Sacred Space

So in the series that we've been doing these past few weeks, we're basically taking all the parts of the Bible that you skip over and the cuz there's strange and they're hard to get through like Leviticus chapter 16. It's known as the Holiness code Leviticus in general has all of these different regulations about how to conduct the life of the Temple. And so I want to pester read that because there are important ideas there and you don't read it in church. I don't think it's part of the lectionary at all. At least amount it is. I don't think it's part of the lectionary out and you can understand, I mean, how many of you were just like zoned out when I was reading the up, you probably got the first verse or so. You know, somebody dies after it's like, you know, that's kind of need or interesting. But why are why are they died? Cuz they're by the are and what's going on there? And then I'm reading and reading and reading and you're like, wow, that's a lot of like purification and, you know, sprinkling blood and all this kind of stuff and it's Grange. How many of you meditate upon Leviticus regularly or how about a verse out of Leviticus? Maybe maybe not but Leviticus is this series of different rituals that are? That is real undertakes in order to worship God or rather. Leviticus is trying to protect people from God. What do I mean by that? Protect people from God, you see, is this part of the story of where we're at? In the storyline of we've been talking about and we've been talking about a lot of strange stuff. Like, last week, we talked about Cosmic geography, right? Where the Nations had been divided up among the sons of God, the Elohim, or the b'nai Elohim and given to them and God chose Israel for himself, that was his portion. And so he wanted this special relationship renewed because we started off this whole series talking about creation and the Eden Garden imagery that was used very common actually in that ancient land of Cana. It was that imagery and that that story, that launched us into this, where we understand who we are as people because you have been given this thing called the image of God. It's not because you did anything. It's not because you're special that you are. It's not based on anything at all that yours, the rebellion of Adam and Eve. But there's also the rebellion of another part of creation represented by that snake. And so we have these two rebellions in the seen and unseen realm. We were talking earlier. Dennis was like, so what you were saying last week is really strange and I've been like, studying at all week to try to understand what this whole Heavenly Host thing is all about, because I was, I've been pointing out the whole, let us let us let us suggesting to you. That when God is talking, he's talking to the Divine Council. He is saying like when he creates human beings and not 1:2 an audience, we missed that there are other interpretations were talking about. There's the Christians like the say that's them, talking about the Trinity, but that's a nocturnist if that's not what they're talkin about. Also there's the interpretation of like the Royal lettuce you know like Queen Elizabeth kind of a thing, but that's not the actual Original language, it is, let us it is plural, it is to an audience. But God is the creator. Let us create and then God creates. So that's important that you understand. But this idea this strange part of the Bible where there's this idea that there are other gods and we started off with Psalm 82 and if you look at the Hebrew it is Elohim addressing the Elohim. It is God addressing the Gods. Elohim Elohim both words are not same verse. So what are we to make of this? And I'm suggesting to you. That there is supposed in all of scripture, a paramecium wash and are strange. And so we have to kind of set aside some of our doubt Mustang completely, right? We don't take stuff Hook Line & Sinker but I want to see suggest to you that the Bible and the worldview of the Bible is fascinating cuz it's strange and it's wonderful and it's Trying to tell us something about creation the Unseen part of creation that we don't normally think about. It says, if Robert Hooke one of the inventors of the microscope is is trying to suggest going back in time and it's writing down some stuff and he's saying to these people, wait, there's this whole Unseen World that you don't even know about. Let me tell you about it. They did think Hook was kind of crazy. Van leeuwen. Hope also because they're trying to describe something that is indescribable. And that's what the Bible is. Like, think of it, like the Mosaic little pieces here and there about what's going on, really going on in all of creation. And so, the creation story itself is taking a very common story among the ancient near East and it's taking elements of that and is trying to say something about who God is. And so, there is this relationship that has developed with God and these people and fox all throughout the story of Genesis, as we see God, talking and calling and forming a People Israel. We see them failing to understand again and again, but thank God, graciously, getting back on track. And then we end up in Egypt and then we end up in the story with this guy called Moses, he probably heard of him, right? He is the one who confronts Faye Road to rescue God's people. He's also the one that first encounters God in a way that is and you'll see imagery that I'm going to show you later on. That is really spot-on to give us an understanding of who God is and Moses rescues the people to take them out and it's not It is we missed this because the a lot of the first five books of the Bible, the Torah as as known a lot of it is like Leviticus. It is trying to take people out to worship God, but to do it in a way, that's correct. Its it Moses Taste of people out and all the complaining and stuff and they end up buying. I think it was cyanide as like a classroom. It's like the school for the people of Israel to begin to study and understand God and who God is. and you can imagine if and I've shown you that diagram before, where you know, when we can fast like all his creator of all that is seen and unseen which the people are the ancient people whose texts were written down in this book of Genesis are confessing if we really understand what that means, That means that we can't possibly comprehend who God is. Unless God chooses for us to because if we are like an ant, it's even more apart in the ontological scale of being. It's like, we're an aunt trying to comprehend us. Little ants is crawling around annoying me and making my kids fascinated and stomping on them. And I'm not sure what that actually means for them in the future psychologically by stomping on aunts and all that kind of stuff. Cuz that's like a serial killer thing, as well. I don't know. Anyway, it's like an ant trying to comprehend my daughter. And what's going on with her fascination with that Aunt, right? It's not possible. It's just not possible. I must somehow magically my daughter can make herself into an ads and talk to her and all the little ants in the colony about her and who she is. And so we have to understand and so they're trying to God is trying and Moses is trying to help people understand who God is and it makes complete sense, but that has to happen. And it makes complete sense that God has to be understood, not as a category of creation. But as something Beyond creation, if you can get that, you don't, I drew a circle, right? And I had this little, like, all of the universe everything created seen, and unseen in that Circle, God would not be in that Circle. Confessing God its creator means, god is outside of that Circle. So there's no possible way that we can comprehend something outside of creation as created beings, unless that outside of creation Creator besides to be comprehended. And that's what you see going on in the Bible. You see at Mount Sinai with these laws and these all these, all the rituals and stuff because a lot of Exodus is about how the Tabernacle should be stood up. And we talked about the rich imagery of the Tabernacle itself, this tent of meeting this this place that would eventually be built into a permanent building called the temple. This Tabernacle where God was present with the camp, Israel, with the people coming out of out of Egypt in this camp, this mobile tent where people were able to be in God's presence. That is an important idea. And it's Unique sort of its unique in the sense that people have direct access to God. I everybody, some people have direct access to God. Moses is said to have been with God. And when he came out of the Tabernacle, you remember that story, he's like the low in. Right at the beginning of our passage, there was danger if you remember. And this happens, people died. These high priest died in the holy of holies because they're in the direct presence of God. It makes sense because God is Holy. Other. That's what it means. This term Holiness. It means other or set apart. And so, we're going to try to understand this unseen realm and try to understand this. But I think the story of what's going on and what these people encountered in their lives and this image this piece of what they're trying to show up, I said it's more of a mosaic then like an actual Crystal Clear high def Imaging. It's a mosaic or Paul would say we see in a glass Darkly if we're going to try to comprehend, what they're saying to see the little pieces of the Mosaic and try to fit it together and try to understand this whole Bible story. Well then we have to set aside our understanding of who God is and we have to really try to understand what something holy is. Tom has been corrupted, the reason it's been corrupted because when I say holy you may think holier-than-thou, we think of it in terms of morality and there's a piece of that, right? I mean, morally pure that kind of a thing, but that is primarily what we think of. And usually, what comes to mind is somebody that is, like, judging Austin, somebody trying to tell us how bad we are, and how we should change, and, you know, they know really what's going on and, you know, they're, they're just trying to like make us feel terrible. Really is what it comes down to. That's how that term has been corrupted. But holiness. Holiness. Is about something else in the Bible. It is about being in God's presence. Without being destroyed. I want to show you guys and I'm sure and part of the reason I was so motivated to get the lamp and I hope you guys will have to tell me if it's that. Like clear cuz I want to show these videos that are really well done and I've little segments of them from the Bible project people I like these guys a lot because they're younger and they understand a lot of the frustrations of people who are asking questions and trying to understand the Bible and they're the guy that one of the main guy's was an artist and then there's the Theologian and he's a Biblical Theologian. So his whole thing is to take a theme and trace it throughout all of scripture to show how it develops. And the artist is the guy who's the secret, he's really lost questions. He's like, that's weird. He tries to draw the stuff and tries to help us imagine what scripture is saying. So it comes alive. But what I would show you and this segment of it and it divided it up, will see the second segment. And second I want you to look for danger and that metaphor that they're going to use is a really good metaphor for what we're talking about in Leviticus. So, take a look,

