WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.500 Grace mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father from our Lord 2 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:06.600 and Savior Jesus Christ. 3 00:00:06.600 --> 00:00:07.800 Amen. 4 00:00:07.800 --> 00:00:09.200 Please be seated. 5 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:16.900 The text for our meditation is from the Old Testament reading 6 00:00:16.900 --> 00:00:18.500 Leviticus 19. 7 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:21.200 In all my years of preaching 8 00:00:21.200 --> 00:00:26.400 I don't believe I've ever preached on a text from Leviticus. 9 00:00:27.900 --> 00:00:28.700 Thank you 10 00:00:28.700 --> 00:00:29.100 Dr. 11 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:30.100 Burreson for this assignment. 12 00:00:31.900 --> 00:00:36.800 I checked it's only included three times in our three-year lectionary 13 00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:40.700 series and it's always this very same text. 14 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:45.400 But obviously in ancient times Leviticus was well-known part of the 15 00:00:45.400 --> 00:00:45.800 Torah. 16 00:00:46.900 --> 00:00:50.700 It was often read maybe one of the first books taught to Jewish children. 17 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:53.700 Certainly often quoted in the New Testament. 18 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.100 It describes a way of life. 19 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:01.000 In a way of worship, that's much different than our own. 20 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:03.800 But that doesn't mean it's irrelevant. 21 00:01:03.800 --> 00:01:07.100 That doesn't mean it doesn't speak to us today. 22 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:14.000 Because of Leviticus does proclaim the law in all of its severity. As 23 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.500 it accuses and condemns us of our sin. 24 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.900 But it also proclaims the Gospel in all of its sweetness. 25 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:24.400 As it points us to Jesus. 26 00:01:25.600 --> 00:01:30.800 This text is the theme of the book. The Lord instructed Moses to say to 27 00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:35.800 the people you shall be holy, Kedoshim. 28 00:01:37.100 --> 00:01:41.400 For I the Lord your God am Holy, kedowus. 29 00:01:42.600 --> 00:01:47.600 Kadosh, holy the word is used some 90 times in The Book of Leviticus. 30 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:55.000 All of the laws all of the statues all the regulations and rituals in 31 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:58.800 this book are to remind God's people that they have been set apart 32 00:01:58.800 --> 00:01:59.400 from the world. 33 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:02.400 They were to be holy people. 34 00:02:03.700 --> 00:02:05.800 Because they were God's people. 35 00:02:07.800 --> 00:02:12.400 He had delivered them from slavery in the land of Egypt. And on the way to 36 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:13.000 the promised land 37 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:17.600 they paused at Mount Sinai and there God made his Covenant with them. 38 00:02:18.700 --> 00:02:21.900 The glory of the Lord came down upon the mountain top. 39 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.100 The Lord Called Moses up and he instructed Moses to tell the people 40 00:02:27.100 --> 00:02:31.900 that they were his treasured possession, among all the people of the 41 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:32.100 world. 42 00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:33.500 They were set apart. 43 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.400 They were to be a kingdom of priests. 44 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:45.900 A holy nation and then God said I am the Lord your God who brought you 45 00:02:45.900 --> 00:02:46.400 out of Egypt. 46 00:02:48.100 --> 00:02:54.600 And in 10 words, 10 commands, he defined for them what it means to be his 47 00:02:54.600 --> 00:02:55.200 people. 48 00:02:57.100 --> 00:02:58.300 When the people saw and 49 00:02:59.700 --> 00:03:04.700 heard thunder and lightning and trumpet calls. 50 00:03:04.700 --> 00:03:05.800 They were terrified. 51 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:07.300 They stood far off. 52 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:09.800 They wanted nothing to do with a God like that. 53 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:16.200 For they knew they weren't holy they were far from it and they would 54 00:03:16.200 --> 00:03:18.600 prove that again and again throughout their history. 55 00:03:21.600 --> 00:03:25.300 As the Book of Exodus continues the Lord spelled out in Greater detail 56 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.000 what he expected of his people. 57 00:03:29.100 --> 00:03:30.900 As law upon law. 58 00:03:32.100 --> 00:03:37.500 Regulation upon regulation. Ritual upon ritual. Instructions on how 59 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:41.300 they were to conduct their lives and how they were to worship Him and 60 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:46.000 specific Instructions that they were to build a tabernacle a tent of 61 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:51.400 meeting. Where he could come and dwell down dwell in the midst of all 62 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:52.100 of his people. 63 00:03:54.700 --> 00:03:58.300 And the book of Exodus ends with the glory of the Lord filling that 64 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:03.900 Tabernacle. In the sight of all the people throughout all their journey. 