Adaptability. Flexibility. Relevance. If you're like me, you've heard over and over how your level of adaptability, flexibility, and relevance will make the difference between success and failure. If you want to survive in today's cutthroat world of business or academia, or even in the world of the Church, you have to be adaptable, flexible, relevant. We are told we need to cultivate these qualities. Only by having an edge over your competition will you distinguish yourself.
We read something quite different in our first reading today. God speaks to the Israelites about their future. When they enter the Promised Land, they are not to adopt the customs and laws of the natives. They are to be different. The people of Israel are to be set apart from their neighbors. As the apostle Peter would write over a thousand years later, believers have a different identity. 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV) says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his [Christ's] own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
Now I know what some people will say. I expect I've been guilty of it myself, and have certainly heard it countless times. "That's just like you religious people. You go into an area and think you're so special, you won't follow the rules they already have. You go and impose your own rules on other people, oppress them, plunder them, take the money and run." Is anyone thinking that's a likely objection? Let's see what we see when we look at the specific laws Israel is to obey, beginning in Leviticus 19.9, going step by step through verse 18.
In verses 9-10 we see the Israelites will be different from the natives because they will leave some of their produce for the poor. They will not glean the fields themselves. They will allow some to lie for those less fortunate to pick up.
What's our desire for the poor? Don't we sometimes frankly wish they would go away? Have you ever found this in yourself? Or maybe the shoe has been on the other foot. Have you ever been the poor person in an uncomfortable situation? What was it like? You are invited to a social engagement, put on your best clothes, and drive your car there. If your car looks anything like mine, you may be glad if you arrive after dark. And just how are your evening clothes these days? Are you prepared to make small talk? As a homeschool father, a private school teacher, and a pastor, I know I can put an end to spontaneous conversation pretty quickly by revealing my identity. Yet just like every one of us can wind up looking like the poor bumpkin, we can all make others feel that way as well. Is that the atmosphere our Lord says his people create when they enter their Promise? Not at all. There isn't necessarily total equality – we still reap our own produce, but we kindly leave some, and we do it in a way that won't require the poor to present themselves in a humiliating light. They don't have to grovel to us. We just leave something behind, turn our backs, and expect it will disappear to meet someone's need.
This brings to mind Colossians 1.9-14, where Paul prays for believers. In accordance with Paul's prayer, may the Lord make us bear fruit which is pleasing to the Father. As he has given his inheritance to us, may we also share it with others, leaving them the fruit they need.
We turn our attention back to Leviticus 19 and verse 11. God's people don't steal, deal falsely, lie, or swear falsely in God's name. By the way, you might be interested to know that this passage in Leviticus is not a series of commands. The verb forms used here are descriptions of a future reality, not commands to do something. In other words, God doesn't prohibit the stealing, lying, etc. He simply says it won't be something people do. They are not like the people already in the land. What's the pattern in our world? Do people take time and materials from employers? Why are there all those electronic controls and security cameras at stores? How much time are you really supposed to spend at the office coffee pot? How many tax experts do we think pay all their taxes? How many executives misuse their executive privilege and personnel? When people make promises do they fully intend to keep them? Think about marriage vows. Do we really mean to do what we promised? Do we follow through on those commitments we make? Know anyone who has walked away from a loan rather than pay it? Know anyone who was promised a pension by an employer then didn't receive it? Our society in this country does seem to be involved in rather a lot of that stealing, dealing falsely, lying, and swearing falsely in God's name.
