Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 23 verses 39 through 43:
39 Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. 40 On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever throughout your generations. 42 You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Last April our family moved into a new house beside a lovely Jewish named the Isgurs.
Late last year the Isgurs invited us and several other friends and neighbors to join them for Sukkot, the annual celebration of the Festival of Booths, when Jews commemorate the Israelites’ 40-year journey to Promised Land through the wilderness in tents or “booths”. Though the Biblical injunction is to actually stay in the Booths for a whole week, most modern Jews like the Isgurs instead hold outside parties and invite friend, though I do have a Jewish friend who sleeps outside with his children in the tree house he made them.
The Isgur Sukkot party is a fun-loving time. Jews and Gentiles join together in laughter and story telling, and a little wine drinking. There is a small fire, though none of the neighbors seemed to stay past dark because while 50 is the new 40, nine is also the new midnight.
And I suppose that is the whole point of the Festival. It is a reminder to the Jewish people that life is fragile, that they came from nothing and nowhere, and are still tenting on this earth towards a Promised Land where they’ve never before been and don’t know how long it will take, and so need to look after one another — even look after the Gentiles — on the way.
And as for us Gentiles, I think we could learn something from our Jewish neighbors. Our ancestors too tabernacled in the wilderness. They came here — wherever here is — on horses, and in buggies, and on the backs or in the arms of big sisters. They too wandered, veered, feared, got lost, and found help. Somehow the manna fell, enough — barely.
We all came from survivors. And we’re survivors too. And we may yet have more to survive. And we will will with a cloud by day, and fire by night — and maybe a little wine and story telling to boot.
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Leviticus chapters 24 and 25.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 19, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verses 9 and 10:
9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
In the little town where I first served as pastor up in Vermont there was an old and still-dirt road which was easy to miss unless you were looking for it. It was called “Poor Farm Road”. And in by-gone days it was literally the road to the “Poor Farm”, a plot of land the town fathers had set aside for the sake of the needs and provision of the poor in town. It was their way of putting into practice today’s Lesson on not stripping the vineyard bare or gathering the fallen grapes, but leaving something for the poor and needy and the alien.
This injunction is interesting. The command is given and it’s about as clear as anything in the Bible. And then a kind of exclamation is put on it at the end. “I am the LORD your God,” the word says.
This was a word for people coming out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh. There a man’s measure was judged solely by how much he could produce in a day or in a year. No one ever produced a whole life-time because the work used them up and they were then good for nothing. That was Pharaoh’s system.
But now they’re under a new system. Pharaoh is no longer their master, the LORD is their God. And that means a new judgement for a person — were they kind and gracious and did they leave something for the alien? Because they too were once aliens, and they ought never to forget that.
So, a question: Are we leaving something around the edges of our lives? Are we leaving something in time, or money, or produce to help the poor, the needy, and the alien? Do we remember that we too as people were once looking for Poor Farm Road?
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Leviticus chapters 22 and 23.
9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
In the little town where I first served as pastor up in Vermont there was an old and still-dirt road which was easy to miss unless you were looking for it. It was called “Poor Farm Road”. And in by-gone days it was literally the road to the “Poor Farm”, a plot of land the town fathers had set aside for the sake of the needs and provision of the poor in town. It was their way of putting into practice today’s Lesson on not stripping the vineyard bare or gathering the fallen grapes, but leaving something for the poor and needy and the alien.
This injunction is interesting. The command is given and it’s about as clear as anything in the Bible. And then a kind of exclamation is put on it at the end. “I am the LORD your God,” the word says.
This was a word for people coming out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh. There a man’s measure was judged solely by how much he could produce in a day or in a year. No one ever produced a whole life-time because the work used them up and they were then good for nothing. That was Pharaoh’s system.
But now they’re under a new system. Pharaoh is no longer their master, the LORD is their God. And that means a new judgement for a person — were they kind and gracious and did they leave something for the alien? Because they too were once aliens, and they ought never to forget that.
So, a question: Are we leaving something around the edges of our lives? Are we leaving something in time, or money, or produce to help the poor, the needy, and the alien? Do we remember that we too as people were once looking for Poor Farm Road?
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Leviticus chapters 22 and 23.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 18, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 16 verses 7 through 10:
7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting; 8 and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
Here is the Scripture from which we get the word “scapegoat”. The scapegoat is the goat upon which the judgment (in Latin “scepter”) falls. The scepter of judgment falls on the scapegoat, and all the sin of the people is then placed upon its head while another goat is cast out into the wilderness and made an offering to evil. So the people’s sin is atoned for — at least for another year.
It sounds wildly ancient and even ludicrous. But wherever you get a mass of people together, see if the anxieties and sins of the collective body do not all have away of being channeled into one place, or perhaps two. Someone or something is blamed or punished acutely, while another is demonized and made to leave.
This is still the way we often address our collective sins and anxieties within our institutions, whether they be our political parties and administrations, our corporate bodies, our hospitals, our universities, or even our churches.
