Made An Example

Teach the People of Israel all the decrees that God has spoken to them through Moses.  Leviticus 10:11

Made An Example
By Rev. William Dohle

Examples.  You can't help but use them.  Try to explain anything to anyone and you're bound to use an example.

As a pastor, I use tons of examples to explain things...because examples connect.  It's easy to tell people: "You'd better not do it this way..."  or "You'd better try it that way..." but without an example, no one gets it.

But tell them a story and they understand.  Show they an example, and they get it.

That's how examples work.

Perhaps that is the reason why Scripture is full of examples.  More than all the poetry and proverbs and commandments in the Bible, there are examples to explain.

Take the example of Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron's sons.  One day, we are told, these two sons "took their censers, put hot coals and incense in them, and offered “strange” fire to God—something God had not commanded." (Lev. 10:1)

Now we might think, So what?  Who cares?  What could happen to them?  Well... "Fire blazed out from God and consumed them—they died in God’s presence."(Lev. 10:2)

Wow!  You think!  That's harsh!  And yet, they are remembered as an example.  For, after they die, Moses tells Aaron.

“This is what God meant when he said,

To the one who comes near me,
    I will show myself holy;
Before all the people,
    I will show my glory.”(Lev. 10:3-5)

Nadab and Abihu die...and are used as an example to show, not only the consequences of disobeying God, but what God's holiness means.  God's glory and holiness is mysterious and even dangerous!  Look at what happened to Nadab and Abihu!  Remember their story...and heed their warning.

We all can be used as examples by others.   Stories can be told and retold about us as well, illustraing one thing or another.

But there are two kinds of examples.  One of them is a negative example.  A warning.  "Don't do what this person did..."

The other kind of example is a positive one.  "Look at what this person did.  Strive to be like them..."

I can think of many positive examples...modern and ancient.  I think Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of standing for what is right in a non-violent way.  I think Gandi is too.  I think Ruth is an good example of what to do with your family.  How to love them more than ever.  I think Esther is one who risks her life to save her people.

And the best example, as a Christian, that I can think of, is the example of Jesus the Messiah.  In the stories I read about him, in the tales told about his life, I see the way I want to live my life.  I see the kind of person that I want to be.  

Those are all positive examples...people who did right.

All these examples challenge us too.  They challenge us to be the people God has made us to be.  To stand up for the right.  To be people of integrity.  To be loving, caring, compassionate, and forgiving people. To be the positive examples for the next generation.

May God help us to be just that.  May he strengthen us in our walk with him today that, in the future, others might tell stories of our lives as positive examples of Christ's love.

God of holiness, you show yourself in the all consuming fire of the altar and in the tongues of flame over the disciples heads.  Make us positive examples of your grace, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Celebrate with Me!

Moses said to the assembly, "This is what the Lord has commanded to be done."  Leviticus 8:5

Celebrate with Me!
By Rev. William Dohle

In my years of ministry I have been privy to lots and lots of talk.  Good talk, bad talk, and even talk about talking.  I don't know how I would organize all the conversations I've had... but I must say that conversations around celebrations ranks high up there.

When a family is gone on a vacation, it's good to talk about their vacation.  When someone has been out celebrating an anniversary or a birthday or maybe just had a party at their house, talk of the celebration and of the details of it are common.

We like to ask: "How was it?"  And we don't mind hearing the details.

We share our celebrations in this way to include others in them.  When I hear about someone's trip to the Holy Land and see the excitement on their face, I can experience it through their eyes.  When I hear how their party was, how many people were there and who was present, I can almost attend through their experience.

In both of these instances... I celebrate...because they are celebrating!  Hearing about the party brings it to life for me.  It makes it real.

So it should be no wonder that the Bible is so full of detail, especially around celebrations!  The ordination of Aaron and his sons take up two chapters!  The service takes up an entire one itself.  Like a doting grandmother with all the details of the party in her head, we hear of every single move Aaron and Moses takes.  Including...

• He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him...(8:7)
• Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it and consecrated them...He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.(8:10, 12)
• He ten presented the ram for the burnt offering and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head...He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on it's head.(8:18, 22)
• Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. (8:30)

Detail after detail of the service are shared, not in the hopes that we would somehow reproduce it or mimic it, but that we might enter into this sacred moment.  We are invited to share in this day, in all the details of it from the beginning of the service to the end!