Now that we're all feeling self-righteous, are we really any better? How do we treat people when they aren't looking? What if we thought God wasn't looking and didn't care? So are we to be like the "Good Samaritan"? I put his name in quotation marks. We know he was a Samaritan, but he is never called "good" in Scripture. He might have grumbled too. Do you think he really set out that morning wanting to stop, endanger himself when there might have been violent robbers around, get himself all dirty and bloody, maybe end up hauling a dead body down the trail, then paying an extra bill at the inn, including medical care for some guy he didn't know? We don't know what he was thinking. We can't compare ourselves to him. But we do know what Jesus thinks when he loves and serves us. We are called to be like Jesus, who has always treated us right and well, even when we were sinners, when we hated him, when we treated him like he didn't exist, or, worse yet, like he didn't matter. Yes, we are to be like Jesus, who gave not only his time, energy, and money for someone who was hurting, but gave his very life for someone who was hurting and who despised him.
How are we doing on that? Badly? I guess we need to turn to our Lord again for forgiveness. But we see this love of our Lord. He is the Lord who gives us the gifts we need. Luke 11.9-13 (ESV) says, "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Yes, our Lord is doing that quite well.
Back to Leviticus 19, now at verse 13. We do not hinder people from receiving what they deserve and need. Even if the person would be unable to retaliate, we do good, not evil. What does our Lord do in this regard? We can think about Colossians 1 again. What kind of care has our Lord lavished on us? He has given us life and salvation. He has given us all we could need and want, though we are completely undeserving. The gifts our Lord gives us are not what we deserve. Romans 5.15-21 (ESV) says "But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
We were unable to demand anything. Given to sin, we deserve nothing but condemnation. Yet our Lord does not give us the wage of sin. He gave us his gift instead. (Romans 6.23, ESV) "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And he gives us this life, this hope, with no delay, no demands, only requring that we believe he is able and willing to give it.
So now I ask not, "How are we doing?" but "How is Jesus doing?" That, after all, is what matters. Yes, the cat is out of the bag here. This passage in Leviticus 19 is partially descriptive of God's people, but it is particularly descriptive of the character of our God himself. It is foreshadowed in Israel, but it is fulfilled in Christ Jesus. How is Jesus doing? He's doing just fine. And he's doing just fine on your behalf and on my behalf.
Back to Leviticus 19.15. In our country, in this day and age, we have a concept of justice being blind, impartial, honest and good. Admittedly there have been legal battles I've followed which don't rise to that standard. But realize in all of antiquity the standard was quite different. The judge would be expected to do what seemed most pleasing to him or his employer. Evidence? What's that? It's fair in most cultures to invent whatever evidence would seem somehow plausible. In most cases, if you can pay the judge enough, you win. If you can create a case that the defendant is someone who is like someone who might possibly have wanted to do the crime he is accused of, he must be guilty. It could be very hard if someone more influential than you tried to "exercise justice" against you.
Counter to this, how is Jesus doing? Yes, I have given up on asking how we are doing. I know myself and my desires. After all, I want my way, regardless of what is right. So how is Jesus doing? He condemns us of sin. No question about that. There's been plenty of that already today. Yet at the very same time he takes on the penalty of sin on our account. The righteous one gives himself for the unrighteous. If there is injustice in the court of heaven, it is that the Judge pays the penalty for the criminal. And that is exactly what he has done for us.
We have one last issue in our passage. In Leviticus 19.17 we see that we are to love and work with our neighbors. We love our neighbors as ourselves. Again, we don't have to look around for long before we see our failure. We really do love ourselves more than our neighbors. That's a given. But we see that our Lord has loved us, not only like himself, but more than himself. Yes, once again, we do poorly, but our Lord does all things well.
I want to point out in closing that the people who complain about Christians coming in and not following the rules have just struck out. When God's people fail to follow the rules of this world, they do so in such a way as to help and comfort others, to alleviate suffering. And they do it only in part, reflecting their Lord and Savior, who does it rightly. At the same time, we don't take occasion to be proud of ourselves. On the contrary, we see that we fail regularly. I'll close by reading a passage from Romans chapter 6, where Paul sums up that relationship between the believer and Christ. Let's watch just how well our Lord is doing.
(Romans 6.1-10, ESV) "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God."
May the Lord add faith to our hearing of His word. Amen.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com
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