Living Levitically #8: Day Five

I was ritually unclean today because of the discharge of blood. It seems as though much of the Levitical law is written to males. I assume that this was because males were the ones offering sacrifices for their household. I am also wondering if everything is impure for seven days because this is usually how long a period lasts, or if the seven days refers to the amount of time after the period ends that everything is impure. However, I will be done with this assignment before that time and I haven’t decided what I will do in regards to washing everything.

However, because I was already unclean for the day, I was tempted to throw the rest of the laws out and wear and eat whatever I wanted. This was especially enticing because of the persistent rain all day. I went ahead and wore weather-appropriate clothing, even though my raincoat is made out of different fibers and I assume that my rain boots are as well. However, at one time during the day I realized that I was wearing a sweater made out of different fibers and walked home and changed. I surmised that my philosophy toward the assignment was to follow it as long as it wasn’t totally ridiculous in the circumstances or made me miserable.

Wenham says that it is the seven days following the last day of the period that a woman is still unclean. That means that she is ritually unclean for half the month. This seems unfair. What also seems unfair is that “menstrual impurity is viewed as just as contagious as gonorrheal discharges.” What does this mean? As stated in class, the state of impurity meant a level of separation from communion with God. Why must women be separated from God for half the month?

Living Levitically #7: Day Four

Nothing really happened today – I worked all day long at the florist and was on my feet all day long and so had no opportunity to stand when a gray-haired person came into the room. My two bosses have gray hair and I honored them the best I could by following their instructions.

However, I had an appointment with my counselor the previous day and we talked about anger. The passage from Leviticus 19:17 has been on my mind - “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” I don’t know how to handle this passage. In some areas of my life I have difficulty being angry when it is appropriate. However, in other relationships in my life I struggle with inappropriate anger.

The prescription found in Leviticus for anger in relationships is somewhat unhelpful in my current relational situations. “Reasoning frankly” within the relationships would cause more harm than good. Wenham’s commentary on the passage states that “the value of having things out with people rather than brooding on them is mentioned more than once in the Bible” (268). The passage is aimed toward peace and love between members of the nation of Israel as well as an effort to cut down on lawsuits and murders. The next verse is, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

I must take this passage in the context of the rest of scripture. I am trying to move down the path of righteousness and am wanting to love my neighbor as myself. However, at the same time I recognize that relationships are complicated and the journey is long toward love and peace. I need grace daily.

Pencil vs. Camera

flickr: benheine

(laphamsquarterly.org)

Living Levitically #6: Day Three

I ran into a dietary inconvenience today at lunch: there were a few items off limits on the menu. While I could have ordered the items and requested that the pork product or “au jus” (which included blood and fat, I found out) be taken off, it would have made the dish significantly less tasty. Wenham’s commentary on Leviticus 11’s list of clean and unclean animals is helpful. He divides the animal laws into four categories: arbitrary, cultic, hygienic, or symbolic.

These categories are helpful, as is Wenham’s discussion on modern theories about the food laws being hygienically motivated. Wenham makes the point that the Old Testament authors could have easily revealed the reasoning behind the law, as they had elsewhere. Also, hygiene and cooking practices had not advanced very much by the time that Jesus abolished food laws. There were surely other harmful things to eat that were not included in the “unclean” category, such as poisonous plants.

Wenham’s analysis of Mary Douglas’ interpretation of the laws is enlightening and inspires more questions. Douglas supposes that all of the animals listed as “unclean” somehow have characteristics that are not common within their animal kingdom. The theory is that “…man must conform to the norms of the moral and physical perfection, and animals must conform to the standards of the animal group to which they belong” (170). Did some animals adopt different characteristics at the moment of the fall, just as man fell from moral and physical perfection?

Living Levitically #5: Day Two

Wednesday night was “prom night” at the youth group for which I intern. I had to break the law found in Leviticus 19:19 - “nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material" in order to dress appropriately for the event. For some reason, following this law has made me feel submissive (in a good way) to something larger than myself. I care about what I wear and see it as a creative outlet. To have a simple rule imposed on this area of my life has reminded me that Christ is over all of me.

I am still struggling to be mindful of the people around me enough to stand up when a gray-haired person enters the room. I am anticipating that Sunday I will just have to stand in the back of the sanctuary at church for most of the service. In a discussion with my roommate I had the opportunity to reflect upon where and when I make a conscious decision to block out the presence of other people around me. This has caused me to contemplate seeing a person as an “It” or a “Thou,” from Martin Buber’s book.

Wenham’s commentary on Leviticus 19 was helpful to understand the covenant meaning behind the ban on mixing things such as cloths. Israel “must keep separate what God created separate. As God separated Israel from among the nations to be his own possession, so they must maintain their holy identity by not intermarrying with the nations (Deut. 7:3-6).” God ordained me to be part of His people. I am separate from other human beings because of this distinction. I am able to praise God in this because I love how well He knows His creatures. A sure way to make us remember things is to involve it in the practicalities of daily life. This way, we not only remind our selves but we teach our children and those around us about our identity.

"Hunting the Elusive Hipster"

NPR: Monkey See Blog: "Hunting the Elusive Hipster" by Linda Holmes