What a wonderful gift God has given us!  The chance to experience life and enter into the world of our ancestors, seeing ourselves in the crowd watching as this event takes place instead of as 21st Century people three millennium later!

These words make us a part of the story.  Like a tale told by our grandparents, the story of Aaron's ordination is recorded here and passed down to us in order that we too may enter in and experience their world from the inside out.  True, we may not understand everything we read.  We may not be able to fully visualize it, but we are able to read and to see it as clearly as we can.

Not only does it call us back in time, but it also gives us an appreciation for the stories all around us.  The life experiences of our parents, our grandparents, and those who've passed on are stories just like the story of Aaron's ordination.  And just like this text, these stories too remind us of who we are.  They invite us to share in our ancestors' celebrations and victories, and sometimes, in their grief and defeat.  What a marvelous gift they have to give.  Through their words, we are able to experience life through their eyes...and rejoice and mourn with them too.

God experiences life through our stories too.  Through the telling and re-telling of our stories, our experiences are brought to life, not just for our immediate listeners, but also for God.  For God is the silent backstage hand, the hidden person behind the camera, the still small voice, and the constant companion.  For it is "in God that we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:28)

Celebrate with me, God.  Mourn with me, God.  Move in the stories of my life that I may see your presence.  Amen.

"I Didn't Mean To..."

If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, he is guilty.  When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.  Leviticus 4:27-28

"I Didn't Mean To..."
By Rev. William Dohle

"I didn't mean to!  I really didn't mean to..."

How many times have we heard that statement?  From our children?  From our spouse?  From those closest to us?  Our family and friends?  How many times have we heard the excuse that we really "didn't mean to?"

Or how many times have we USED that excuse to excuse our own behavior?

That happened to me just the other night.  For some reason or other, I was not paying any attention to what my wife was saying from the bathroom.  She was muttering something about not liking how she looked and not feeling pretty or something.  And here's what I said...

"Jenny, I really feel sorry for you..."

That caused a "What?!" to be heard from the bathroom.  "You pity me for not being pretty!!"

Oh boy, I thought.  How am I going to get out of this?  I tried to tell her I didn't mean it.  That I thought she had said something else and that my intentions were pure...but that didn't really matter.  What she wanted was an apology, an admission of guilt on my part.  Then, and only then, could we move past this slip-up.

Sometimes we think that if we don't MEAN to do something that we haven't done anything.  But that's not what the Bible tells us.  At least, that's not what the book of Leviticus tells us.  Instead the Bible tells us...

If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.(Lev. 5:17)

It would be one thing if it ended here...but unintentionality is a theme in the book of Leviticus.

If anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:2)
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:13)
When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the the commands of the Lord, his God... (Lev. 4:22)
If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:27)
If a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord's holy things... (Lev. 5:15)

Obviously, God doesn't care here whether we intentionally did it or not.  God doesn't care about motives...only results.

As much as we'd like to dismiss these passages, truth be told, we need to be held responsible for our unintentional sins.  Think of all the modern day unintentional sins committed...

• Did the oil companies MEAN TO kill off the wildlife when the oil spilled in the Gulf?
• Do we MEAN TO pollute our environment and kill off nature?
• Do we MEAN TO support a system of slavery in other countries by buying cheaply made goods in our own country?

Of course we didn't mean to!  It just happened... Or individually...

• Do we MEAN TO ignore the person who is trying to say "hello" to us?
• Do we MEAN TO make our family feel like they always take second place as we run around fulfilling our own needs?
• Do we MEAN TO fail to teach our kids the faith?

And we could go on.  Unintentional sins are the most frequently committed ones because, truth be told, we are not bad people.  Most times we do not MEAN TO hurt others by what we say or do or, more often, by what we fail to say and do.  It just happens.

We just do it.

And so, God is wise to point out our unintentional sins, to bring them to light, to hold us responsible for not being responsible, and for calling us to repentance.

For that end, repentance, is really what God is after.  "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."  (Psalm 51:17)  God doesn't call us to our unintentional sins just to make us feel guilty, but to inspire us to change around and repent for it is through repentance that we are granted forgiveness.

May we approach God and others with heart felt apologies, not just for the things we have done intentionally to them, but for those things that we have done unintentionally that a spirit of repentance and forgiveness might overshadow us all.

O Lord, I have sinned against you and against others unintentionally.  I haven't meant to do anything wrong, but I have.  Forgive me for Jesus sake.  Amen.