The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 44: Priestly Garments (2023)

Episode Date: February 13, 2023

Fr. Mike explains how the holy garments for priests described in Exodus 27-28, are intentionally designed to glorify God and highlight his beauty. He also gives us an insight into the heart of the priesthood. We read today from Exodus 27-28, Leviticus 20, and Psalm 119: 57-120. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. This is day 44. Let's keep on going. Today, we are reading from Exodus chapter 27 and 28, Leviticus chapter 20, and we'll be praying Psalm 119 verses 57 through 120. One of the things you can do if you ever want to keep

track with what we're reading, you can download your Bible in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. That way you would know, like, how long is it going to take us to get through Psalm 119? You would know that if you downloaded the Bible in a Year reading plan. You would know that already. You can also subscribe to this podcast if you haven't yet, and you get an update at some point in the course of the night or course of the day, and you get to listen to this whenever you want.

Lastly, the Bible translation that I'm using is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. It's actually, I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension as we run through Exodus chapter 27 and 28, Leviticus 20, and Psalm 119, verses 57 through 120. Exodus chapter 27 and 28. The altar of burnt offering. You shall make the altar of acacia wood five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels, and basins, and forks, and firepans, all its utensils you shall make

of bronze. You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze. And upon the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners, and you shall set it under the ledge of the altar, so that the net shall extend halfway down the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles shall be carried upon the two sides of the altar when it is carried. You shall make it hollow, with boards, as it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made, the court and its hangings. You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits long for one side.

Their pillars shall be twenty, and their bases twenty of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for its length on the north side there shall and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for its length on the north side, there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, their pillars twenty and their bases twenty of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side, there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with three pillars and three bases. On the other side the hangings shall be

fifteen cubits, with three pillars and three bases. For the gate of the court there shall be a screen, twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars, and with them four bases. All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all its pegs of the court shall be of bronze.

The oil for the lamp. And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may be set to burn continually. In the tent of meeting outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the sons of Israel. Holy garments for the priests. Then bring near to you Aaron your brother and his sons with him from among the sons of Israel to serve me as priests, Aaron and Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother

for glory and for beauty. And you shall speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with an able mind, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments which they shall make, a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a cloak of checkerwork, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. The ephod. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and of fine twined linen skillfully worked. It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, that it may be joined together, and the skillfully woven band upon it to belt on it, shall be of the same workmanship and materials

of gold, blue and purple, and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree

and you shall set the two stones upon the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for remembrance. And you shall make settings of gold filigree, and two chains of pure gold twisted like cords. And you shall attach the corded chains to the settings. The Breastpiece of Judgment And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod you

shall make it, of gold, blue and purple, and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and double, a span its length and a span its breadth, and you shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row, and a second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond, and a third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst, and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name for the twelve tribes. And you shall make it for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords of pure gold.

And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two on the two edges of the breastpiece. And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece, the two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree. And so attach it in the front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. Then you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in the front to the lower part

of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to continual remembrance before the Lord. And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thumim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel upon his heart

before the Lord continually. The Robe of the Ephod And you shall make the robe of the Ephod all of blue. It shall have in it an opening for the head, and a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, that it may not be torn. On its skirts you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, around its skirts with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate round about on the skirts of the robe. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, or when he comes out, lest he die.

Other Priestly Garments And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, holy to the Lord. And you shall fasten it on the turban by a lace of blue, and it shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall take upon himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering which the sons of Israel hallow as their holy gifts. It shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. And you shall weave the coat in checker

work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework. And for Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps, you shall make them for glory and beauty. And you shall put them upon Aaron your brother, and upon his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and ordain them, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall make for them linen britches to cover their naked flesh, from the loins to the thighs shall they reach. And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, lest they bring guilt upon themselves and die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him

and for his descendants after him. The book of Leviticus chapter 20. Penalties for violations. The Lord said to Moses, Say to the sons of Israel, Any man of the sons of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who gives any of his children to Molech, shall be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut them off from

among their people, him and all who follow him, in playing the harlot after Molech. If a person turns to mediums and wizards, playing the harlot after Molech. If a person turns to mediums and wizards playing the harlot after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them. I am the Lord who sanctify you. For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood is upon him. If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness.

Both of them shall be put to death. Their blood is upon them. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death. They have committed incest. Their blood is upon them. If a man lies with the male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death, and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast, they shall be put to death. Their blood is upon them. If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his

sister's nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity. If a man lies with a woman having her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's near kin. They shall bear their iniquity. If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness. They shall bear their sin, and they shall die childless. If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness.

They shall be childless. You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said to you, you shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean.

You shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them. Psalm 119, verses 57 through 120. The Lord is my portion. I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart. Be gracious to me according to your promise.

When I think of your ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies. I hasten and do not delay to keep your promise. When I think of your ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies. I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight, I rise to praise you because of your righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love. Teach me your statutes. You have dealt well with your servant. O Lord, according to your word, teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes.

The godless besmear me with lies but with my whole heart I keep your precepts. Their heart is gross like fat but I delight in your law. It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of

gold and silver pieces your hands have made and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Let your mercy be ready to comfort me according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me, that I may live, for your law is my delight. Let the godless be put to shame, because they have subverted me with guile. As for me, I will meditate on your precepts. Let those who fear you turn to me,

that they may know your testimonies. May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame. My soul languishes for your salvation. I hope in your word. My eyes fail with watching for your promise. I ask, when will you comfort me? For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. Yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? Godless men have dug pitfalls for me. Men who do not conform to your law.

