Blood, Guts, and Faith

Leviticus 3:2-5

He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the altar on all sides. From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the LORD by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. Then Aaron's sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

I've recently begun re-reading through Scripture, and I've discovered something. I don't know if I ever realized how bloody the book of Leviticus is.

For a man who is used to going to the grocery store to buy a piece a meat from an animal he's never seen before and has never given any thought to, the words of the Bible are, well, a little shocking.

It at first reminded me of the end of the movie Apocalypse Now. Near the end of film's journey, the main character finds himself among native peoples who sacrifice a cow. It is my understanding that an actual animal was killed for the purpose of this scene--the last time anything like that was ever done for a movie. It is a tough scene to watch...but in its graphic nature it speaks to the reality of Leviticus.

For despite the fact that the nature of all of this seems far removed from our modern culture, for most of human history animal sacrifice was a part of life. Whether they wanted it to or not, death and life were constantly played out before everyone. There was no sanitizing it, ignoring it, or denying it.

In many ways I'm glad that the Christian life does not involve making animal sacrifice a common practice. But in another way, I think there is a great deal we miss by not being forced to to vividly confront the forces of sin, life and death in our own bodies and souls and in relationship with God.

It is far too easy to pay attention to things like clever sermon illustrations, favorite hymns, youth group games, people dressed in their finest on a Sunday morning while ignoring the deep background of all that is going on. Far too easy.

Thankfully, Leviticus doesn't let me of the hook, but reminds me what is really at stake--the struggles of death and life in ourselves, in our world, and the depths to which God is divinely involved in the process of redemption.

For as Leviticus reminds and God in Christ proves on the Cross,

"...the life a creature is in the blood..." (Leviticus 17:11)

At the very least, its something for me to think about the next time I'm at a summer barbecue.