Leviticus 9:1-10:20
Blimey, I didn’t expect to find that in Leviticus! I must confess that I had bought into the fairly common opinion that Leviticus is just a book that you have to get through in order to become a ‘proper’ Christian. You know, a bit like a harrowing initiation ceremony to get into a university rugby team. I didn’t really expect to find something so electrifying, so inspiring and so terrifying as this. What I find so energising about this is that Moses, Aaron and the Israelites were obsessed with the same thing that we all are - getting a view on the glory of the Lord. That is the agenda behind all the fat scraping and kidney roasting just as it is behind our worship singing and prayer ministry praying. And what is so inspiring about it is that this rabble of wilderness dwellers actually got to see the fire of the glory of the Lord blazing out in front of them. Through simple, dogged obedience they plodded themselves into a place where they could witness a dynamic and awe-inspiring display of God’s greatness. The things that is so great about this is that is shows God really does reveal himself to people in overwhelmingly dramatic ways. The ‘come Holy Spirit’ stuff of our ministry times is not a postmodern interpretation of pentecost but is really grounded in the truth of the whole bible. But we have to be careful here, and perhaps none more so that me - as naturally flippant as I am. The glory of God is not to be presumed upon. Nadab and Abihu were key members of Israel’s worship team who were performing “worshipful” actions and yet they were smoked to kingdom come. I think it is only right to pause and reflect on this, honestly asking ourselves whether we really do want this holy glory of this uncompromising God to come down into our midsts.
Mark 11:27-12:12
If Jesus’ followers were afraid when he turned to walk on Jerusalem (7:32) their teeth must have nearly dropped out of their gums when they heard his parable of the tenants. You can imagine them nervously backing away from him, surreptitiously trying to put enough distance between themselves and Jesus so that they wouldn’t become collateral damage of the spitting rage of the chief priests and the elders. I just can’t get over the face-spanking audacity of this parable which piles blasphemy on top of blasphemy on top of blasphemy. Jesus claims not only that the entire religious authority had been killing God’s servants, nor just that Jesus himself was Yahweh’s only son and heir but also that God was now on the war-path and that he had the chief priests in his sights. Can you imagine facing down a legion of the most powerful people in your line of work, calling out their evilness before all their followers and then claiming that a time of terrible punishment is soon to come upon them. That is effectively the role that we have been called into, perhaps not putting things in quite such offensive terms (although Jonathan Edwards - he of the American Great Awakening fame - did almost do as much with his “miserable sinners in the hands of an angry God” routine) but still recognising and acting upon the agressive overthrow of the Kingdom of darkness by Jesus’ kingdom of light. Perhaps that is the most significant thing I am going to take away from this passage today; we, as followers of Jesus, are called to move into conflict, not to edge away from it. We have been bought by Jesus to join him in his plundering of Satan’s domain and, even though that may scare us witless, we can no more just walk away from it than Jesus could just walk away from the chief priests and elders.
Psalm 29:1-11
This language is breathtaking. I love the sound of the phrase “the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh”. It’s just so poetic and glorious. Somehow, “the Lord shakes the bit of scrubland next to Worcester Park station” just doesn’t sound so beautiful. Maybe I should move...
