Holy

Year Reading: Exodus 28-30

The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be passed on to his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them. Exodus 29:29 NRSV

Reading the whole of today's scripture, I am reminded how bloody a job it was to be a priest. Not only were the vestments very specific and not what I would consider attractive but they were going to get messy. Animals were going to be sacrificed on the altar.  Blood was shed on them and their clothes when they were ordained. They would be sacrificing in those same clothes. The priests were to do this themselves - they couldn't stand around and get a servant to do this for them. To complete the picture, those vestments were to be passed down to the next generation of priests. At that point, I suppose it didn't matter if they vestments actually looked good; they were simply set-apart or holy.

I am not sure how much priests or pastors today in the Christian church appear set apart or holy. There are some churches in which you can identify the minister by their clothes fairly quickly. But in others, it isn't until the sermon begins that the pastor is identified. Certainly none of them are required to make a bloody sacrifice: Jesus Christ did that once and for all.

What makes your priest or pastor set apart of holy? Do they wear special clothes or vestments in worship?

What makes you, a minister of all believers, set apart or holy?

God, you call all of us to be holy and set apart. You have given us your son, Christ Jesus, who has made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. Thank you for your Son and your calling on our lives. In His name we pray. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims