Some “through the bible” thoughts from Luke 5.
After Jesus touches a man full of leprosy, he tells him, “Go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as Moses commanded” (Luke 5:13,14).
I’ll bet this didn’t happen very often. In fact, I’ll bet that few if any people recovered from leprosy or any other skin disease that word refers to. I could be wrong, but the priest may have never had anyone come to him to be proclaimed healed.
I imagine the priest had to get out the scroll which included Leviticus 14. That’s where the Lord told Moses exactly what needed to be done for a leprous person on the day of his cleansing.
- If the priest observed healing, the person would bring two live clean birds, some cedarwood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop,.
The person then kills one of the birds in a jar filled with fresh water.
- The priest ties up the other bird with the yarn, cedarwood, and hyssop, dips it in the water in the jar. The priest then sprinkles the water on the person seven times, and releases the bird.
- The healed person washes his clothes, shaves all his hair, and takes a bath, clean and restored.
But there’s more.
- Eight days later, the person offers up two males lambs, a ewe lamb, some grain mixed with oil, and some more oil.
- The priest takes some of the blood of the killed lamb and puts it on the right earlobe, right thumb, and right big toe, followed by oil in those same places.
The whole process was involved and took more than a week to complete.
I was once invited to do a memorial service at someone’s home. After some readings and prayers, we went into the back yard which abutted some freshwater marshland. A family member handed me a cardboard box and said, “Do what you usually do.”
I had never held a box of remains before, much less performed a ritual scattering. I had to rubric to consult, so I made one up. I did learn this: always make sure you’re standing upwind.
That wasn’t the only time I improvised.
- I did a quinceañera for a teenager whose family had Puerta Rican roots. I made phone calls to local churches with Hispanic ministry to find the ceremony.
- People asked me to bless bibles and cross necklaces. I usually prayed for the people who read or wore them.
- Visiting someone in the hospital with Covid-19 involved gearing up with personal protection equipment. I don’t remember taking that class in seminary.
Waite for it... 