There are holy rituals and there is ritual holiness.
The perfect storm comes when they are in complete alignment.
Some are rituals to remind the people of their special calling and dependence upon God alone. Some are calls to do the right thing by others. All are part of what it means to be a blessed people whose primary calling is to glorify God and to bless others.
Some of the specific laws of the Holiness Code in Leviticus are unique to ancient Israel Yet, there are underlying them, principles that are for all who will live in covenant with a God who is holy, loving, gracious, just, and sufficient for all we need.
It is too easy to dismiss the rituals by either observing them arbitrarily without thought or by dismissing them as irrelevant.
Every law and prophetic word is a prompting to dig a little deeper and meditate a little longer as we linger over the admonitions.
Here are some prompters:
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.''
And you ask, "Why?" And the answer for meditation is, "I am the LORD." How that relates is for you to explore.
“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD."
Why? It is because God is YHWH, the Name, the One, the One Who Is and because depravity of the land flows from profane treatment of others and violation of sacredness, whether sacred bodies or sacred days.
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God."
How does this usurp God's role? How does it violate our loving and trusting relationship with God?
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD."
Honoring the elder is akin to honoring God.
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."
Honoring the immigrant and refugee is akin to honoring and remembering our own heritage and revering God.
“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.”
Living the just, honest, compassionate life of integrity is the outworking of holiness. It is the outgrowth of God's intention in delivering us, whether from Egypt as He did, the Israelite tribes, or from the slavery of our own sin.
(Scriptures from Leviticus 19:26-37- ESV)
Redeeming rituals is a way of discovering their redemptive power to rejuvenate our thinking and refresh our souls.
Whatever rituals of faith and practices of righteous living have become cold and meaningless to you may deserve a second look. They may deserve and require a deeper level of contemplation.
You may find them coming alive to you in a new way, if you will but linger with them for a moment.
