The whole book of Leviticus emphasizes the holiness of God, which calls for us to respond by living in holiness as well; but today’s reading expresses that in serious detail. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2): all of our lives are to be set apart for holiness, on the basis of God’s own holiness. But what does a holy life really look like?

Today’s chapters prescribe a lot of regulations that address particular aspects of a holy life. Some of these are judicial: “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people” (19:15-16). There are social regulations, insisting we must not hate or bear a grudge, but must instead love our neighbor as ourselves, and offer corrective wisdom: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (19:17-18).

There are regulations regarding how we are to treat foreigners: “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (19:33-34). And there are regulations that insist on righteous economic behavior – rather than ‘sharp practice’ on the basis that “it’s just business”: “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (19:35-36).

All of these find their meaning in our call to give ourselves wholeheartedly to God’s worship and service: to live in holiness, because our Lord is holy. That’s often hard for us to get. We are better at finding fault with others than we are at dedicating ourselves to wholehearted allegiance to our God, in word and deed.

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… a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”  And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:25-27).

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We are so quick to use your word as the basis for judging others, O Lord, and so slow to reckon with our own lack of holiness. Teach our hearts to focus on devotion to you, we pray, that we may live before you in glad obedience, this day and always.

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