Be holy
In Leviticus 19 the Lord is continuing the meeting with Moses. The law is in the process of being given to Moses for Israel, and we are chapters upon chapters deep into these laws at this point. Don't sleep with your family members. Eat this. Don't eat that. Here's what you sacrifice for this sin. Here's what you sacrifice for that sin. Into this, God interjects one often quoted line: You must be holy as I am holy.
That line is quoted by Peter in his first book in the New Testament as well. Be holy as I am holy. It was a line often quoted to me in my childhood. That somehow my moral actions really mattered, because I needed to be pure in that same way that God is pure.
Ah, see! I did it. I made the turn. Did you catch it?
I've equated holiness with morality, instead of seeing morality as a byproduct of holiness.
I believe that this concept of holiness is flawed. All the word holiness means is "set apart". To be "in the world, but not of it", right? To live in our comfortable sub-culture so as not to contaminate ourselves with worldly culture and that we can remain pure as our Lord -- but Jesus was never removed from his culture. Jesus moved into the neighborhood where the pain was, where the dirty people were, and brought his transforming justice, love and mercy to them.
In the Pentateuch, God is teaching a group of runaway slaves what it means to be human again. God is teaching them about himself and what God's core values are: Justice, Love, and Mercy. We see these principles lived out in the life of Christ. They are the underlying framework for who we understand God to be. A God who loves us. A God who deals justly with us and all of humanity. A God who takes mercy on us in our weakness.
That's it. I believe that holiness isn't morality. Holiness is the living-out of these characteristics that set us apart from our violent, consumeristic, selfish North American culture that we find ourselves in. I believe that displaying these three characteristics in our neighborhoods (being holy), will set us apart more than boycotting Walt Disney ever did and we will leave a trail of healing and beauty behind. Just like Jesus did.