Scripture: Leviticus 19:34 (the Message)
Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.
Thought for the Day: The Book of Leviticus is always a challenge, yet there are many beautiful and powerful take aways found within its pages. In a recent reading, I recognized an important concept that is often lost. First, Leviticus is a book of identity. Much of what we read is an ancient people attempting to claim their uniqueness in a crazy world with many ideas that could potentially undermine who God called them to be. When I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, I formed a club with three of my friends. We called ourselves the dirt boys because we liked to dig around in this area behind some bushes in my friend’s backyard. We created some pretty bizarre rituals, including a strange handshake, a password and a secret code for messages. We wanted to be unique, and not to be confused with the neighborhood girls – Yuck! That is probably not the best comparison, but the Israelites were attempting to maintain their unique sense of self with some ritual and practices that we might consider a bit bizarre in our day. Yet at the same time, this community attempting to maintain their distinctive character would NOT allow themselves to lose sight of their core values. In this case, it was the idea of radical hospitality. Foreigners were a potential danger to Israel’s identity, yet they refused to be anything but gracious and hospitable when a stranger or outsider appeared on their doorstep. From their past, they learned the importance of compassion and welcome as they were once the outsiders. For the Israelites, all the unique rituals and distinctive behaviors used to set themselves apart from the rest of the world were never to supersede the core value of hospitality…even when the one being welcomed was different in every way imaginable. What is there for us to learn from these ancient writings?
Prayer: You have called me to a unique status, O Gracious God, yet you desire for my uniqueness to be seen most dramatically in acts of radical hospitality and unconditional love. If not seen there, then all other attempts at expressing our uniqueness as followers of the Christ will be empty. Amen.
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1 thought on “Ecclesiological Etchings: 10-30-15”
What a great reminder for us, as Christians, to not lose our core values when others around us are telling us we should be afraid.