The Most Reverent Interruptible One

Leviticus 23 is an entire chapter about FEASTING, outlining the major feasts of the religious year and commenting on the Sabbath (a sort of weekly feast). And right out of nowhere at all comes this one verse:

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 23:22

So what do you make of that? I mean, here’s a verse about leaving space for the poor to harvest a bit of food for themselves right in the middle of an entire chapter about feasting. Doesn’t that sound a bit strange?

Think about this: Yahweh wanted to create opportunity for the poor to feast as well. That’s because feasting matters so much. And the poor matter so much.

This information may seem esoteric to you or it may be enlightening. One way or the other it showcases God’s heart. God is willing to interrupt a long sermon about the importance of religious events to make sure that those on the margins are still centered. It’s like Jesus teaching in that house in Capernaum when they break through the roof and lower the paralyzed guy down… or when Jesus is on his way to the important synagogue ruler’s house and stops for a woman who’s bleeding. Like Leviticus 23, Jesus shows who God is: The Most Reverent Interruptible One, The Most Centering of the Marginalized One.

Take time to offer your thanks and praise to this God and to ask how you might join with Jesus in ‘the renewal of all things’ when it comes to these matters.