Leviticus 1

What a beginning!  I think we just jumped into the sacrificial system with both feet!  As twenty-first century North American Christians these prescriptions sound very foreign, maybe even barbaric. 

I was a pastor at a church that had a farm on it until the township approved developing it into a subdivision.  We could see (and sometimes hear) cows and sheep through the window next to the altar. 

Once we had a visitor who asked me, “Why does the church have all those animals?” 

Completely straight faced I answered, “For the sacrifices.” 

The look on the visitor’s face was priceless.  He was speechless!  (I did explain afterward that they were not our animals, and that the Lutheran Church does not actually perform animal sacrifices.) 

Leviticus begins with these words, “The LORD called Moses and spoke to him ….”  Those are weighty words, and because God commanded the Israelites to offer sacrifices we do well to take note of what is commanded here. 

Note the very intimate nature of the sacrificial rite.  The one offering the sacrifice brought his animal, placed his hand on its head, and he himself killed it. 

Imagine the messiness of this process.  Priests gathered the blood in bowls, but then they threw the blood against the altar.  If my research is right, a 2000 lb. bull has about 35 gallons of blood in it.  (Have you ever dropped a gallon of milk?  Remember the mess?  Multiply by 35 and make it blood!)  And that doesn’t even get into the mess of the entrails, the fecal matter, hair, and hide. 

Anyone feeling queasy? 

In my current church we have hand sanitizer all over the place.  We even have a bottle behind the altar for those of us who are distributing the Lord’s Supper.  I’ve got nothing against clean hands, but I think this can serve as a symbol of how we like our religion these days.  Sanitized.  Clean.  Neat. 

The problem is Christianity is not neat.  In fact, it can be very messy.  We are people washed in blood - Jesus’ blood.  His sacrifice is ultimately what makes us clean before God.  We are people who sin and make messes of our lives.  We are priests called to carry the blood of Jesus into the world so others may be cleansed.  We are people who get dirt on our hands as we deal with the world and live the life of faith. 

The problem with sanitized faith is that we start to see ourselves as clean.  We gloss over the mess and in so doing we lose perspective on the potent purification procured for us in Jesus’ Passion. 

Perhaps Leviticus serves as a reminder of the filthiness of sins, and what it took for us to be forgiven.  Every sacrifice points us forward to one final perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.  Own the mess and embrace the savior who makes you clean. 

Father, help me to acknowledge the messiness of my life, and, in so doing, appreciate all the more the power of Your salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Amen.