Surgery

Passage: Leviticus 20

The 8^th episode of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, finds the crew of the USS Enterprise in a veritable paradise. “Rubicon III” is a lush, flawless world inhabited by beautiful people whose society is enlightened and peaceful. Order and harmony abound in this seemingly perfect world. The visitors discover too late that this order is maintained by an unwavering system of law that stipulates only one consequence for any infraction: death. Fear of execution keeps the locals in line.

Leviticus 20 gives the impression that this is how God’s people maintain order. Leviticus 20 follows on the heels of several chapters’ worth of various rules. Many of the rules seem strange; their purposes mysterious to us. Our mystification about God’s rules is only heightened by the harsh consequences spelled out in Leviticus 20: death or banishment. Why the extreme measures?

It pays to revisit the relationship between God and the Israelites. God has rescued them from slavery, and claimed them as his chosen people. It is God’s intention to restore within their communities something of the conditions of paradise. To establish for his people life as it was meant to be lived. This is God’s gift to them. In turn, it’s the mission of God’s people to model for the world around them this better life – life the way it was meant to be lived. All humanity, the Israelites included, had lost an innate sense of how to live right. It’s as though humanity’s common sense had gotten distorted by the fall into sin. God intervenes and becomes common sense for the Israelites, offering them unparalleled insight into his good design for Creation. They become God’s people – a redeemed people, and a light to the nations.

However, they cannot be either of these things if they give themselves to the reprehensible, and ultimately destructive, practices of the rest of the world. God identifies certain practices as sins – forbidden for his people because of the wedge they create between people and God; forbidden because of the way they infect healthy community. God provides redemption for certain sins. But for others God offers only one remedy: surgery. The perpetrators of certain sins can only be cut from within their people. God’s people. This harsh response deters those potentially drawn to certain behaviors; as well, it eliminates the possibility of certain sins spreading throughout the community. God is concerned for the health of each member of his people. Even more, God is concerned for their health as a nation. If they are infected and corrupted by sin, God’s intervention on their behalf will be for naught, and their mission to the world will be compromised. God insists that his people identify the kinds of infection that will prove deadly to the body, then perform surgery.

There is some danger in applying this view of sin to the context of the church. We continue to be God’s chosen people. We are called to be holy – to be set apart in such a significant way that the rest of the world takes notice. We are vigilant about sin, and rightly so. However, this vigilance is most often exercised in our preoccupation with the sin of other people – fellow members of the church and even non-Christians in the world around us. We are on shaky ground when we think it's our job to do away with the other sinners while remaining oblivious to our own sin. The imperative for members of the church is to begin with vigilance about one’s own sin. Jesus warns regularly against judging other people. And in his teaching about sin, Jesus encourages people to examine themselves for signs of the deadly infection. For example, in Matthew 7 Jesus uses this metaphor:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Jesus does not reduce the necessity of cutting out sin. Jesus does not deny the deadly effects of sin in the life of a child of God. But Jesus recognizes the ways in which the commands of Leviticus 20 will go awry in the life of the church. His command is to be relentless in one’s pursuit of holiness; to be meticulous in the removal of sin; but to start with you. Hear what Jesus says in Mark 9:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Leviticus 20 establishes that sin is a life and death business. Whereas Jesus changes drastically the way this principle is put into practice, the principle itself is the same. Anything that separates us from God will lead to our ultimate demise. This is true for our lives as individuals, and our life as a community of faith. We bear responsibility for ourselves and how we live. And we bear a responsibility to each other. Our connection with God is life; it is in our best interest to remove anything that threatens this life.

Punishment?

Passage: Leviticus 16

In the 8th chapter of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the story’s narrator, Scout Finch, is shocked to wake up to the sight of snow falling outside her window. She lives in Maycomb County, Alabama, a region that hasn’t seen snow in fifty years. Over breakfast that morning the phone rings, and the local phone operator informs them that, given the unusual meteorological circumstances, school will be canceled for the day.

When Scout and her brother Jem go out to explore the effects of the snow on their neighborhood, their surly neighbor, Mr. Avery, shakes a finger at them, and says, “See what you’ve done? Hasn’t snowed in Maycomb since Appomattox. It’s bad children like you makes the seasons change!” Scout concludes, “…if this was our reward, there was something to say for sin.”

Some of the rituals the Israelites are given to atone for their sin seem to lead toward the same conclusion. For instance, the Israelites are instructed to eat the meat of many of their sacrifices. Far from a somber exercise in penance, these sacrifices may well have looked more like family feasts. Then there’s the annual “Day of Atonement”. At the end of his detailed instruction about this rite of repentance, God tells his people,

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you – because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a sabbath of rest…

The Day of Atonement is a day on which the Israelites reflect on their sin; a day on which sacrifices are offered on their behalf. But it is also a holiday – a day of rest.

The atonement rituals God gives his people aren’t designed to hurt them. They aren’t punishment. They’re celebration – a celebration of the reconciliation of God and his beloved people. That being said, these rituals are far from incentive to sin. Instead, they reinforce in the people’s minds the fact that God is on their side. This in turn motivates them to live with increased loyalty and gratitude.