You probably heard the word of holy before or at least sang in a church song once or twice and promote people. This idea is really just connected to being a morally, good person. So God is Holy because he's morally /. Yeah, that is part of it, but in the Bible, the idea of Holiness is even bigger and more Rich, what is really describing is, how God is the creative force behind the whole universe. He's not the one and only being with the power to make a world full of such beauty. And why until all these abilities they make up that early unique, which is the meaning of the word. So helpful way to think of God's holiness is by using the Sun as a metaphor. The sun is at least within our solar system and its really powerful as the source of all this beautiful life on our planet is Holy and you can actually take this metaphor even further in that the whole area around the Sun is also holding. Yeah because the closer you get to the Sun to amortentia get Exactly. So sad, very power and goodness that generates all this life is also dangerous. I mean, son, if you get too close, will annihilate you and in the same way, there's a paradox that the heart of God's Own holding this because if you're in pure, his presence is dangerous to you and not because it's bad because it's so good. And so the first time we see this Paradox of God's holiness is in the story of Moses and the burning bush so God tells Moses to take off a sandals because he's standing on Holy Ground and Moses covering his face and beer and got this, don't come any closer or even more in the stories about Israel Temple. Which was the main place where God's holy presence was located in at the center of the temple. Was this room called the most holy place? The hotspot of God's presence. And whether an Israelite living in the land around the temple, or a priest working, right in the temple. You're interested to God's holy presence which is dangerous. Yeah, this is a problem. So how did supposed to work in the Bible? The solution is that you need to become pure. So like being morally pure and that's easy enough to understand. But the Bible spends a lot of time talking about another kind of Purity being ritually pure which is a state where you separate yourself from anything related to death, like touching things like disease, skin, or dead bodies or even certain bodily fluids. All these make you Emperor and becoming ritually and pure isn't necessarily sinful. What's wrong is Waltzing into God's presence when you're in a state? And so that's why God gave the Israelites. Very clear instructions for knowing when they were in pure steps to become so that they could go into the temple again. So that's what the Book of Leviticus is about. That's what the Book of Leviticus is about. What's the matter for the song, right? That's a really important of a great image. And also draws from a lot of Greek and Metairie to Plato's Cave analogy. The sun is the source of like all that is good. It is a source of life as I teach my life science student without it. There would be no life on this planet, right? We depend on the song, It's a Wonderful image, and that is like, what God is like, what God is an analogy, a metaphor, it's not God, right? But if we're to try to understand things like Leviticus, why are they going to all this trouble to sprinkle and do all that and dab? And, you know, put that stuff on. It's so they can be in God's presence and not die. My first was reading about, like, the ark and stuff. I thought, I wonder if they had, like, uranium in the ark cuz people are dying when they get near the ark and I know my mind is he. I told you guys, I'm really like science kind of person and I might think you all met there. They probably had uranium in there and they're probably just dying of radiation poisoning or whatever. I don't, I don't think that's really true. But it's like that. It's like messing with a substance that you should not be messing with at all because they can kill you. It's how God and God's presence is, it is wholly. And that's what that term means. Holy other, we are ordinary. God is extra-ordinary. We are in the mundane, God is in the sacred, right? But what's amazing? And what is really amazing is that God allows us to be in God's presence. The question for us as we're looking at these strange taxes. Well, does that mean that we can't be in God's presence anymore because the temple is not there? Have you ever thought of that or what's the deal with Jesus? Like always. Touching people that are ritually unclean. Is he like just saying that that whole system is messed up and not accurate. What is going on or how are we to think about it as Christians? Now given that the temple doesn't exist destroyed in 78. How are we to understand these churches and who we are? When We Gather and what worship of God is is this 21st century? Well, I want to suggest you like Paul. He says this. Don't you realize and this was first century 80 don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the spirit of God lives in. You God will destroy anyone who destroys this Temple for God's. Temple is Holy. And you. Are the temple. There for you, or what? Holy. So how can we be? Holy, I mean, I read that I'm like, no way. There's I'm not, I can't possibly be in a stage where I need to go get that blood. And like, do that sometimes things or whatever. Is that Aaron is doing? Because if I'm going to be in God's presence, I don't want to die. Cuz I know that I'm not wholly.

