Nice Baby Jesus

I’ve heard a number of people say that they’ve tried to read the whole Bible but gave up at Leviticus. Not gave up altogether—just skipped right on ahead to the New Testament. I could be wrong here, but I get the impression that many Christians are practical Marcionites when it comes to Bible-reading practices and understanding. (And ok, I’ll admit to having bogged down in Leviticus a few times myself. But that, of course, was before I went to seminary, ha ha, or at least before I met people like our Old Testament Scholar-in-Residence Rebekah). Some people are actually brave enough to say out loud what so many are thinking: What’s with all these laws and regulations, and Golly, that God had quite a temper in the Old Testament—always striking and afflicting! Let’s just flip forward to Matthew 1—skip those first few verses with all those names—to the nice Nativity story...

In the sneak preview I got of this year’s Christmas Eve sermon, I heard a couple things that seem to speak to any latent, lurking Marcionism (At least I find them helpful!). For instance, there’s the contrast between the population of the pews on Christmas Eve vs. the sparser attendance on Good Friday. What’s the deal? Seems we’d much rather coo over the helpless Baby Jesus than journey with the grown man to the cross. The problem is, Baby Jesus starts talking. And when he does, he says some stuff that’s awfully hard to take. Demanding. Intolerant. Exacting. That once-nice Baby starts making some exclusive claims—about Himself and on our lives—that sound awfully familiar…

Wait a minute! You mean the "New Testament God" demands just as much of us as He did of the Israelites in the Old Testament? More?!

Suddenly, Leviticus takes on whole new dimensions of meaning and relevance. For instance, if you haven’t visited there lately, just skim chapters 18-22, and count the number of times “I am the LORD” and “I am the LORD your God” appear.

Wow. And why do I keep thinking that I’m in charge of my life, that my life is about me?

Sure reminds me of another dimension to contemplate as we place Baby Jesus in our Nativity scene manger again this year.