Unauthorized Fire

Passage: Leviticus 10

No sooner does God complete his instructions for sacrifices and offerings than things go terribly wrong. The events of Leviticus 10 eerily echo those of Exodus 32. In that passage Moses is receiving the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai as the Israelites are violating the commandments in the camp below. God’s judgment against the Israelites’ foray into alternative religion is immediate and severe. God doesn’t tolerate religious “swinging”. God is a jealous God.

In Leviticus 9 Aaron, the High Priest, offers the very first sin and burnt offerings on behalf of God’s people. At this first sacrifice the very fire of God consumes what has been offered. God’s approval and God’s power are demonstrated equally.

Immediately following, Aaron’s eldest sons also prepare an offering. However, we’re told, the fire they offer is “unauthorized.” This could mean that the vessels in which they prepare the fire aren’t part of the tabernacle set; it could mean that the coals they collect are from some fire other than that of the altar; it could refer to the incense they mix with the smoke of their offering. Regardless, Nadab and Abihu have ignored the rules and materials God carefully prescribed moments earlier. They’ve offered the sacrifice their own way.

This is what leads to their untimely and sensational demise. We’re told, “Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them.” We can’t help wondering what the big deal is. Yes, these young priests introduce a variation on God’s instructions for the sacrifice, but isn’t an offering an offering? Why is God’s response so severe?

It goes back to the business of mixing religions. The Israelites are surrounded by nations who have their own rituals and sacrifices. These rituals include burning incense. They also include child sacrifice, and a host of other reprehensible acts. And each of the pagan rituals is designed to do the same thing: manipulate the gods. Every other nation engages in religious behavior intended to appeal to the gods’ appetites or appease the gods’ anger. The rituals and sacrifices themselves are human initiated and human controlled. The one true God – the God of the Israelites – introduces a system of sacrifice that God alone initiates and controls. God insists that his priests do it precisely according to his instructions. Why? Because the religion of the Israelites isn’t about the people reaching out and grabbing hold of God. It’s not about the people calling God down and making demands. The religion of the Israelites is about God reaching out to his people; about God calling the shots.

When Nadab and Abihu fill their own censers with coals from some cooking fire, and then add their own incense to burn before God’s presence, they take religion into their own hands. They try to take control of the ritual, thereby dictating when and how God should respond to his people. They, perhaps unwittingly, treat God like an idol.

We no longer worship God according to a regimented schedule or set of rituals. We no longer offer sacrifices at a prescribed place and time. And we no longer need to approach God with fear. Why? The answer is found in this passage:

…Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Our religion is still one that God initiates and controls. We can’t make God work on our terms or do what we want. Our God is still a jealous God. We can’t divide our loyalties or introduce things we idolize into our worship services. Our God is still a God who reaches out to us. God authorizes us, once and for all, to approach his throne of grace.

Revenge is...?

Passage: Psalm 37

It’s our tendency to want to give our troubles a human face. “I’m suffering because of (name); The country’s going to pot because of (name); I lost that job because of (name).” It’s true that there are times when someone specific has hurt us – deliberately or inadvertently. There are people who act as agents of evil in our lives and in our world. Our natural response is to want to do to them what they’ve done to us; to see them experience the same suffering they’ve caused. This desire to bring retribution can easily consume us. It’s easy to get obsessed with the business of vindication.

God has always warned his people to steer away from this obsession. “In fact,” says God, “one of the defining features of my people is to curb the revenge instinct.” The Psalms deal regularly with two kinds of people: the righteous, and the wicked. What distinguishes these two types is not primarily a propensity for morality (or immorality). It’s a connection with God. The righteous are defined not as morally superior, but as wholeheartedly committed to God. Where the wicked recruit whatever means possible to get ahead, the righteous rely on God. Where the wicked are obsessed with amassing resources and power at all costs, the righteous are convinced that God will provide and protect. The righteous hear God’s promises, and live accordingly.

The Psalms have a lot to say about our desire to see evildoers get theirs. Psalm 37 puts this instinct in the proper perspective. In the same way that the Psalmist trusts God to provide the necessities of daily life, he also trusts God to measure out justice. The Psalmist says, “Don’t worry about the wicked. God is keeping track. It’s not your job to punish the people who have hurt you. That’s God’s job.” The Psalmist goes so far as to say,

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8)

Those of us who have contemplated revenge know the wisdom of these words. The desire to see evildoers suffer draws us into the same web of evil that entangles our enemies. It sucks us in and consumes us, emptying us of the very quality that defines the righteous: dependence on God.

One more facet of the wisdom of Psalm 37 is this: whereas our suffering is at times directly attributable to someone else’s actions, more often it is not. Often we unjustly target someone as the source of our troubles. When we’re hurting we are rarely well-equipped to distinguish whether or not that person is genuinely to blame. Imagine for a moment the damage done when we obsess or act upon the desire for revenge when in fact the object of our obsession is innocent. The pursuit of revenge too often unleashes a cycle of violence that takes on a life of its own. God says, “Let me sort it out. Not only do I offer the most just punishment, I know better than you who deserves it. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil!”

Choose the path of righteousness. Be, as the Psalmist urges, a person of peace. Leave the administration of hurt to the evil; leave the administration of justice to God. Trust him to take care of you and your enemies.