Sacred vs Secular (Lev 8-15)

Were Holy and Worldly meant to be separate? As I reflect on my personal piety it seems I place this divide between the sacred and the secular. I frame my world into two distinct categories... my quiet time is sacred, but listening to world events on the news is secular. My morning and evening prayers are sacred, but going for a run or letting Jillian Michael's punish me on the video screen is secular.  You get the picture. I would venture to guess, your daily experience is similar to mine, and as it is with my own experience... every once in a while, the sacred breaks into the secular life. Something bursts in and disrupts our regular pattern. You are struck by warmth in the greeting of the cashier at McDonald's, or your child embraces you and says "I love you," or you think about something normal in a new way. All these pull back the curtain just a little and remind us that there is a whole lot more going on in the world than we are aware of. What if our lives were never meant to be so fragmented?

In reading Leviticus I am struck by the level of detail in God's instruction for both the "sacred" ordination of priests, and the "secular" care of regular household items. It would seem that laws to protect people for the spread of disease are placed right next to those that govern the worship life of Israel. It strikes me that God was training his people to live an integrated life. Everything is spiritual. While we have come a long way in understanding hygiene and basic health, we seem to have lost the sense that how we interact with everything and everyone has a drastic effect on our relationship with God and our representation of him to the world around us.

Over the past year,  one of our Mission Partners at Radiant has been reaching out to a Jewish family, Steven and Robyn, that lives across the street. Steven was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic  cancer, one of the worst you can have. Lenny, our Mission Partner, took them one of the stained glass angels we give to those in need of prayer. They were so touched by our prayers that they came to thank us. In an effort to make them feel comfortable among us, I prayed in Hebrew on the Sunday's they visited. They remarked at the sense of reverence I had for our roots in Judaism. Over time, they have come to Radiant periodically for prayer, and with each visit the news got better and better. A few weeks ago they came again with news that his cancer numbers had reached remarkably low numbers and they were going to do a surgery that only one in ten thousand with his type and severity of cancer ever get to. They asked me to come and pray for them at the hospital before his surgery. Again, I prayed a simple Hebrew prayer of healing over him and asked God to heal him in the name of Jesus, who fulfilled the Passover, which was to take place two days after the surgery. As far as I know the cancer is gone and the doctors have called his case a miracle. Robyn left me a messages saying that she knew the prayers of Radiant Church made a difference. 

What if God has wanted us to see the sacred in the secular all along? Steven and Robyn are experiencing an in-breaking of the sacred because Lenny was bold enough to invite them for prayer. I am convinced that scriptures teach us about a God who would have us see every circumstance, every interaction, and every opportunity with eyes and hearts tuned into the sacred. God is inviting us to frame the two together, secular and sacred, in such a way that people see the ministry of God in the authority and name of Jesus through our prayers, words, and deeds. May you break free from a fragmented life today and enjoy what God has in store for you.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen  

Reading Plan:

May 3rd – Leviticus 1-4

May 4th – Leviticus 5-7

May 5th – Leviticus 8-10

May 6th – Leviticus 11-13

May 7th – Leviticus 14-15

May 8th – Worship

May 9th – Leviticus 16-18

May 10th – Leviticus 19-21

May 11th – Leviticus 22-23

May 12th – Leviticus 24-25

May 13th – Leviticus 26-27

May 14th – Day off for prayer