Muddled Middle

Leviticus 19:1-2 & 9-18New International Version (NIV)

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

11 “‘Do not steal.

“‘Do not lie.

“‘Do not deceive one another.

12 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

***I played Diamond Rio's "Meet in the Middle" during the service and is the song referred to

In the scripture I just read to you, we were given a list of instructions. These instructions were mostly phrased in this fashion: you can do {fill in the blank} but you cannot do {fill in the blank}. It's almost like we are given a range of things we ought to do. For all intensive purposes, and the fact it's the sermon title, let’s call this place the middle. Our entire life is shaped around this range, the middle. For example, as children we are able to swim in a pool with adults around but we hopefully know better to not do that when they aren't. We are given a speed limit to follow as we drive and if we drive faster than that limit, we increase the chance of a ticket or an accident. Our life is shaped by this area in the middle. Most of us are comfortable here. We are ok with this middle. As the song goes that I just played, meeting in the middle requires two parties who have made the decision to go there. We are ok living our lives within the range of the middle but more and more we are failing to take the two way street to meet someone else there.

Through the life of Christ, God himself walked this two way street. He met us in that middle with a someone who was partly Him and partly us. This is how I know the importance of this often muddled, middle. For some, faith drives them to one extreme or the other but in doing this, we lose sight of those on the other side. We surround ourself with like-mindedness and alienate those who disagree. I confidently venture to say that this is not God’s intention. Faith ought to unify but when we attach it to worldly things, or even worldly causes, too closely and we chase people away from the one place we ought to bring them. And that is closer to God.  

Like I said earlier most of us are more than fine living within the guidelines of the middle, for the most part.  That is until something somehow negatively affects us.  For example, we want the police to pull someone over for speeding because it helps keep our family safe but do we still feel that way when we are pulled over for going too fast because we are a few minutes late?  Then we look at the police doing their job as an inconvenience to us instead of keeping the roadways safe.  We know we shouldn’t steal, lie or deceive.  Again, we are mostly comfortable with these rules.  What if I had to steal some bread from the back of a bakery to feed my family?  What if a little lie would mean that justice could be served and the correct person was put away for the crime?  So many “what-if” scenarios could be asked.  Rules are fine to be rules until we don’t see the benefit to us.

This passage from Leviticus is one that tackles the issue of holiness.  It asks us to take a deep, inner personal look into our own ability to abide by these rules of faith.  Holiness is an issue we do not like to talk about.  No matter whether we pass the holiness test or not, we can be looked at negatively.  Too much holiness and you’re too prideful.  You’re a goodie-goodie.  You lack the ability to see things in the reality in which they are.  On the other hand, not enough holiness and you’re a hypocrite.  You don’t practice what you preach.  You begin to look at the world through jaded eyes.  Holiness is tough because we have to be willing to look inward instead of outward in a way that is not always pleasant.  Spiritual growth is only accomplished through self-examination.  I know I am not perfect.  Most of you know this already too.  But if I choose to do nothing about my imperfections, am I really living out my faith?  Forget how your holiness looks to the outside world for that doesn’t really matter.  This is where we get caught up in using our holiness as a scorecard.  A relationship with God is not at all like that.  He does care about our holiness, our ability to keep his rules but He too met us halfway by sending His son.  Please, please may we all be much less concerned with the holiness of our neighbor and more concerned with how to love them?  

Cameron Howard, a professor of Theology at Luther Seminary, said, “Leviticus’ concern with impurity and holiness remains relevant today, even to the twenty-first-century Christian reader. The book brings to each of us the question: what in your life is impeding your encounter with God? Yet it also brings that question to our society, our culture, and our faith as a whole.”  What is impeding your encounter from God?  What is keeping you from meeting Him halfway.  He is standing by that fence post waiting and waiting for you to show up.  What is keeping us from that meeting?  Perhaps it’s a misunderstanding of the impact of said encounter with God may have on your life.  Perhaps it is a repetitive sin.   Perhaps it’s a feeling of unpreparedness for that moment.  God is absolutely waiting by that fence post and yet meeting Him there only sounds good in theory because we fear the changes that might occur due to the encounter.  I can promise you one thing, you won’t leave that encounter without being changed.  And those changes will be for the better.  

Theologian and author, Karoline Lewis said, “Being a disciple does not require perfection but a persistence toward bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to bear. As a result, this may be the week to give examples of persistence for the sake of a vision we as the church can and should see, yet others cannot.”  Persistence is the key.  Later she goes on to say that “because God persists, we persist.”  If we combine the quotes from these brilliant women and our scripture for today we come out with something like this:  

there are rules that provide parameters for us to live within.  Our holiness is determined on how well we live within the muddled middle of those parameters.  We ought not judge others by their perceived holiness.  God doesn’t expect perfection but does expect, perhaps even demands it, persistence in showing his Kingdom to others.  

A friend of mine said something so incredibly true the other day... “There is no right answer.”  For so many situations this is the exact truth.  A good, well thought out answer may seem credible and likely from one perspective but not from another.  You and I could take very different paths and end up with the same results.  However, I think our scripture does have the right answer.  “I am the Lord” is repeated 6 times in our scripture for this morning.  The persistent chase towards holiness is in vain if we do not keep this in mind.  No matter our stance on anything we have to always know that He is our Lord.  No matter our holiness, or lack thereof, we cannot lose sight of God.  God is the right answer.  We just may not always ask the correct question.

I have spoken a lot about meeting God in the middle with a persistent pursuance of holiness but what about meeting our fellow human being there?  How about we cut them the same slack God has cut us?  I encourage you to look from different points of view, different perspectives.  If you don’t like something someone said maybe you should find out why they said it.  What drove them to be in disagreeance with you?  And you with them?  Take time to meet in that muddled middle.