Day 37, or February the 6th.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus chapter 14 verse 8.
The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off their hair, and bathe with
water.
Then they will be ceremonially clean.
After this, they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven
days.
First the big picture surrounding this verse.
Today's reflection comes from a rather intimate passage.
It talks about bodily examinations and the cleansing of people with their clothing and
homes.
At first sight it may seem strange that God is interested in such apparent trivial things.
But God is interested in every part of us.
Jesus said, The very hairs on your head are all numbered.
Matthew 10 verse 30.
I'm sure you have heard it said that cleanliness is next to godliness.
This part of Leviticus could easily have inspired this saying, which is first accredited to
Rabbi Phineas Ben-Yair, who is thought to have used it in the second century.
And now our action step for today.
I recently heard an elderly gentleman say to a pharmacist, I'm sorry to bother you,
but I didn't want to take up valuable time by asking my doctor.
We often treat God like that, not wanting to waste his time with trivia.
We demote God to, for emergencies only, break the glass only when absolutely essential.
There's a reminder of this in that lovely old German hymn translated in the 19th century
by Catherine Winkworth, Now Thank We All Our God.
It includes this line, And guide us when perplexed.
In other words, only when I can't figure it out by myself.
To be fair, it may not be what was meant, but that's how I read it every time, and
so will you after hearing this.
Sorry.
Leviticus reminds us that we need to be cleansed when we come before a holy God.
God is interested in the most intimate and seemingly insignificant things in our lives
when they mar our purity.
Nothing's too small for cleansing if it's a barrier between you and God.