React

We can do nothing to control the actions and reactions of other people.

This is what Andy said to Courtney this morning when she was worried that her course leader was going to be annoyed with her.

All we can control are our own actions and reactions.

I’ve been saying this and living by it for the last few years and it has set me free from a lot of agonising. It has made me focus more on how I am reacting than the reactions of others. I have noticed and modified and controlled my reactions better in some cases – and then in some other cases, I have been less proud of how I have reacted……but hey, life’s a journey and I still have a huge amount to learn.

So let’s look at some reactions in Leviticus 10 and 11.  We’ll start at the end of chapter 9, when the priests have begun their ministry and God has sent down fire to consume the offering, the people react –

And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.  Leviticus 9:24

The people have seen the power and glory of God and show joy and respect. They praise. They worship. Their reaction is a combination of overwhelming happiness and awe. How often do we shout for joy at what God has done in our lives? How often do we fall face down in awe of the amazing nature of God? We shout for joy at a gig or in a football stadium. Why does shouting for joy for God seem so odd to us now, so far removed from our Sunday Services?

The reaction of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu. For some unknown reason, they make an offering to God that is not in accordance with God’s regulations – and they are killed for it. Harsh. Maybe it was a deliberate act of defiance; maybe not. Maybe it was negligence or carelessness or thoughtlessness or over-confidence. Maybe it just goes to show that how we do something and when we do it can make all the difference – between life and death in this case.

And Aaron’s reaction to the death of his sons?

Aaron remained silent.  Leviticus 10:3

He must have had raging emotions clamouring to get out and yet he chooses to remain silent. He does not defend his sons. Perhaps he is scared for his own life. Sometimes remaining silent is the hardest but wisest reaction of all.

Moses knows that Aaron and his extended family will need to mourn and grieve and so he tells them exactly how they can do this – in God’s way and God’s time –

But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire.  Leviticus 10:6

When Moses finds out that Aaron’s remaining sons have not conducted the offerings according to God’s regulations, he reacts. Of course he does. Why would they run the risk of ending up like their brothers? Is it too much to ask to do what God commands? Idiots! What were they thinking?

When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons…..Leviticus 10:16

In this case, Aaron does speak up. He and his remaining sons felt implicated in the sins of their brothers and therefore did not feel clean enough to eat the priests’ share of the offering. And Moses’ reaction?

When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.  Leviticus 10:20

Phew. And God was too, it seems. Even better.

Chapter 11 is all about clean and unclean food and it blows my mind to read about all these different creatures that are mentioned by name – take this list of birds for example –

These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.  Leviticus 11:13-19

And what is a katydid (v22) anyway?!?

I have no idea why some animals were acceptable to eat and others were not. It clearly mattered enough to God to spell it out in huge detail so that there could be no misunderstanding. And it’s not just about what to eat, but how to deal with a dead animal and what to do if you come into contact with it. Cleanness and uncleanness matter. There must be an element of basic hygiene and prevention of infection involved. But it goes further than that. It’s about holiness.

 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.  Leviticus 11:44-45

Be holy, because I am holy. Be like me. I am to be your role model. You were made in my image – now live like me.

As I said in Saturday’s blog, Welcome to Leviticus!  –

But we are still to be holy. We are to explore what it is to be holy every day of our lives – in every situation…..in our homes, behind closed doors, in the secrets of our hearts, in our work, with our friends and with those we don’t like very much, in our free time, at a party……….We are to be different, to be set apart – not in a self-righteous and judging and superior and boring and a killjoy kind of way, but in a ‘there’s something special about her’ kind of way. In a ‘I like spending time with her’ kind of way. In a ‘I always feel better when I’ve been with her’ kind of way. Shining as stars in a dark sky. Allowing others to see God at work in us. Doing all that we can to keep the channels of communication open between us and God.

Which brings us back nicely to how we act and react. Be holy in how you act. Be holy in how you react. And let go of the reactions of others. Let them work out how to act and react in  their own way. All you can control is how you act and react.