but that's the morally, moral aspect of holy Instead, we need to think of Grace and God's grace. Because that whole passage in little big is 1016 in the whole second goat. That's a lie that you sent into the Wilderness of Azazel. You guys noticed that, that whole thing is part of a day, call Yong Kippur, it's the day of atonement. That is a description of how the ancient Israelites atone for the sins of the whole congregation. And they slay, the sons of the congregation on this goat, send it into the Wilderness of ahzidal or think of it as Satan outside the camp. Not sacrificing to it cuz they don't actually sacrifice the animal. They just transfer to the goat and I turned scapegoat that we use comes from the Bible. That was the idea. It also gives us the idea of substitutionary atonement. So second half of this video and see how this idea of Holiness develops among the prophets. And then how finally we are to think about it as Christ followers. Doesn't stop there. This idea keeps developing. So later in the scriptures. We find this really interesting story by a prophet named Isaiah and he has this crazy Vision where he's in the temple and he's right in God's presence is totally terrified that he knows the rules. He shouldn't even be in there and he's worried about being destroyed and then it's crazy creature called a set of him. That is a crazy but it flies over with a hot coal and then it's ears Isaiah's lips with the coal and says something really weird your guilt is taken away and your sin is atone for so this burning coals. Somehow makes Isaiah pure remarkable because normally if you touch something in it transfer to a new idea where you have this Cole this very holy and pure object and it touches I say I did transfer its Purity to him.

