Leviticus
19:9-18 - Obedience demanded from the
Lord your God. Notice throughout the Old Testament reading that the people are
reminded, “Speak to the Israelites and
say to them: “I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 18:1) God’s people are
given instructions concerning a morality reflecting God’s holiness. God was
preparing His people for a life different from their pagan neighbors, whose
life-style was deplorably immoral. Our lesson is an expansion of the Ten
Commandments as the Lord gives detail as to how and why we must live. We live
in obedience because of the relationship with have been given with our God.
The Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday is written in
the third book of the Torah. The text is Leviticus 19:9-18 and it follows the
declaration of an important reality in verse 2 of the chapter. “You are (will be) holy because I, the LORD
your God, am holy.” Contextually this is a far superior translation than: “Be holy, because…” So, the set-up for
our text is the declaring to the Israelites the reality which is theirs because
they are the children of God, people of the Covenant. “You are holy because the LORD your God is holy, and this is what that
looks like.” In other words, because of the relationship of presence the
LORD has with His people, His holiness ‘gets
on them,’ and, as a result, this is what their life now looks like because
the holy LORD is their God. The LORD says, “You
are mine, I am yours and this is how we live and walk together.” United
together in covenant and communion, the people are holy because of their union
with the Holy One.
When considering these chapters of Leviticus, it comes
down to identity and relationship. These laws, statutes and commands, given at
Sinai, anticipate the people of Israel living with their LORD in the Promised
Land.[2]
Collect for
Pentecost 5: O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails
to guide and govern those whom You have nurtured in Your steadfast love and
worship, make us ever love and adore Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.[3]
Collect for Wednesday of the Week of Pentecost 5: O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails to guide and govern those whom you have nurtured in your steadfast love and worship, make us ever revere and adore your holy name through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen [4]– 06 July, 2022
[2] https://www.1517.org/articles/old-testament-leviticus-199-18-pentecost-5-series-c
[3] Collect for Pentecost 5, Lutheran Worship, © 1980 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
[4] Collect for Wednesday of the week of Pentecost 5, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
No comments:
Post a Comment