65 00:04:06.100 --> 00:04:14.000 How could people, sinful people, have communion with the Lord God a holy 66 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:14.800 God like that? 67 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.600 How could they ever possibly meet all of his demands? 68 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:20.100 How could they be 69 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:20.800 Holy? 70 00:04:23.400 --> 00:04:26.000 Book of Leviticus answers those questions. 71 00:04:26.900 --> 00:04:32.500 By explaining the sacrifices and the rituals and the worship and the 72 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:37.500 daily life that's required for those in a right relationship with God. 73 00:04:39.200 --> 00:04:40.100 In effect 74 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:43.800 God said this is how your to be different than the nation's. 75 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:50.800 This is how I want you to worship me. You shall be holy for I the Lord 76 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:52.500 your God am Holy. 77 00:04:54.700 --> 00:04:58.200 And some of the laws some of the regulations some of God's 78 00:04:58.200 --> 00:05:01.600 expectations seems so arbitrary. 79 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:04.900 Just plain weird to us. 80 00:05:06.900 --> 00:05:10.000 Words on how to trim your beard and sideburns. 81 00:05:11.700 --> 00:05:16.700 Words prohibiting piercings and tattoos and how to eat a steak and 82 00:05:16.700 --> 00:05:20.400 what kind of clothes cloth your your clothes should be made of. 83 00:05:22.400 --> 00:05:24.500 Is that what makes a person holy? 84 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:30.800 There are some regulations and laws that seem more reasonable, but 85 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:32.600 maybe they still don't apply to us. 86 00:05:33.900 --> 00:05:38.500 About what animals do you eat and how to cook them and sanitary 87 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:43.700 conditions and Medical Treatments and sexual relations and how to grow 88 00:05:43.700 --> 00:05:45.100 crops and raise livestock. 89 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.800 And what to offer as sacrifices. 90 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:53.200 Is that what makes a person holy? 91 00:05:55.700 --> 00:05:57.500 There are also moral laws. 92 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:03.900 We hear some of them in the lesson for today. How how we are to care 93 00:06:03.900 --> 00:06:08.300 for and provide for the poor and the needy the disabled and the elderly. 94 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:14.000 How to deal honestly with one another. How to defend those who cannot 95 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:20.300 defend themselves. How to act justly in court. How we need to overcome 96 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:22.400 our prejudices and our hatred. 97 00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:25.900 Never to bear grudges or seek revenge. 98 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:31.200 And it all seems summarized by these last words. 99 00:06:32.700 --> 00:06:35.800 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 100 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:41.800 But is that what makes people holy? 101 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:49.900 So this text like the Lord Almighty himself is terrifying for these 102 00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:52.100 statutes and regulations and laws 103 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:54.100 they always accuse us. 104 00:06:55.700 --> 00:07:00.100 Always show us the by nature and by our deeds 105 00:07:01.200 --> 00:07:02.100 we're not holly. 106 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.000 So, how can we ever have communion 107 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:09.200 with a perfect holy God? 108 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.100 Lord didn't keep his Holiness to himself. 109 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:18.400 He didn't use it to distance himself from his people. 110 00:07:18.400 --> 00:07:21.600 He came down to share his Holiness with them. 111 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:23.800 They didn't make themselves 112 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:25.700 Holy he Sanctified them. 113 00:07:25.700 --> 00:07:26.600 He made them 114 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:27.200 Holy. 115 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:32.600 He said, "You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am 116 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:38.400 Holy." And Kleinig in his commentary calls this a divine passive. 117 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:43.500 Which means that it can be translated as a demand. 118 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:46.400 You shall be holy. 119 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:53.700 Where it can be translated as a promise. You will be holy. 120 00:07:55.200 --> 00:08:00.800 Where it can be translated as a statement of fact. You are holy. 121 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:04.800 Sinai God declared them 122 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:09.100 Holy and he came down to dwell with them in the midst of the camp and 123 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:13.600 his very presence there made them and everything around them 124 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:14.200 Holy. 125 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:19.400 They met with him daily in the Tabernacle and they came into contact 126 00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:23.300 with him and with his holy things, in their worship. 