Thursday, May 7, 2015

Leviticus 19:26-37

Often we hear, in sermons and other religious communications, rhetorical references to the “unchanging moral law”; Christian ethics is often portrayed as the abiding standard in a world of change, and perhaps there is added a reference to “crumbling moral values.” But how permanent is the Code? Or, to put the question in a way that more nearly touches the concern and thesis of this book: Is its ethics the unchangeable and absolute essence of Christianity?  

Bishop James A. Pike, A Time for Christian Candor (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1964), 38. 

James Pike was a controversial Bishop in the American Episcopal Church in the ‘60s. He was a very a very popular cleric when he was Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, and he even hosted his own television show. As his life journey progressed he evolved from being something of a Christian apologist to more of a challenger of the established and traditional Christian faith. He remained a Christian, but he sought to shake up the establishment and get to what he believed to be the core of the faith (that “absolute essence”). Today’s Bishop John Spong occupies much of the same place as did Pike. Though many have criticized Spong (and many others, applauded him), Pike faced official heresy charges by a group of other bishops. Pike’s life and controversies are detailed in two very interesting books co-written by William Stringfellow and Anthony Towne. (Perhaps of interest to you is that Pike was friends with the famous science fiction author Philip K. Dick; this is how I first heard about him.)

This issue of ‘law’ or ‘code’ is definitely a hot topic today, especially as Churches discern their views and practices with regard to sexuality and gender roles. Figures such as Pike and Spong seek to remind us that acting as if the Bible speaks in one voice on ethical issues is a gross over-simplification. Also, our interpretation and application of Biblical rules are not uniform or unchanging. 

Look at what we’ve read today. I won’t give a verse-by-verse commentary, but as you re-read the rules, put them into different categories. What do we, as Christians, follow; not follow; or ‘kind of’ follow? Of course, different Christians and different Churches might have different answers. 

How do we react when some of these rules are not observed in the present day? Do you feel uncomfortable when you are out for dinner with friends and their steak still has some blood in it? Has anyone ever been tempted to picket restaurants that cook in such a way? In the grand scheme of things, such a matter probably doesn't seem like too big an issue.

We might also ask, how do we behave when we see elders not being respected? Or when people or corporations ‘falsify measures’ (i.e. act deceptively in one way or another)? Might that be something into which the Church would do well to put more energy?

In A Time for Christian Candor Bishop Pike writes that it is a bit bizarre that in the Book of Common Prayer we respond to the call to observe the Sabbath with “incline our hearts to keep this law.” Most of us have no intention of observing the Sabbath (Saturday). Though, you might say, we do, in a less literal sense, observe Sunday as a special day of remembrance and rest. 

Something that I think is key for us to take from today’s passage from Leviticus is that the command about the treatment of strangers does not just stand as a “do this” commandment, but instead as “do this BECAUSE ---.” The experiences of the people shaped their understanding of the ethical life. How might our experiences as a people, as individuals, and as the Church, impact our ongoing discernment on how we should live?

- Matthew Kieswetter