The second verse in this reading from Leviticus should sound
familiar to you even if you don't normally read the Old Testament. Jesus said it in the Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5.48 and there the context was when He taught on loving your
enemies. Here, it is related to the
words of God concerning duty to neighbor in a repetition and exposition of the
Ten Commandments. They should jump out
at you but it is strange isn't it that the commandment to honor or revere
mother and father come prior to not making idols. We see in the way the passage is arranged
that this commandment is considered more a part of our duties to God than with
the duties to our neighbors. Why is
that? Our parents, like God are
creators, they were the instruments of our creation and because of DNA, we bear
also their image to the world. We model
our love of God by honoring and loving our parents. The peace offering seems an intrusion into
the flow but its function was to celebrate an existing peace with God, not to
create peace, it is based on two things, keeping the commandments vis a vis God
and also honoring Him, a pure act of praise and worship, you simply come and
sacrifice something dear to you because you love Him. Loving our neighbors is obviously an active
process rather than simply feeling good about them, it requires us to sacrifice
on their behalf if need be, it requires us to be righteous in judgment and it
requires honesty in all things, it requires us ultimately to seek to be at
peace with our neighbors as we are at peace with God.
Jesus' teaching on our relationship with the things of this
world is quite clear isn't it? We are to
lay up treasures in heaven not on earth.
Sometimes He has to show us that we have done and are doing exactly the
opposite. Have you ever been in a
position where something was being taken away from you that you thought wasn't that
important and suddenly realize that the loss of that thing, whatever it might
be, would cause you to emotionally and spiritually go into some crisis? Think back to Abraham taking Isaac up the
mountain. The man was willing to let go
the most important thing in his life, the thing he had hoped for and waited for
these long years but pleasing God was more important, his ties to earthly
things were not powerful that they kept him from his obligation to be obedient
to the Lord. Covetousness of things on
earth frequently takes away both our peace with God and with one another.
Paul gives his own set of instructions for maintaining peace
in the community. These instructions
include twice the word, admonish. Sometimes
peace requires unpleasant truth and confrontation regarding sin. When we don't deal with sin in the body of Christ
there is no peace, there is only détente.
Inwardly we bear grudges and have bitterness towards one another and
sooner or later someone leaves. On the
other side of the maintenance of peace, worship is a significant part of that
work, rejoicing always, but so is encouraging one another by word and deed,
praying and doing good towards one another.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.
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