what was originally intended. It is like playing a game of telephone, where you pass a word or short phrase from person to person down a line until you reach the last person, and then you get to compare the result with the original word that started the process. Sometimes the result is hilarious. But it can also be scary, especially if we have to take the word that we have at the end without an opportunity to compare it with the word that began the process.

Josiah wanted to celebrate the Passover. But there were two huge problems. The first was simply that the Passover had not been observed regularly. As a result, an educational process would be needed to explain why the Passover was an important celebration and why the people were required to participate.

But the second issue, and maybe even the more important one, was that the celebration of Passover had gone through a period of "drift." The way that the Passover was being celebrated was not how Israel had been instructed to celebrate God's protective hand leading the nation out of Egypt. And so, Josiah, under the guidance of the priests in the temple, went back to the beginning to figure out how Passover was intended to be celebrated. And for the first time in generations, the people celebrated the holiday as it was supposed to be celebrated.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 36