Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
with Matthew 5:38-48
Sometimes when we gather here on
Sunday mornings it is to talk about big ideas.
We dig deep into the meat of the scriptures and wonder about how they
inform our lives, or what they might mean about our condition as flawed human
beings. While you might leave with some
deep thoughts to ponder for the week, you might not leave with some concrete ideas
of actions to take. By contrast, both of
our texts this week are full of practical advice. If you want to live the good life of the
blessed people of God, then these texts will tell you how to do it.
We will start this morning with
Leviticus. Readers of the Bible will
know that Leviticus is one of the most boring books in the Bible. Full of rules and laws, Leviticus is hardly a
page turner and I admit, in over 10 years of ministry this is the first time I
have ever tried to craft a sermon from these texts. But I loved our reading from Leviticus this
week; I was immediately drawn to it.
“Don’t glean your whole field, be honest, be just, love your neighbor as
yourself,” why this sounds a whole lot like our friend Jesus talking!
What we are looking at here is a
section of the holiness code. Moses is
passing on to the people the instructions that he has received from God upon
the mountain top. This is how the people
are to distinguish themselves from the culture around them. They are to be holy, for the Lord that they
worship is holy.
This is the part where we begin to
tune out. Holiness is not for us, we
think. That is a status reserved for
those special people. That is for Mother
Teresa, and Pope John Paul, and Pope Francis, and maybe the Dali Lama, but
definitely not for us. We would never even
aim for holiness, let alone consider ourselves to be holy. But of course, that is the wonderful
challenge of these texts. “The Lord
spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all
the congregation of the people Israel.”
This message isn’t just for Moses, it isn’t just for the elders signed
on to help him lead, it isn’t just for Popes, and pastors, and Sunday school
teachers. No, this message is for all
the people of Israel. Even that one guy
at the back of the crowd who has trouble sitting still and paying attention,
even that one lady with the shifty eyes who always seems to be up to something,
even those who stand on the fringe of the group. Speak to all
the people of Israel and tell them, “you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God
am holy.”
So, what does this holiness look
like? Well, it looks like love. Not just a feeling of warmness toward our
neighbors, but the work of love lived out in daily life situations. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you
shall not reap to the very edges of your field . . . you shall leave them for
the poor.” When you harvest don’t take
it all. God gave you the gift of the harvest,
and so you, in the image of God, are called to give that harvest away. Be generous, for your God is generous.
Since few of us are farmers today, the
obvious parallel here is money. When you
reap that pay check at the end of each month.
Don’t spend it all on yourself, but give a portion of it away. Another, perhaps more challenging way I was
thinking about this idea this week was time.
Now there is a field where I harvest from corner to corner, edge to edge. When it comes to my allotment of hours each
day, I have fully harvested every second.
I thought I might challenge myself this week to try to leave a little on
the edge of my field of time; some extra for my children, some extra for a
stranger who stops by the church, some extra for prayer. How might
others glean from my time?
Leviticus reminds us that living in
the holiness of love is a daily task. We
shouldn’t steal what is not ours to take.
We shouldn’t lie to each other.
We shouldn’t use the Lord’s name as anything other than the name of the
Lord. We should be honest with our
neighbors and with those who work with us and for us. We shouldn’t do anything that makes life hard
for another person. We should live love,
as our Lord is love.
Leviticus reminds us that we are
called to live lives marked by justice, which doesn’t mean using pity to make
decisions. How often do we enter a
contested situation already knowing in our heart our answer because we favor
one side? We either pity the poor, or we
worship the most powerful. I can see
this playing out in many a political discussion on both sides these days. God calls us to make just choices without
partiality. That is yet another way that
we live love, as our God is love.
We talked a few weeks ago about our
responsibility to our kin. In the Old
Testament our kin are all those with whom we share the community. Our kin are all of the people of God. Just as in our reading from Isaiah, we are
called to treat everybody in the world with love and respect. Even when someone wrongs us, we are not
allowed to take vengeance or to hold a grudge; rather our lives are to be
marked by forgiveness. We are called in
Leviticus to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we are called to be holy,
as our God is holy.
Our reading from Matthew is more familiar to us than the Levitical code
but that doesn’t necessarily soften the message, or the demand for
holiness. Just as Leviticus tells us to
be holy, the Jesus of Matthew’s gospel tells us to be perfect. And it is a perfection lived out in our daily
interactions with other people.
While some have read Jesus’ famous
words about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile as a call to
nonviolent protest, sometimes I think that is just a way for us to talk
ourselves out of the hard message. If we
recognize the connections between Jesus’ sermon and the writings of Leviticus
one can argue that Jesus simply meant what he said. If someone hits you, let them hit you
twice. If someone takes what you have,
give them even more. If someone forces
you to march, well, “these boots were made for walkin’”.
If we make this a message of social
justice and resistance to unjust systems, then that feels good because in our
hearts we are still fighting. But that
doesn’t work when it comes to loving our enemies. In our hearts, that is just love, not
battle. Jesus tells us to be perfect, as
our heavenly Father is perfect. Just as
Leviticus tells us to be holy as the Lord our God is holy. Just as I want to say to you, be love, as
your God is love.
Jesus gives us lots of examples of how
that love is lived out in daily life.
“Give to everyone who begs from you.”
That used to be hard for me but I have learned that this can be easy if
I plan ahead to give. I have some money
in a special pocket in my purse that is my “giving away” money. Just a small $10 bill, but I make sure it is
always there in that pocket. That way,
when someone asks, I don’t have to worry about whether or not they deserve the
money, or whether or not they are lying to me, or what they are going to do
with it. I don’t have to worry about
anything, because I am just giving them my “give away” money, that’s why I have
that money with me in the first place.
It is just a small amount of money and a simple idea but I have found it
makes things so much easier for me when someone comes to the church asking for
help, or when I see someone on the street.
This is the same idea behind those Manna Bags that the youth are working
on. If you are ready to give something
away when someone asks, then it’s not a scary or stressful thing anymore. It’s a really simple way to follow the
teachings of Jesus and to live love as God is love.
Jesus says to pray for your
enemies. That’s another simple thing we
can do. You know who has hurt you or
upset you. You are probably carrying
those individuals in your heart right now.
Give them over to God in prayer, rather than carrying them like a burden
throughout your day. Deal in love and forgiveness,
as your Lord deals in love and forgiveness.
Leviticus calls us to be holy as God
is holy, and Jesus tells us to be perfect as God is perfect. Both of these seem like impossible challenges
in the abstract, but in the practical nature of daily life, I think we are all
able to live lives marked by the holiness of love.
Don’t harvest your whole field, and be
prepared to share if someone comes to you and asks. Don’t take anything that isn’t yours, and may
your relationships with neighbors, friends, and strangers be marked by
truth. Try not to be swayed in your
understandings of justice, and say a prayer for those who have done you
wrong. If someone hurts you, don’t
respond with another hurtful action, but respond with prayer.
As the people of God, we are called to
live lives that are different from the way that society runs itself. The lessons of the scriptures teach us that our
actions as individuals will shape the well-being of the entire community. Everyone is called to be holy, as our God is
holy. Everyone is called to live a life
marked by love, as we worship a God who is love.
Go out from this place this week and
consider this lesson. How are you called
to manifest the love of God, the very identity of God, in the world around
you? How can you be holy, as your Lord
is holy? God has been asking this of
God’s people for generations. It might
sound like a lot, but I know you can do it.
Be love, as your Lord is love. Amen.
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