The opening line of this passage from Leviticus is a bit jarring: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

That is what the entire book of Leviticus is about–being holy. Being other. Being set apart. As the Israelites are in the wilderness, no longer slaves in Egypt and not yet established in Canaan, they are constantly called by their leaders to live into their identity as God’s people. They are not to live and act like everyone else. They are to live by a different standard. They are to be holy–in the way that God is holy.

And the priestly tradition, on which Leviticus is based, had some very specific ideas about how to do this. In this passage, for instance, we are told that being holy involves not passing unjust judgments, not slandering people, not enriching ourselves by harming others. If we back up just a bit, we read rules about leaving some of the harvest in the fields for the poor, being honest, and acting with respect for people with disabilities.

This is great stuff! Leviticus 19:9-18 presents rules I appreciate. Rules I am willing to try to live by. But then there is verse 19. It’s not included in today’s reading, for obvious reasons, but it is still there–right after “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.”

The whole book of Leviticus is pretty much like this–a hodgepodge of rules. Some are rules we can all agree with: We should not steal or put stumbling blocks in front of people who are blind or cheat people. Good rules. Some are rules that nobody in our culture pays any attention to: “You shall not round off the hair on your temples.” Plenty are rules that deal with specific aspects of ancient life that are not relevant today–such as sacrificial worship practices. 

And of course there are those rules that spark heated debate.

I once saw a photo online of a guy’s tattoo from Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shall not lie with a male as one does with a woman. It is an abomination.” But apparently that person didn’t care much about Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.”

So as much as I love the rules laid out in Leviticus 19:9-18, we have to think carefully about what it means to embrace these rules for ourselves. I don’t think we’re treating the scripture with much integrity if we simply go through Leviticus and make our own list of the rules we like–the ones we want to follow–then ignore the rest of them.

Yet even if the specific set of rules laid out in Leviticus is not applicable to our current cultural situation, the broader message still stands: the holy people of God need to live by rules that set them apart from the broader culture. We are God’s holy people, and we need some clear rules to guide us through the wilderness.

I’m afraid that “liberal,” “progressive,” Christians may not place enough value on law, on rules that should govern our lives. We’re afraid of being “legalistic,” of being “judgmental” or “closed-minded.” And we ignore the reality that rules can serve a valuable function. Living by a certain system of law, a selected set of rules, allows us to make decisions about how we will act before we get into the emotional heat of a situation–at which point we might not make the best decision.

There are times when telling a lie would be more comfortable than the truth; when stealing an item we want would be easy. It can be a very good thing to have some rules, some guidelines, some boundaries that you put in place when you are thinking clearly. Something to fall back on in those times when you may not be thinking clearly.

Of course, rules aren’t all about what we can’t do. There are also rules about what we should do. And let’s face it, some of the things we should do take time and energy that we often don’t want to give.

Many churches have unwritten rules about what we should do that go a long way in assuring that people care for each other–even when they might not feel like it. We take food to people who are sick and show up for each other’s special events and volunteer at church and in the community. But most of us would be loath to commit these rules to writing; to lay them out before prospective members as things they are required to do when they join the church. We will ask people to “live in fellowship with the community,” but we dare not say, “You are required to make at least three casseroles for LINK each year; you are required to visit someone sick or shut-in at least twice . . . ”

I get the sense that churches in general are afraid that if we ask too much of people we will scare them away. We don’t want to make the life of faith seem too difficult, too demanding. We don’t want to ask for too much of someone’s time or too much of their money. We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes by being too specific about moral expectations or religious practices. The reality, though, is that heightened expectations have always been part of the Christian faith in general and Anabaptist Christianity in particular. Historically, periods of church growth often come when the demands of faith are high.  

Of course, there are some groups that seek to dictate how people live; where they go, what they do, even who they marry and who they can and can’t talk to. These groups are called “cults,” and the rules enforced by cult leaders are not designed to bring people into the Good News of a life lived with and for Christ. Rather rules within a cult are all about the group–especially the leader–maintaining power over the people.

The general principles of how we live together–principles of peace, of justice, of love–come from God. The specific laws and rules about how to live according to Godly principles are human creations–our best efforts to discern what specific actions will lead us to live out the peace and justice and love of God more fully.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that sometimes we humans get it wrong. And sometimes we get it right for ourselves, but the most faithful action in one culture at one time may not be the most faithful action thousands of miles–or years–away.

And sometimes–Christ have mercy–those in power intentionally create rules to preserve their own status and power rather than rules that will be for the common good. 

And sometimes those of us following the rules don’t do it out of any sense of fulfilling God’s deep call on our lives. We just follow the rules out of habit. It’s the path of least resistance. This type of rote rule-following can keep us out of trouble, but it won’t lead us into the abundant life God desires for us and for our neighbors.

In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 22:34-46), we are told that the Pharisee asked a question to test Jesus; but it seems like a perfectly legitimate question: “Which commandment in the law is greatest?”  Because all of these commandments–all of these rules–can be confusing. Some can feel impossible and some can feel wrong and sometimes it seems that following one rule means breaking another. So which rule is the most important? What should we prioritize? I don’t know if that Pharisee was trying to trick Jesus or not. But either way, I’d like to know the answer to that question.

According to Jesus, the most important rule is: “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” And the second-most important rule is: “‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments,” says Jesus, “hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

All of the specific rules that we create for ourselves and our communities should be based on the foundational calling to love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. It’s not that Jesus is against rules, he just wants us to understand why we follow the rules we follow and check in once in a while to make sure those more specific rules still lead us to live out the most important commandments. For example, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense these days to leave the gleanings of our harvest in the field. But if we understand God’s principles of peace, justice, and love that prompted this rule, we can determine for ourselves what actions we should take today that might accomplish the same ends. How can we express love for all of our neighbors by assuring that the poor can feed themselves with dignity?

Most certainly Jesus is not against rules. Turn the other cheek. Give your cloak. Go the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you. These are rules. Love your enemies–that’s a rule.

What Jesus opposes is the all-too-common practice of blindly following rules that are easy. And ignoring the ones that are hard or even just inconvenient.

One of today’s religious institutions that puts a lot of stock in following rules is the monastic tradition. Those who join a religious order take a vow of obedience–they promise to follow the rules of the order and the instructions handed down to them from their superiors.

That’s what Patrick Wall promised when he became a monk. And it’s why he left his ideal life of study and prayer at the monastery to replace a priest at a school who had been removed because of allegations of sexual abuse. And it’s why he then moved on to replace another priest who had embezzled church funds to pay for an affair he was having with someone in the church. And why he moved to the next position to replace another priest who had faced charges of sexual abuse. His vows of obedience are why, in each situation, he hushed up the scandals, reassured the people, and tidied up the files.

Wall learned that the church would be a much better place if those leading the church had followed some key rules–rules like not stealing, not lying; rules about sexual integrity. These would have been good rules for the priests to follow.

Wall also learned that there is a time to stop following some of the rules. A time to break your vow of obedience when you learn that those you are obeying are using you to serve their selfish interests rather than to further God’s principles of peace, justice, and love.

Wall left his religious order and ended up working as a consultant for a law firm that represents victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . . and . . . you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

“Be holy,” Moses tells the Israelites wandering in the desert. Be set apart as God’s people.

We do not follow the rules of the world. We follow God’s law of peace, justice, and love.

May each step you take be a step toward justice, toward peace–a step taken in love, a step taken with grace. Amen.