Eighteen
chapters into Leviticus, I have not seen much material that is obviously
relevant to the Christian life today. I have enjoyed some parts of the book for
what they tell us about how ancient Israelites viewed the world. But the fact is,
to the degree Leviticus has been interesting for me, the interest has been
primarily historical. I have a hard time imagining how I might preach a sermon
or lead a Lenten program based on what we have read in Leviticus so far.
But
today we read one verse that does sometimes come up in contemporary debates
about the Christian life: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is
an abomination” (18:22).
In
general, twenty-first century American Christians have clearly decided that the
laws of Leviticus are no longer binding. In the Episcopal Church, in our
three-year schedule of readings covering much of the Old Testament, we get only
a single passage from Leviticus: love your neighbor as yourself (19:18). When
we read in Leviticus about blood sacrifices or purity restrictions today, we
assume that they are not binding on us. Reading Leviticus from the beginning
has really driven that home for me.
I
decided to do a word search to see what other things are called an abomination
in the Hebrew Bible. The word in one or another of its forms appears in 112
verses. The one that most struck me was from Deuteronomy, where unclean foods
are called an abomination. That includes things like shellfish and pork (14:3).
Given
the general disregard that most Christians show Leviticus, I would say that the
burden of proof lies on those who argue that 18:22 is relevant. My own position
is that it is not. But that does leave me with another question: what is the
value and authority of Leviticus for contemporary Christians? I am not
comfortable simply dismissing a biblical book . . . .
Fr.
Harvey
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