Leviticus chapter 21.
In the Old Testament, priests were given a huge responsibility of sacrificing animals for the forgiveness of sins. First for their own sins and then for the sins of the people. Every day sacrifices were being made. Such sacrifices were to be holy before God. And if the priests doing the sacrifices were not Holy then the sacrifices or offerings were automatically not holy. God is holy! That is who he naturally is… Holy! Therefore he can't have anything unholy in his presence. That's why daily sacrifices were made by the priest. But when Christ came along, he was a holy and perfect sacrifice who died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life. Hebrews chapter 7:11-28 are great verses to read about Jesus as the perfect priest. Verse 26 says Jesus was holy, blameless, pure, set apart for sinners, exalted above the heavens. Because he was perfect, Jesus was the perfect candidate to be offered as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Because he rose from the dead and because he now lives forever, he's always alive and available to intercede for us before God. His sacrifice was sufficient once and for all. No more sacrifices are necessary. We have life through Jesus if we accept him into our lives for the forgiveness of sins. And then he comes and lives within us through the Holy Spirit. He helps our lives to be transformed, be changed, be made new. Made different, and made holy. He will help us repent or change our ways of thinking and ways of acting. We will become more attractive to those around us because of the way we now love them rather than gossip about them, or criticize them, or ignore them, or reject them. We're forgiven of all sins. Made holy and new. If we mess up and confess our mess ups to the Lord, he forgives us. Lord help us want to walk daily with you. Forgive us of our sins and help us walk a new life and a loving life for you. May people's lives be changed because of how we love them.
We read about the requirements for the priests and I was thinking about how restrictive it was. Everything had to be done exactly a certain way and the priest couldn’t have any blemishes. I’m so glad that these are not requirements for us in order to be forgiven. Many people would be excluded from serving as a priest, but we have all been included in the offer of salvation. God’s love is inclusive, not exclusive. We have so much to be grateful for because His love doesn’t have limitations!
Check out Romans 5: 6-9. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.
Growing up and now continuing in the Catholic Faith, priesthood is unique. Priests cannot marry, and they must go through many years of time dedicated to the seminary and working through the steps to becoming an ordained priest. Growing up, I remember thinking priests had to be SO different than everyday people. I would often think, I know they don’t drink beer, or smoke, and I bet they don’t even watch any television! I remember thinking how much they stood out from everyone else, one big reason being because they could never have a wife and children. Other religions allow for this, but not the Catholic Church.
Right now the Catholic Church is in crisis with hundreds of priests being accused of sexual abuse. Uncleaness, unholiness, and desecration to God’s holy places and sanctuaries in the absolute worst way possible. A relative of mine, who is an atheist, shared an article in our family group chat calling for the end of the Catholic religion and churches because of what has recently come to light about all of these priests. I find myself struggling to find the right words to say in defense of faith because of the horrendous acts of so many priests. Also, arguing with anyone who is atheist usually makes me feel angry and defeated, because until they make the decision to come to know Christ, they don’t truly listen to what you have to say. Satan will continue to find ways to turn people away from God. I pray that I can find the words to say, or even just live in a way to show God’s love, to people who do not believe and who use the examples of unholy, sinful priests as a reason to completely disregard and walk away from the Lord.