The implications of this are huge but there's one more development this time from another Prophet Ezekiel. And he has this Vision where he's standing at the temple, and he sees water, trickling out front and then that water turns into a stream and then it grows into a deep river. That starts flowing through the desert leaving the trail green trees behind us and then it flows into the Dead Sea, making everything crashing alive. So instead of becoming fewer first and then going into the temple, your God's holiness comes out from the temple, making things pure and bringing them to life. What does it all mean? We don't know until we meet this man, Jesus. And he claims that he is fulfilling all of these ancient Visions, but it's surprising new ways. So, Jesus, he went around touching people who are in pure people with skin diseases of a woman, with, chronic bleeding, or dead people, and we need touches them. Their impurity should transfer over to Jesus, but instead, Jesus is Purity transfers to them and actually heels their bodies. Jesus is like that. Holy Cole and Isaiah's Vision, right? And Jesus claimed that he was the human embodiment of God's Own Holiness and that he and his followers were now God's Temple so that threw them God's. Holy presence, would go out into the world and bring life and healing it home. And so, this is why Jesus described his followers as having streams of living water flowing out of them. So this is our part of the story where we find ourselves now. But where is this all heading the last pages of the Bible end with a spinal Visions about God's holiness and this time it's by a guy named John and his vision. We see the whole world made completely missed. The entire Earth has become God's Temple. And ezekiel's river, is there flowing out of God's presence? Immersing all of creation, removing all in Purity and bringing everything back to life?

Amazing. Cuz I hope you understand what Jesus is doing here, what his mission was about. Jesus had this, all this Old Testament stuff that we have been describing even Leviticus. He knew that that was part of his world. He was using and Isaiah, especially using the, the texts that were really popular in his day and he's trying to teach something new and he is trying to show that he is mediating God's presence and that when we are in him to use the Apostle, Paul's favorite term in him. When we are joined to him in baptism, we are raised with him and newness of life, we are united with Christ.

Do we Are? Holy And we are God's Temple. We are God's presence. Not fixed. Not here. Only by here. we are the people as ezekiel's Vision, showing that Living Water going out from the temple from that place, and renewing creation, and making the Desert Blossom and Bloom and, and, and restoring, or as I use earlier in the series, Eden izing, all of creation,

Helping healing forgiving feeding. Doing things and our world. How would it change if you really want to that like prayer apps? Or like, I use this prayer time? At one of the Isle of it, there's this prayer that they will end with it. They say this may God's image and me be restored. And my imagination and God be restore. Eid restore. He's once again, grasping this amazing vision of who you are and who we are, and what we're supposed to do in our purpose. Like Jesus going into the world and helping and healing and cleansing and bringing people to life, not death. This is what we're talking about. More talking about those old stuffy rules in Leviticus and not stuff with a really weird and Adrienne. And I don't understand all those, I'll miss golden. What's going on here? And that's why I never read Leviticus and numbers is just as bad. And so there's whole sections of scripture that we don't get especially the stuff about ritual Purity. But remember, that's all about us being in God's presence and for them these were rules. They had to follow in order to be in the temple to be in God's present for us. We are in God's presence because we are in Christ. What's the good news? As part of the good news. Your identity as a child of God, as an imager of God. Gives you your purpose. You who are in Christ, have that purpose of going out from these doors into creation and renewing it and restoring it and where there is hate. bringing love where there is conflict, be bringing reconciliation where there is is disease and illness and loneliness bringing healing And bringing a listening ear. That's what we're called to do. That's what this is all about. You the temple of God with God's presence in you Are Holy, you have the Holy Spirit In You. And you still called to go out in this original project to Eden eyes, the world. So may God's image be restored in you this morning. I made your imagination through video and through words and through the Holy Scripture, be restored. Once again brought to the Forefront of your mind to guide your life at the guide your week and how you interact with others. And with God, the God be all the glory now and forever. Amen.