Lev 1-4 Sunday Bloody Sunday

February 1st, Leviticus 1-4

       Daily life and the cost of sacrifice. Certainly an interesting start to Leviticus. If you like hearing about kidneys, lobes of liver, fat and entrails this is the passage for you!! Imagining the shear volume of blood everywhere is a bit overwhelming. I'm trying to get past all of that to move into some greater meaning.
       One thing that stirs me is the real time issue of subsistence,  nomad, farmers/herdsman. They are truly living on a razor's edge of being able to provide for their families. It hit me this morning as it talked about baking loaves to be brought as a grain offering. If I had limited food in my home and baked bread that would leave me a little hungry, how would I feel about it. It's the nature of sacrifice. Sacrifice that doesn't really cost me anything isn't by definition sacrifice.
       I thought about the offering for unintentional sins. I have to rewrite it so I can understand the impact. They were to bring a bull, or a goat to be sacrificed for committing an unintentional sin. What if every time I committed an unintentional sin, I was required to bring $500 to put in the offering. One of two things would happen. I would either go broke, or I'd be a lot more cautious about how I lived my life. As a people whose lives revolve around money, maybe we understand losing cash more than losing an animal. But I think it would only take one or two trips to make this sacrifice before you take note that every time I sin an innocent animal has to die. That might make an impact as well.
       For many, the first Sunday of the month is communion Sunday. Jesus was also innocent. "He who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." A story tragic and hopeful all in the same breath. Blood shed because of my sin. May we say thanks and walk with more caution, seeking to honor our Lord.

Gen 22-24 Wholly Before Holy

January 7 Genesis 22-24

       Pictures say 1000 words and this is one of those stories where an artist conception adds a lot. I can think about this story in the text, but to see some of the paintings of this scene over the years is really intense. This is Rembrandt's depiction of this scene.
       Growing up in the church has deadened the impact of this story. I accept it as just another story. For my friends who have not grown up in the church, this story makes absolutely no sense to them. Sometimes I wonder how you even explain this story to people
       Thinking about it this morning, a seemingly parallel story came to mind. The story of the Rich Young Ruler in the gospels. In it someone comes to Jesus and desires to know what else he has to do to inherit eternal life. The zinger at the end is  to sell all you have and give it to the poor.
       In the end the issue isn't about money, it's about giving wholly so that we can become Holy. In the end the Young Ruler walked away sad, because he knew he would not give it up.
       Abraham has learned to walk in obedience to God and stands in stark contrast to the young man in the gospel of Mark. Maybe the young man could have had the same blessing pronounced over Abraham in Genesis 22:15-18. Faith comes before blessing and wholly comes before Holy.
       I am like either of these gentlemen. There are things that keep me from being wholly committed to my Father in Heaven and thus from experiencing a full sense of Holy. I know part of my journey into a deeper faith this year is letting go of things I value more than God. Creating space in my heart so God can fill it with Himself. The soap bubbles replaced with God almighty.

Other items of interest: Good baby name book, I like the brothers Uz and Buz. I appreciate the respect that Abraham's neighbors had for him in finding a proper burial for his wife Sarah. Also, Abraham's respect for them, funny how that tends to be a two way street. I must of read the story about Isaac and Rebekah when I was starting to date girls in High School. I remember  all the "if they say this" kind of scenarios. Classic!