Pay attention. Be aware. Open your eyes and see and then speak; for the satisfaction of the scapegoat will last a while, but soon there will arise need for another sacrifice and more casting out.
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Leviticus chapters 19 through 21.
7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting; 8 and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
Here is the Scripture from which we get the word “scapegoat”. The scapegoat is the goat upon which the judgment (in Latin “scepter”) falls. The scepter of judgment falls on the scapegoat, and all the sin of the people is then placed upon its head while another goat is cast out into the wilderness and made an offering to evil. So the people’s sin is atoned for — at least for another year.
It sounds wildly ancient and even ludicrous. But wherever you get a mass of people together, see if the anxieties and sins of the collective body do not all have away of being channeled into one place, or perhaps two. Someone or something is blamed or punished acutely, while another is demonized and made to leave.
This is still the way we often address our collective sins and anxieties within our institutions, whether they be our political parties and administrations, our corporate bodies, our hospitals, our universities, or even our churches.
Pay attention. Be aware. Open your eyes and see and then speak; for the satisfaction of the scapegoat will last a while, but soon there will arise need for another sacrifice and more casting out.
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Leviticus chapters 19 through 21.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 17, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 12 verses 6 through 8:
6 When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.
This is one of the Scriptures from which we gather Jesus’ family was poor. Later in the Bible, in the book of Luke, Jesus’ parents present the infant Jesus at the Temple to make offering to the LORD for the gift of their new child. Mary and Jesus come, not with a lamb, but with what was acceptable for those who could not afford a lamb — “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).
What is required of us in the way of offerings should not be overly taxing or burdensome. We give what we can. We give sacrificially. But it does not honor the LORD for a person to fall deeper into debt or poverty at the altar of giving. So do not heap guilt onto your already heavy burden.
I have a friend who really inspired me last week. He is not yet in a place of giving financially. He has more time than money. So he’s donating his time to help us — and he’s given up several whole overnights to stay at the church with homeless we house during the winter. That’s something not a lot of rich people are able to do.
Here’s a good rule. Give what you can. If you can’t give money give time. And if you can’t give time we will still accept your money!
Work towards the tithe — that is ten percent of your yearly income. Set a goal to add an additional percent given each year. In at least a decade you’ll be a tither. A few more of those will change the church!
And when you reach the tithe give even more. Give extraordinarily. Store up treasures in heaven; and be glad to help foot the bill for the lambs other families cannot afford!
6 When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.
This is one of the Scriptures from which we gather Jesus’ family was poor. Later in the Bible, in the book of Luke, Jesus’ parents present the infant Jesus at the Temple to make offering to the LORD for the gift of their new child. Mary and Jesus come, not with a lamb, but with what was acceptable for those who could not afford a lamb — “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).
What is required of us in the way of offerings should not be overly taxing or burdensome. We give what we can. We give sacrificially. But it does not honor the LORD for a person to fall deeper into debt or poverty at the altar of giving. So do not heap guilt onto your already heavy burden.
I have a friend who really inspired me last week. He is not yet in a place of giving financially. He has more time than money. So he’s donating his time to help us — and he’s given up several whole overnights to stay at the church with homeless we house during the winter. That’s something not a lot of rich people are able to do.
Here’s a good rule. Give what you can. If you can’t give money give time. And if you can’t give time we will still accept your money!
Work towards the tithe — that is ten percent of your yearly income. Set a goal to add an additional percent given each year. In at least a decade you’ll be a tither. A few more of those will change the church!
And when you reach the tithe give even more. Give extraordinarily. Store up treasures in heaven; and be glad to help foot the bill for the lambs other families cannot afford!
Friday, February 14, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 14, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 6 verses 1 through 7:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbor, 3 or have found something lost and lied about it—if you swear falsely regarding any of the various things that one may do and sin thereby— 4 when you have sinned and realize your guilt, and would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to you, or the lost thing that you found, 5 or anything else about which you have sworn falsely, you shall repay the principal amount and shall add one-fifth to it. You shall pay it to its owner when you realize your guilt. 6 And you shall bring to the priest, as your guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 The priest shall make atonement on your behalf before the Lord, and you shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and incur guilt thereby.
In the Bible absolution from guilt is never just a matter between a person and the LORD when a neighbor has been wronged. Nor is it enough simply express remorse to the neighbor. Restitution and even reparation are necessary. One who steals from a neighbor has to restore what was taken — and then some.
Desmond Tutu used to say, “If someone steals my pen and then asks me to forgive him, unless he returns my pen, the sincerity of his contrition and confession will be considered to be nil. Confession, forgiveness, and reparation, wherever feasible, form part of a continuum...”
