Leviticus 19:9-10 - The Holy Barn

The apostle Peter (1 Peter 1:16) quotes a command given centuries before through Moses. The apostle Paul (Ephesians 1:4) echoes the sentiment:

"The Lord also said to Moses, 'Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.'" Leviticus 19:1–2, New Living Translation)

I recently heard in a sermon that holiness from our side of the equation is being "set apart, taken out of the realm of the common and set apart for the use of God."[1]

However, God Himself is not holy by virtue of being "taken out of the realm of the common." The Creator is already above "the common." He reversed the "setting apart" process by leaving the realm of heaven and entering the realm of the common, being born in a stable.

This made holiness as down-to-earth as the Incarnate God. Jesus' uncommon life turns ordinary things into holy things. He summarized this redemptive holiness by quoting the same summary from this chapter, "love your neighbor as yourself." (v.18 quoted in Mark 12:31, etc.)

Leviticus 19 gives practical examples of what holiness looked like for the Israelites. One was called the law of "gleaning."

9 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and [note this!] the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:9–10, NLT)

The greedy farmer in Luke 12 tore down his old barns and built bigger ones so he could accumulate wealth. In trying to insulate himself from future loss, he insulated himself from his fellow human beings ...and God Himself.

A holy barn is one that's never completely full.

What does gleaning look like for us?

You saw someone drive into the  grocery store parking lot in a beat up car. Their clothes are shabby. They look "rough." They end up in front of you in the checkout line. They fumble with their wallet and turn red when they realize they don't have enough cash. Pay it forward; pay their bill.

You've been invited to contribute to a food drive. As you look through your panty, instead of picking out the generic mac & cheese with an expiration date of June, 2015, give the jar of gourmet spaghetti sauce that you were hoping to use next Monday night.

Father, there are people all around us that, through no fault of their own, are in need. They aren't looking for handouts, but give us compassion to help, sensitivity not to embarrass them, and sincerity to show the love of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

[1] Rev. James Koller, Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Inwood, Iowa. Jan 9, 2022.

One of my favorite barns is at 3898-3842, Hwy A52, George, Iowa. We frequently pass it on our way to Sioux Falls or Inwood. It's not "holy," per se, but when I took this photograph, it shone with reflected glory from the setting sun.