Happiness in Holiness
October 5, 2014 | Patrick Preheim

Who is mad enough or curious enough or bored enough to read the book of Leviticus?  Ian Frazier, for one.  His Leviticus experience inspired a delightful book of essays called Lamentations of the Father.  Let me read a short section entitled “Laws When at Table”

And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were.  Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me.  Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.  Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your block in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away.  When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck; for you will be sent away.

When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.  Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips.  I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.  And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why.  And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why.  Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away.  Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup.  And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.  [there is more, but I will stop]

Who is mad enough or curious enough or bored enough to read the book of Leviticus?  Jesus the Christ, for another.  Yes, Jesus was familiar with Leviticus.  So much so, in fact, that when a religious leader asked him about the greatest command Jesus affirmed the epic line from Deuteronomy about loving God with heart and mind and strength.  And then straight out of Leviticus he tacked on a bit about loving one’s neighbour as oneself.  Perhaps you connected these two scriptures as well when Leviticus 19.18 was read aloud.  Amazing, Deuteronomy supplemented with Leviticus.  Amazing, the command to love God linked with love of neighbour.

Who is mad enough or curious enough or bored enough to read the book of Leviticus?  Hopefully us, for it points us in a good way.   The holiness of God is a major concern within Leviticus.   150 times in Hebrew does the root word for holiness appear as a noun, verb or adjective (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr, “Book of Leviticus” in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary (vl 1), p. 985).  Four times we are told to be holy because God is holy (11.44, 11.45, 19.2, 20.26).  The concerns of God and Jesus about our holiness are serious business because we represent the holy things whose names we carry.  God cared about the way the Israelite’s looked after the poor because the Hebrews were his chosen people, his ambassadors.  Jesus cared about the way the 1st century Jews responded to their neighbours because people were drawn to or driven away from God by the manner in which they treated their neighbours and employees and supervisors.  And the church should care about the way we act because each of us is a reflection of the holy church, the holy Christ we claim to follow, and holy God who is at our foundation.  So...

• No more gossip or slander or malice directed toward those with whom we disagree.  These attitudes not only hurt us, they damage the credibility of all Christians.  Happiness resides not in tearing down our advisories, but in conforming to the Christ who directed us to love our enemy (Matt 5.44.).
• No more treating our spouses poorly or taking them for granted.  The wars we wage at home damage our quality of life as individuals and communities of faith.  Happiness rests not in domestic domination but in domestic collaboration (1st Cor 7:1-7).
• No more fratricide.  There are some who wish our gay and lesbian brothers, sisters, children, grand-children, nephews, nieces were not a part of the church.  Some of us wish people spouting such hurtful words would just leave.   Jesus calls us to respond with compassion and conviction to each brother:  our LBGTQ friends and family, and those set against their inclusion in the church.  If on October 25 any attend the MC Sask conversation, let us be so filled with the Spirit of Christ that we calmly share our experiences and hopes.  Let us be so filled with the Spirit of Christ that we are drawn to pray for persecutors.  Shrouded in the mantle of Christ, let us shield ourselves from hateful, condescending, and despairing thoughts.  Let the mind, and heart, and soul of Christ dwell in us.  For this kind of holiness is the only way to find peace in this conflict.

In Leviticus holiness is not about perfection.  The endless chapters detailing provision for restitution with God and neighbour make that clear.  Holiness is about intent, about embracing our role as a called people, about trying our best and then patching up our short-comings.  In this spirit then, let us be holy for the Lord our God is holy.  Amen.

- Patrick Preheim, co-pastor Nutana Park Mennonite Church

Macaila Funk, Sara Bartel, Emily Hooge
Google defines happiness using words such as good fortune, pleasure, convenience, satisfaction and joy. Just like there are many different definitions of happiness on the internet, happiness also takes on a different meaning for everyone around the world.

Happy Life Children’s Home allowed us to explore the many different definitions of a happy life. The children in the home lacked many things that are commonly associated with happiness. For many of us, our happiness is linked to family relationships, good health and material possessions; however, even these terms are defined differently between us. Although the children in Happy Life are not cared for by their biological parents, do not always have access to healthcare and do not own a single material possession, they were some of the happiest children we’ve ever seen.

One moment that stands out in our memories is the day that all of the toddlers received their first pair of shoes. Although the shoes were secondhand and none of them knew how to go about walking in them, for that split second they had something of their very own... Well until another toddler snatched them away. When we were told that we would be taking one of the children to their other home in the country, called Juja, we automatically began to look for his suitcase filled with his own personal possessions. Much to our surprise, he did not have anything that belonged to him- all of the children share clothing, toys and even toothbrushes. Despite not having any material possessions to call their own, the children were happy.

As we walked through a tiny Masai village nestled safely in the Masai Mara National Park, we were greeted by a dozen young men who were enthusiastic to show us their traditional greeting and way of life. The Masai people live about as simply as it gets. They are a self sufficient community, live in houses primarily composed of cow dung, only drink milk and blood and only eat raw meat. And yet, they are happy.

The most significant experience we had happened in one of the biggest slums in the world. Kibra is home to over one million people, within three and a quarter square miles. Although nothing could prepare us for a day spent in Kibra, we assumed that our day would be somber and somewhat depressing. We couldn’t have been more wrong, as our local friend Reuben showed us the place he called home. In contrast to many of our assumptions about living in the slums, the sadness was drowned out by laughter and children playing. Reuben even took us to his house, where we were welcomed in by his sister Rose. Their house was about the size of one master bedroom, and yet had everything they needed. Rose served us lemonade, popcorn and buns- assuring us that in her culture, you always share with others, no matter how little you have.

Happiness is a relative term. There is not just one definition of happiness, and not one is more correct than another; it is simply what you make of what you have. We continually experience happiness in different forms while looking back on our trip and also in our everyday lives. This week, let’s all take more time to experience happiness in its many forms.