127 00:08:25.400 --> 00:08:26.600 They walked with him. 128 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.000 They went about their daily lives. 129 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:33.000 And His Holiness covered them, 130 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:35.200 protected them. 131 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:42.000 From abuse and injustice from their enemies and all the evil powers 132 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:42.600 around them. 133 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.100 They were to be holy and to keep his command not because they were not 134 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:50.300 to make themselves 135 00:08:50.300 --> 00:08:52.300 Holy but because they were holy. 136 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:58.400 They were to keep his commands to prevent anything from blocking his 137 00:08:58.400 --> 00:09:00.600 Holiness from spreading throughout the community. 138 00:09:02.900 --> 00:09:07.800 They were to keep his commands because ultimately the Lord wanted his 139 00:09:07.800 --> 00:09:12.500 glory to spread through them a kingdom of priests out into the whole 140 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:13.100 world. 141 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.600 Israel was holy because God made them. 142 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:19.200 Holy. 143 00:09:20.900 --> 00:09:23.000 But they remained unfaithful. 144 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:27.000 Saints and sinners 145 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:30.700 simul justus et peccator. 146 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:36.800 They were unwilling, they were unable to keep the laws demands. 147 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:42.300 Their sin had a way of separating them from God and His holiness. 148 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.300 Their love for the Lord their God their worship their daily lives 149 00:09:48.300 --> 00:09:50.800 their love for their neighbor their mission to the world. 150 00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:53.300 They were not holly 151 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:56.000 and neither are we. 152 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:00.500 You know you're not holy. 153 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.200 You've heard the law of God. 154 00:10:05.900 --> 00:10:07.400 It always accuses you. 155 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:09.800 Guilts you. 156 00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:12.200 Shames you. 157 00:10:13.400 --> 00:10:14.400 Terrifies you. 158 00:10:16.400 --> 00:10:20.000 Maybe that's why the Book of Leviticus isn't so popular among us. 159 00:10:21.400 --> 00:10:23.600 Because we know by nature 160 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:29.900 by the way, we've conducted our lives in all of our deeds 161 00:10:29.900 --> 00:10:32.100 we are not his holy people. 162 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:38.200 But the Lord remains holy. 163 00:10:39.900 --> 00:10:42.600 And he's faithful to all of his promises. 164 00:10:44.400 --> 00:10:47.400 He said you will be holy. 165 00:10:49.300 --> 00:10:51.900 So in his mercy and Grace he sent his Son. 166 00:10:53.200 --> 00:11:00.700 The Holy One to dwell to Tabernacle among us to share with us his 167 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:01.900 perfect Holiness. 168 00:11:01.900 --> 00:11:08.800 And so it was Jesus who kept the law of God perfectly. He loved his Heavenly 169 00:11:08.800 --> 00:11:12.500 Father with all his heart and soul and with his life. 170 00:11:14.400 --> 00:11:16.500 He truly loved his neighbor as himself. 171 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:25.500 At the cross Jesus offered the only perfect God pleasing sacrifice for 172 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:26.200 the sin of the world. 173 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:32.500 And now his blood covers all your sins. 174 00:11:34.300 --> 00:11:37.900 In his love, he shares his perfect Holiness with you. 175 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:41.700 He makes you holy. 176 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:48.700 In holy baptism he claimed you as his own and made you holy. 177 00:11:50.300 --> 00:11:56.300 As you read and hear and study his holy word he makes you holy. 178 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:02.900 As you partake once again today of this Holy Communion the very body 179 00:12:02.900 --> 00:12:04.700 and blood of your Lord and Savior Jesus, 180 00:12:04.700 --> 00:12:10.300 He makes you holy. As you live your life today and every day his 181 00:12:10.300 --> 00:12:14.200 Holiness covers and empowers you for holy living. 182 00:12:16.800 --> 00:12:23.100 So, how are we the people of God today to respond to a holy gracious 183 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:24.000 God like this? 184 00:12:26.400 --> 00:12:27.200 You shall be holy. 185 00:12:29.300 --> 00:12:30.500 That's a demand. 186 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:34.000 You will be holy. 187 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.300 That's a promise. 188 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:39.800 You Are Holy. 189 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:44.000 That's a statement of fact in Christ Jesus. 190 00:12:45.800 --> 00:12:46.600 Amen. 191 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:52.200 May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your 192 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:54.500 hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. 193 00:12:57.300 --> 00:13:00.900 We rise to confess our faith together using the Nicene Creed.