The writer of Leviticus is interested in creating a just community. A just community requires just recompense. This is not a matter of vengeance, but of basic fairness.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Leviticus chapters 8 through 15.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbor, 3 or have found something lost and lied about it—if you swear falsely regarding any of the various things that one may do and sin thereby— 4 when you have sinned and realize your guilt, and would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to you, or the lost thing that you found, 5 or anything else about which you have sworn falsely, you shall repay the principal amount and shall add one-fifth to it. You shall pay it to its owner when you realize your guilt. 6 And you shall bring to the priest, as your guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 The priest shall make atonement on your behalf before the Lord, and you shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and incur guilt thereby.
In the Bible absolution from guilt is never just a matter between a person and the LORD when a neighbor has been wronged. Nor is it enough simply express remorse to the neighbor. Restitution and even reparation are necessary. One who steals from a neighbor has to restore what was taken — and then some.
Desmond Tutu used to say, “If someone steals my pen and then asks me to forgive him, unless he returns my pen, the sincerity of his contrition and confession will be considered to be nil. Confession, forgiveness, and reparation, wherever feasible, form part of a continuum...”
The writer of Leviticus is interested in creating a just community. A just community requires just recompense. This is not a matter of vengeance, but of basic fairness.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Leviticus chapters 8 through 15.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 13, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 4 verses 27 through 31:
27 If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done and incurs guilt, 28 when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed. 29 You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering. 30 The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all its fat, as the fat is removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven.
At the heart of the book of Leviticus is the human need to make atonement before God. Whether this need is heavenly or earthly, juridical or psychological, we know for sure it is deeply theological. It has to do with our relationship with God.
In Leviticus there is an interesting phrase that comes up again and again relative to the atonement offerings of made of animals on the Tabernacle altar: “the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar”.
The phrasing “turn it into smoke” is intentional and different from simple burning or incineration. At the altar the offering is not destroyed by fire but rather transformed into a sacred smoke rising up to heaven.
Later in the New Testament, Paul will speak of his own works using the burnt offering as a metaphor for his work for the church, which he says — even if fruitless — he prays is a sacred and pleasing offering to God.
Nothing is ever destroyed on God’s altar, so long as it is given genuinely and with humility before God. What is offered in the spirit of a desire for atonement (oneness) with God is pleasing to God. And nothing is incinerated— ever. It is transformed and turned into smoke on the altar of the LORD.
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Leviticus chapters 5 through 7.
27 If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done and incurs guilt, 28 when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed. 29 You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering. 30 The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all its fat, as the fat is removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven.
At the heart of the book of Leviticus is the human need to make atonement before God. Whether this need is heavenly or earthly, juridical or psychological, we know for sure it is deeply theological. It has to do with our relationship with God.
In Leviticus there is an interesting phrase that comes up again and again relative to the atonement offerings of made of animals on the Tabernacle altar: “the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar”.
The phrasing “turn it into smoke” is intentional and different from simple burning or incineration. At the altar the offering is not destroyed by fire but rather transformed into a sacred smoke rising up to heaven.
Later in the New Testament, Paul will speak of his own works using the burnt offering as a metaphor for his work for the church, which he says — even if fruitless — he prays is a sacred and pleasing offering to God.
Nothing is ever destroyed on God’s altar, so long as it is given genuinely and with humility before God. What is offered in the spirit of a desire for atonement (oneness) with God is pleasing to God. And nothing is incinerated— ever. It is transformed and turned into smoke on the altar of the LORD.
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Leviticus chapters 5 through 7.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Daily Lesson for February 12, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Exodus chapter 39 verses 8 through 14:
8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. 9 It was square; the breastpiece was made double, a span in length and a span in width when doubled. 10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald was the first row; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.
As he entered the Holy Tabernacle, on the breastplate of the Priest were twelve stones, set in four rows, each stone of a different mineral — emerald, sapphire, onyx, etc. — and each having one of different names engraved upon them. These were stones of remembrance, stones to bear the names of the 12 tribes of Israel before the presence of the LORD.
And I would say that is pretty good model for prayer. We bring the names of the people we care and are responsible for before the LORD. We carry their names on our hearts just as the Priest brought the names of the tribes on his breastplate.
What are the names you have on your heart this morning? Have you brought them before the LORD? Are you bearing your remembrance stones into the Holy Tabernacle of Prayer?
NOTE: We’re through another Bible book! Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Leviticus chapters 1 through 4.
8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. 9 It was square; the breastpiece was made double, a span in length and a span in width when doubled. 10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald was the first row; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.
As he entered the Holy Tabernacle, on the breastplate of the Priest were twelve stones, set in four rows, each stone of a different mineral — emerald, sapphire, onyx, etc. — and each having one of different names engraved upon them. These were stones of remembrance, stones to bear the names of the 12 tribes of Israel before the presence of the LORD.
And I would say that is pretty good model for prayer. We bring the names of the people we care and are responsible for before the LORD. We carry their names on our hearts just as the Priest brought the names of the tribes on his breastplate.
What are the names you have on your heart this morning? Have you brought them before the LORD? Are you bearing your remembrance stones into the Holy Tabernacle of Prayer?
NOTE: We’re through another Bible book! Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Leviticus chapters 1 through 4.
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