Today’s scripture: Mark 7:14-23 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Jeff Miner):
As modern readers, we tend to miss the enormity of what Jesus is saying in today’s Scripture. If we had been first century Jews, Jesus’ words in this passage would have taken our breath away. We would have either found his words incredibly liberating or extremely infuriating!
Here, Jesus plunges a dagger into the heart of one of the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament. To this day, faithful Jews observe strict dietary laws — laws that were first recorded in Leviticus 11:1-23, where we find a list of the types of animals that cannot be eaten. The list includes camels, rock badgers, rabbits, pigs, oysters, bats, the great owl, and even eagles. These animals are described as “an abomination” — in other words, detestable.
All of which leads to an obvious question: Why?
Why would God create a bunch of creatures that God detests?
Although no explicit answer is given, Leviticus 11 offers a hint as to what our ancient ancestors were thinking. Verse 3 says that animals who have both divided hoofs and chew the cud are fine. However, animals that have divided hoofs, but don’t chew cud, are detestable. Apparently, the authors of Leviticus 11 didn’t like it when animals mixed and matched characteristics in a species-bending way. They preferred animals that conformed to rigid archetypes. The Mercer Bible Dictionary, in a section entitled “Law In The Old Testament,” p. 505 (1990), puts it this way:
“Among the animals of Leviticus 11, the unclean are those of mixed or confused identity; if for example birds typically fly and quadrupeds walk, a quadruped that flies — the bat (vs. 19) — is perceived as having a confused identity; it is unclean. The birds listed as unclean (vs. 13-19) swim or dive or in some other way do not behave like birds. . . . [T]he principle is clear: the animal perceived as ‘ordered’ has its holiness and is clean; the animal having blurred identity is contaminated and to be avoided.”
Interesting, isn’t it?
It should come as no surprise that these same rigid notions about what makes an animal unholy were also applied to humans. For example, a man who is attracted to other men was also declared to be “an abomination” — because “everybody knows” men are only supposed to be attracted to women, period.
I guess you could say that some of our forebears in the faith didn’t have much appreciation for the diversity of God’s creation. But NOT Jesus! In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus emphatically rejects the kind of “creation order theology” found in Leviticus 11. In verse 19, we are told that Jesus boldly declared every creature of God to be clean and holy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the implications of Jesus’ teaching for those who argue that homosexuality is contrary to “creation order.” Whose creation? Whose sense of order?
To paraphrase Isaiah 45:9-11: Should those who are created say to the One who created them, “You’ve made a mistake!” I think not. So called “creation order theology” is bogus — Jesus says so.
Thought for the day: Are you “different” from most people? Don’t despair. God loves you just as you are! Take my breath away!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.