Friday 11 March

Leviticus 23:1-24:23

Aargh! I was all jacked up ready to talk about the Sabbath (which seems to be mentioned nearly every second page - an interesting indication of its importance) and then this grisly stoning episode comes in and hogs all the attention.  Well, let’s start on the easier bits; first of all, it is very reassuring that God wants there to be “the same law for the alien and the native-born”.  This is exactly the sort of thing I expect from God - exposing and challenging my tendency to have one rule for people who are like me and another for those who seem strange or unfamiliar.  Secondly, it is reassuring that stoning is a highly restricted practice, only being used in the case of the most heinous crimes and only in a corporate manner rather than through lynch mobs or the like. Thirdly, there would have been no prisons in this nomadic community so stoning, or some form of execution, would have been one of very few options for ensuring serious offenders didn’t pose a threat to the rest of the community.  Fourthly, and this may be something that starts to slide into the “more difficult” category, death was a punishment that had been prescribed by the Lord well in advance of this particular act and therefore could not be criticised as being an angry over-reaction or the result of a particular whim.  All of which has layed some positive context for tackling the question of “how can I worship a God who tells people to stone someone?”.  Well, I guess it is one to seriously chew on.  Another thing to chew on would be “how can I worship a God who lets people act however they want?”.  At the end of the day, there are spread across the whole of the Old Testament so many examples of God acting in grace that I feel I can relax, content in the knowledge that God is good.  But, even if that were not my conclusion it would not change the fact that God is God and he can do whatever he ruddy well wants.

Mark 15:33-47

I don’t know what to say about this.  It just seems really, really sad.  I remember seeing my grandfather’s body being carried out in a coffin at his funeral and that was fairly eyeball-scarring.  The thought of Jesus, the Lord of Life’s, body wrapped in cloth, being carried away and put in a cave is almost completely overwhelming.  I know it had to happen and I know that unbelievable amounts of goodness came out of it but it still just seems so throat-chokingly sad.

Psalm 32:1-11

This is a good, robust, sound-bitable psalm.  A really great one for coming back to and using in prayer times.