Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
There are movements afoot to enshrine the Ten Commandments in every public building in the land. Everyone should know that murder, stealing, adultery and lying are against the Law. They should know that coveting is suspicious and honorable parents deserve honor.
It seems to me that most people know that. We have a sense of good and evil. The newspapers I read, with their articles and editorials, are replete with moral judgments about various behaviors.
What they might not understand is this: behind the moral laws there is One who Judges. That One has the right to judge all human behavior and the worth of every human being.
It's easy to resent such a one. Who is He (She or It) to judge me? Am I not responsible for my own behavior, and capable of judging my own rightness and wrongness? Don't I have the right to plead my case and defend my rightness before that mysterious Someone? If my family, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens seem to think I am an okay person who is that One to say they're wrong? Or to overrule their opinion?
I say I have the right to exist and that settles it!
If there is such a One he should at least show himself in unambiguous clarity. And He should understand I resent his overbearing presence with all the moral authority I can garner.
It seems to me those who argue this way have a pretty strong case for their secular indifference to God. And those who believe such a God exists fight an uphill battle against the entrenched atheism of our American Civil Religion.
Fortunately, I believe, the God who reveals himself in our Scriptures is not that god. The Book of Leviticus, from which today's version of the Decalogue is taken, reveals, first, a God who is Holy; and secondly, a God who longs to share his holiness with his chosen people; that is, with us.
The god of the American Civil Religion is far more invested in freedom, power and righteousness than in holiness. In fact, freedom in that religion has displaced all concern for holiness. I have yet to meet a Veteran of any service, male or female, who volunteered to defend the holiness of our country or its citizenry. It is not in our national interest.
Holiness among God's people appears through their generous spirit toward the needy. We must be as kindly disposed toward the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and imprisoned as God's sunshine and rain pours upon the just and unjust alike. No one should be exempt from our mercy for God has shown us great mercy.
As we prepare for Holy Week and Easter we examine our attitudes not as Americans but as Christians who have been set apart by the grace of God; and we hear God's word again: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.