This week at St. Mark’s we are finishing our journey through the book of Leviticus. What we’ve seen is that, just like us, the Israelite of those times were people who struggled with how to live well. They knew that they were called to be God’s people, to be a special community in the world, but there were so many things that pulled them away from their calling. The laws of Leviticus might have been a bit strange in places, but they were the laws of a people trying to be faithful to God. Our sermon series finishes with a look at what was in the ‘Holy of Holies’, the centre of the Tabernacle. This was the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ with the tablets of the law, the ten commandments. God promised his people that if they lived his way, they would have a life that was blessed, but if they didn’t, things would not go well. As Christians, this challenge is still one that exists for us, to find our ‘pattern of life’, which will put God at the centre of everything we do. But our context is different today. In some ways it is harder for us, as our world is not the simple place that we read about in ancient Israel. We have so many things to do and competing ways to live shown by the world around us. On the other hand, we live in the age of the ‘New Covenant’, when through Jesus God has put his Holy Spirit into the hearts of his people with the grace and power to be truly transformed. As we approach Easter let’s take encouragement from what Jesus has done and the life he has lived for us.

-Andrew-