"And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering."
Ezekiel 45:23
This verse is talking about part of the preparations for the feast of passover. Part of the symbolism here is of the atonement... unblemished sacrifice and the idea that the death of something external could expiate the community's sin. And I think that the law and the symbolism are important... showing us how God has taught us over time to understand things that we probably never could without the incremental guidance. One of the things that this verse made me think about is the fact that we sin daily, and that it is a recurring issue... not one that we can just take care of once a year or once a month.
Today, of course, animal sacrifice isn't the way that we solve that problem. But it remains a problem that needs to be solved. Perhaps recognizing our own daily sin will help us to be more humble... realizing that we aren't perfect, and that we need to make constant course corrections and adjustments to stay on track. Taking care of that sin daily, through repentance, can also help us stay clean, and have confidence in our ability to be good people and to work with God to make improvements.
Of course all sin can't be wiped out in a day... especially sins that we've tended and cared for over months and years. Those require some serious work and some heartrending (and mending) and soul searching. Sometimes we require assistance from the bishop to know how to solve whatever is weighing on our conscience. And if we have things like that going on, we should jump into it and start the process. It is sometimes unbelievably hard, but afterward it is worth it because we feel clean and whole again... able to rebuild rather than wander the brokenness. And once we solve the big problems, then we start being able to tackle the smaller ones, and feeling clean and connected to God more and more often, for longer periods of time. And maybe, someday, we get to the point where we *can* take care of our sins by repenting each day, and have that daily feeling of being okay and on the same page with God. Today, let's do the work and talk to God about our sin... whatever it is, however large or small. And let's resolve any relationship or other issues involved, and ask for forgiveness, and work on being better people than we have been. Letting go of the bad, and embracing the good, and turning all the darkness within us into light... which is what we've always been meant to be. :)
Ezekiel 45:23
This verse is talking about part of the preparations for the feast of passover. Part of the symbolism here is of the atonement... unblemished sacrifice and the idea that the death of something external could expiate the community's sin. And I think that the law and the symbolism are important... showing us how God has taught us over time to understand things that we probably never could without the incremental guidance. One of the things that this verse made me think about is the fact that we sin daily, and that it is a recurring issue... not one that we can just take care of once a year or once a month.
Today, of course, animal sacrifice isn't the way that we solve that problem. But it remains a problem that needs to be solved. Perhaps recognizing our own daily sin will help us to be more humble... realizing that we aren't perfect, and that we need to make constant course corrections and adjustments to stay on track. Taking care of that sin daily, through repentance, can also help us stay clean, and have confidence in our ability to be good people and to work with God to make improvements.
Of course all sin can't be wiped out in a day... especially sins that we've tended and cared for over months and years. Those require some serious work and some heartrending (and mending) and soul searching. Sometimes we require assistance from the bishop to know how to solve whatever is weighing on our conscience. And if we have things like that going on, we should jump into it and start the process. It is sometimes unbelievably hard, but afterward it is worth it because we feel clean and whole again... able to rebuild rather than wander the brokenness. And once we solve the big problems, then we start being able to tackle the smaller ones, and feeling clean and connected to God more and more often, for longer periods of time. And maybe, someday, we get to the point where we *can* take care of our sins by repenting each day, and have that daily feeling of being okay and on the same page with God. Today, let's do the work and talk to God about our sin... whatever it is, however large or small. And let's resolve any relationship or other issues involved, and ask for forgiveness, and work on being better people than we have been. Letting go of the bad, and embracing the good, and turning all the darkness within us into light... which is what we've always been meant to be. :)
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