In the course of the liturgical year, the Church uses readings from the Book of Leviticus a grand total of two or three times. One rather famous Scripture scholar, who would probably ask that I not reveal his name, called the Book of Leviticus obscure and probably the most boring Book of the Bible. This is the book of Scripture that enumerates the 613 commandments of the Law – not what anyone thinks of as scintillating reading.
It is essential that we remember that what we read in Leviticus in today’s version of the Scriptures has evolved over hundreds of years. In other words, what we have today is not simply a first draft. Over a period of time, the book changed to reflect the cultural and social realities in which the Israelites found themselves as they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. Evidence of that can be found in today’s reading which speaks of bringing the first fruits of the harvest to the Temple to present to the Lord. During the forty years that the Israelites spent in the desert, there was no time nor a fertile place for raising crops. Consequently we know that the commandments regarding liturgy were amended to include the new reality of the Promised Land after they had arrived. Later on the history of Israel, the post-exilic prophet Ezekiel also effected some alterations in the legislation to bring the book into the reality of Israel after the Temple was destroyed and Israel returned from Babylon.
The reading that we hear today gives us a chance to reflect on the liturgy. We hear of four different Feast Days – Passover, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles. These four feasts recall significant events in the life of Israel and are Israel’s way of praising God for intervening in their lives. Passover recalls being saved from Egypt and corresponds quite well to our Feast of Easter. Pentecost recalls the day that God entered into a covenant with the people on Mt. Sinai. It corresponds to the day that God made a new covenant with us by sending the Holy Spirit. The Day of Atonement was established at the beginning of the Year for Israel, eight days after Rosh Hashanah and asks the people to atone for their sins. We do much the same during Lent. Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated at harvest time and is very much like our secular holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
It has been said that our prayer life consists of praise, giving thanks, asking forgiveness, and interceding for our needs and the needs of others. The roots of this kind of thinking about prayer are found in the liturgy of the Israelites. As we celebrate our Eucharist, all four types of prayer are present. It remains for us to enter into the celebration. Finally, just as the liturgy of the Israelites evolved with different circumstances and different cultural realities, so too our liturgy must reflect the reality of our lives rather than trying to hang onto traditions that simply do not reflect our changing culture and society.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator