| Again we hear that the liturgy of Judah (and our own) shapes us in many ways that are necessary when we live in a culture dominated by other powers. In addition to order and presence, this tradition also insists on a self-conscious ethic commensurate with God's own holiness: "You shall be holy, for I the Lord you God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). The commands of Leviticus, which often strike us as excessively punctilious, are an effort to assure the community of a distinctiveness that devotes its entire existence to the will and purpose of Yahweh. This tradition quite clearly accepts a vocation of oddity: "You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you have lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you" (Lev. 18:3). The text does not mention Babylon, for such a mention here would be anachronistic. If, however the text is dated to the sixth century, then we may understand "Egypt" and "Canaan" as capable of extrapolation to Babylon. When the community gathers for worship and we hear the stories of old, we are putting ourselves into the midst of those stories. So, as we see here, we are invited into a way of life - an ethic. Though empire of days gone by are used to draw the pictures of the life we are to lead, the empire of the day is the one that is attempting to rule us. Therefore the community at worship is being called to look around and find the way they are to be alive within that empire that attempts to take away our identity and the very center of our lives. Within the faithful storytelling of God's people, we must be gracious about how the stories came to be what they are. We have a gift given to us when the stories remind us of the God who will be our God in and through all times. Now, if that story is told in one age - in order to create a faithful response/ethic among the people - and yet the references are to an age long ago, does that ruin the story or make it less "true?" Of course it doesn't. Rather, it show that the faithful community of the day (let's say the Priestly editors) is so concerned about the integrity and vitality and faithfulness of the community in trauma that it uses the flexibility of poetic imagination to make a point so that the people will "listen, O Israel." Connection: We have so many gifts handed to us through the stories within our Scriptures that are meant to empower us, encourage us, bring us into a life of hopefulness and creativity. Sometimes it would do us well to listen to the story again and again - letting it speak to us as faithful people about to face the reality of the day. O God of Eternal Life, you are the ruler of all times and all places. Continue to bless us with faithful storytellers who are always a witness to your blessed Reign. Amen. |
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