October 25, 2020
/Proper 25
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 | Psalm 1 | 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 | Matthew 22:34-46
The Rev. Bradley Varnell
To understand God’s command to the people of Israel to be holy requires we first understand what God’s holiness means. Now, generally, I think, we tend to assume that being ‘holy’ means being morally good. So, we imagine that God’s holiness means that God is morally good, morally the best. And that’s part of it, certainly. But God’s holiness in Scripture has a more encompassing meaning. God’s holiness lies in the fact that God is all-good, all-powerful, and utterly, completely, different from creation. Holiness, in Scripture, means to be set apart, and it derives from the set-apart-ness of God. God is set apart from God’s creation because God is divine, and creation is not.
So, God is Holy because God is different, God is other, and God calls Israel to be holy as he is holy. God calls Israel to be set apart for a few reasons. First, Israel is to be set apart in order to bear witness to the surrounding, gentile nations which worship other gods. Israel is called to be holy, to be different, in order to call attention to the God who rescued Israel from Egypt. Its unique way of life tells of the uniqueness of God: a God above gods who rescued his people from bondage.
Second, Israel is set apart in order that God might dwell with Israel. God’s holiness can’t simply co-exist with unholiness. God’s holiness calls forth holiness, so if God is to dwell among Israel, to literally live with the people, in the land, in the temple, then the Israelites must live holy lives. Israel – its people and places – are to be made fit for the presence and power of God to dwell among them.
Third, Israel is set apart to be holy so that God, through Israel, might bless the world. The story of Scripture is a story of rescue. We were created for relationship with God, yet humanity sinned and pulled creation from God into death and decay. So, God initiates a rescue operation to bring us back to life. From God’s chosen people, the blessings of God flow out, like a life-giving river.
So, holiness isn’t about just following the rules, though to be holy there are some rules to follow, rather it’s about living life in such a way that God is reflected in our actions as individuals and as a community. Holiness is about creating space in which God can dwell with us, in order to bless others through us. Our reading today shows us how important our relationship with others is in making us a holy people. Holiness isn’t just about offering your sacrifices or going to temple, it’s about being just in your judgements. It’s about speaking truthfully of others. It’s about living peaceably among your neighbors. The holiness of God to be reflected in Israel’s life is a holiness that is social.
Though Christians are not bound to Leviticus’ laws and rules in the way ancient Israelites were and many contemporary Jewish folks are, we are still called to be a holy people, a people set apart. This set-apart-ness requires we conform our lives to the model of Jesus Christ. The doctrine of the Incarnation – God becoming human in Jesus – means that when we look at Christ, we see what it means to live a human life that is totally and completely holy. Jesus Christ shows us what it means to be a holy person, and if we are follow Jesus, we must learn from him what it means to be holy, we must learn to be different just as Jesus is different.
Y’all have heard of WWJD? There’s a lot of wisdom in that little question. Holiness is about reflecting God, reflecting Jesus in every moment and every aspect of our life. So it’s a good start to ask What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do…in line at the grocery store, in traffic, in a fight with kids or a spouse? Beyond that though, we might simply ask Jesus directly what he would do. Jesus is our companion, always with us. Through the Holy Spirit given to us in our baptism, Jesus is always beside us, closer to us that we are to our own breath. Throughout our days we can call on Jesus and ask for his guidance in learning to live as a holy people. Now, this learning is not a becoming, this learning is about living into reality. I don’t learn what it means to be holy in order to become holy. I’ve become holy by virtue of being made a part of the body of Christ, I’ve become holy by being given the Holy Spirit. What I’m learning, what we have to learn, is how to do I live a life that reflects the reality that I am holy. It’s like marriage. A newlywed couple has to learn what it means to be married, but not in order to become married. They are learning how to live into a new reality.
Holiness is one of those things that the church in the west doesn’t talk a whole lot about, at least the Episcopal Church. But holiness is key if we want to understand love and justice – the other two great characteristics of God – rightly. Holiness is where we have to start. God is different. And God’s ways are different. And if we want to love with a Christian love, and pursue justice that is God’s justice, we first have to be a people who are holy just as God is holy. We have to be different in the way that God is different, and we have to have the courage to love differently and to seek justice differently, to live different lives than many of those around us. Sometimes, the differences might be slight, sometimes the differences will be great. We can’t know in advance how different the holiness of God will call us to be. But we cannot stop asking ourselves, how can I reflect the holiness of God in this word, in this action, in this relationship? How can I reflect the difference God makes in my life? The difference God makes in the life of the world? Holiness isn’t about being better than someone else, it’s about being more like God, like the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ. Holiness is about pointing to the God who creates and sustains our world, and who made us to be holy, just as he is holy. Amen.