Today's Readings and Stuff-- Tuesday, 16 February 2021

I hope everyone is surviving the hideously cold "catastrophic global warming " that has caused sub-zero temperatures in areas as far south as El Paso, Texas and western Arkansas, with snow and ice storms in Central Alabama.  I'm looking out at a good half inch of what the "experts " assured us would be nearly a foot of snow on the ground.  Not that I'm complaining.

Good to be indoors by a warm fireplace, though dreading the inevitably horrid gas bills that will ensue.  But fed and alive, for which we give thanks.

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Leviticus 22, 23

LEVITICUS 22

Priests and Their Food

1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2“Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name;  I am Yahweh. 3Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from My presence; I am Yahweh. 4No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease  or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean — whatever his uncleanness — 6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening  and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. 7When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.  8He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,   making himself unclean by it; I am Yahweh. 9They must keep My instruction,  or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am Yahweh who sets them apart.

10“No one outside a priest’s family   is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired hand is not to eat the holy offering. 11But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. 12If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,  she is not to eat from the holy contributions.  13But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. 14If anyone eats a holy offering in error,  he must add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.  15The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord 16by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.  For I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”

Acceptable Sacrifices

17The Lord spoke to Moses: 18“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the foreign residents  in Israel who presents his offering  — whether they present freewill gifts or payment of vows to the Lord as burnt offerings — 19must offer an unblemished male  from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. 20You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

21“When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. 22You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash,  or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.  23You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering. 24You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles;  you must not sacrifice them in your land. 25Neither you nor  a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.” 

26The Lord spoke to Moses: 27“When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it must remain with  its mother for seven days; from the eighth day  on, it will be acceptable as a gift, a fire offering to the Lord. 28But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.  29When you sacrifice a thank offering  to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30It is to be eaten on the same day.  Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am Yahweh.

31“You are to keep My commands and do them; I am Yahweh. 32You must not profane My holy name; I must be treated as holy  among the Israelites. I am Yahweh who sets you apart, 33the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh.”

LEVITICUS 23

Holy Days

1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are My appointed times,  the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies. 

3“Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest,  a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath  to the Lord wherever you live.

4“These are the Lord’s appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. 5The Passover  to the Lord comes in the first month, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month. 6The Festival of Unleavened Bread  to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work. 8You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; you must not do any daily work.”

9The Lord spoke to Moses: 10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest,  you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. 11He will wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12On the day you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a year-old male lamb  without blemish  as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13Its grain offering is to be four quarts  of fine flour mixed with oil as a fire offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, and its drink offering will be one quart  of wine. 14You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain  until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.

15“You are to count seven  complete weeks   starting from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the presentation offering.  16You are to count 50 days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain  to the Lord. 17Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation offering, each of them made from four quarts  of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits  to the Lord. 18You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. 20The priest will wave the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before the Lord; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations. 22When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident;  I am Yahweh your God.”

23The Lord spoke to Moses: 24“Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and joyful shouting   — a sacred assembly.  25You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the Lord.”

26The Lord again spoke to Moses: 27“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.  You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial;   you are to present a fire offering to the Lord. 28On this particular day you are not to do any work, for it is a Day of Atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. 29If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he must be cut off from his people. 30I will destroy among his people anyone who does any work on this same day. 31You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live. 32It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

33The Lord spoke to Moses: 34“Tell the Israelites: The Festival of Booths   to the Lord begins on the fifteenth day of this seventh month and continues for seven days. 35There is to be a sacred assembly on the first day; you are not to do any daily work. 36You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a fire offering to the Lord. It is a solemn gathering;  you are not to do any daily work.

37“These are the Lord’s appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting fire offerings to the Lord, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. 38These are in addition to the offerings for the Lord’s Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, and all your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.

39“You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. 40On the first day you are to take the product  of majestic trees — palm fronds,  boughs of leafy trees,  and willows of the brook  — and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 42You are to live in booths  for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, 43so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.” 44So Moses declared the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.

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Mark 1:1-22

MARK 1

The Messiah’s Herald

1The beginning  of the gospel  of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  2As it is written in Isaiah  the prophet:  

Look, I am sending My messenger  ahead of You,

who will prepare Your way. 

3A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 

Prepare the way for the Lord; 

make His paths straight!  

4John came baptizing   in the wilderness  and preaching a baptism of repentance   for the forgiveness  of sins.  5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem  were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan  River as they confessed  their sins.  6John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts  and wild honey.  7He was preaching: “Someone more powerful  than I will come after me.  I am not worthy  to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.  8I have baptized you with  water,  but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 

The Baptism of Jesus

9In  those days Jesus came from Nazareth  in Galilee  and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens  being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11And a voice  came from heaven: 

You are My beloved  Son; 

I take delight  in You! 

The Temptation of Jesus

12Immediately  the Spirit  drove  Him into the wilderness.  13He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted  by Satan.  He was with the wild animals,  and the angels  began to serve Him.

Ministry in Galilee

14After  John was arrested,  Jesus went to Galilee,  preaching  the good news    of God:   15“The time  is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God  has come  near.  Repent  and believe  in the good news! ”

The First Disciples

16As  He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee,  He saw Simon  and Andrew,  Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea,  since they were fishermen.

17“Follow Me,”  Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for ,  people! ”  18Immediately they left their nets and followed  Him.  19Going on a little farther, He saw James  the son of Zebedee  and his brother John.  They were in their boat mending their nets. 20Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. 

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

21Then  they went into Capernaum,  and right away He entered the synagogue  on the Sabbath  and began to teach.

 22They were astonished  at His teaching  because, unlike the scribes,  He was teaching them as one having authority.