All your commandments are sure. They persecute me with falsehood. Help me. They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. In your mercy, spare my life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations. You have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction.

I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours, save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your

precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your ordinances, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it to observe your righteous ordinances. I am sorely afflicted. Give me life, O Lord, according to your word. Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your ordinances. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me.

But I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever. Yes, they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever to the end. I hate double-minded men. But I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.

Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your promise that I may live. And let me not be put to shame in my hope. Hold me up that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually. You spurn all who go astray from your statutes. Yes, their cunning is in vain.

All the wicked of the earth you count as dross. Therefore, I love your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments. Father in heaven, we give you praise, and we thank you for your judgments. Father in heaven, we give you praise and we thank you for your word. We thank you for this. Even this prayer, Lord God, is Psalm 119 because what you do, Lord God, is this person, this psalmist, is us. On one hand, we say, I'm faithful to you and you are good. On the other hand, it's like, gosh, Lord, please, that time is running out. Lord God, thank you. Help us to trust you even when we are at our wits end. Help us to let you shape and form us. Help us give you permission to love us as you know we need to be

loved. Help us to do that, Lord God. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. I'm in the middle of that prayer. I got a little distracted. I was thinking, gosh, like here's the beauty of the line in Exodus where we heard today in Exodus chapter 27 and 28, the description of what Aaron and his sons should be wearing, right? These are the priests, the Levitical priests. The priesthood can only come from the tribe of Levi. We're going to find out why in a little bit, but the priesthood can only come from the tribe of Levi. And so it's a unique priesthood. A person doesn't discern whether they should be called to be a Levitical priest or not. They're either born into it or are not born into it. But there's something about the wording that the Lord God

uses through Moses when it comes to the priestly garments and when it comes to even the way they make the priests would wear. And that wording was really, really powerful. The wording was that it would be for God's beauty and for glory. That these garments would be made, not for Aaron, they're not for his sons, but they're for glory and for beauty. There's something so interesting, you know, as a priest myself, I, a New Testament priesthood,

priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek and a priesthood according to Jesus Christ. The vestments that priests wear, sometimes, you know, I remember one day we had mass on campus. I work at the university of Minnesota Duluth. And one day after our Sunday night mass, this young man had just stumbled upon mass. He decided to join us halfway through and he said, Hey, can I ask you some questions? Like, sure. Yeah. What I'm glad you joined us. He said,

as he points to me in the vestments, you know, that I'm wearing, he says, what, what's, what's, what's with this? Like, you think this is like, why are you so special that you wear these? I was like, oh, oh, interesting. Because he saw the vestments that the priest wears that I was wearing at the time as something that highlighted my own uniqueness or my specialness. Like, I'm the only one in the room here's wearing these vestments as opposed to what they're meant to be. They're meant to do is they're for glory and for beauty. They're meant to highlight the Lord's glory.

They're meant to highlight the beauty of God himself. They're not meant to accent, you know, here's Father Mike who's wearing these fancy robes. What they're meant to do is actually de-accent, un-accent, the opposite of accent. They're meant to emphasize that, nope, it doesn't matter who the priest is here. It doesn't matter his name. It doesn't matter his identity. It doesn't matter his identity. What matters is the identity of Jesus Christ. What matters is that this is, he's in a certain sense, when the priest puts on his vestments,

he himself as a individual is lost and Jesus can be seen. That's, it's meant to obscure the individuality of the priest and meant to highlight the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the one great high priest who lives forever. And so here is in Exodus chapter 27 and 28, you have this again, wear these clothes like this, not because Aaron's awesome, not because his sons are awesome, but because God is awesome, because this is for God's glory. This is for the beauty that belongs to him alone. So the next time you go to mass, you recognize the priest and he's wearing his

vestments, or even when you see a bishop and he has the bishop's hat, the mitre. Gosh, I'll say this and people will get mad at me. One reason I'm so grateful the Lord has not called me to be bishop is because I don't want to wear one of those hats. I think they just look funny, but they go all the way back to here, right? Yep. And you can be mad at me about that, but you know, you thought it too. The turban of the Old Testament priest, that's the hat, right? That's what signifies the fact that he is a kind of high priest in the old covenant. It's so beautiful. And so truly, I know, I'm just saying that like tongue in cheek when it comes to like fashion sense, because truly just like the vestments are meant to obscure the individuality of the priest, the mitre, that hat of the bishop

is meant to obscure the individuality of that bishop and highlight the fact he belongs to something greater than him. And that's what the vestments are for, for God's glory and for beauty. Last little note. Gosh, we're going to read tomorrow morning or tomorrow, whenever you get this from the next part in Psalm 119. And that prayer is just so, so powerful. So we'll talk more about that tomorrow. But it's important to note that not only with the priest's vestments, that he meant

to, it's meant to obscure his individuality and highlight the glory that belongs to God and the beauty belongs to the Lord. But you also noted that the 12 stones that the priest would carry over his heart were of the 12 tribes of Israel. So that every time he approached the Lord, he wasn't just approaching as Aaron, he wasn't even just approaching as Aaron, the high priest. He was approaching, representing all of the people, the entire kingdom of Israel, the entire people of Israel, all 12 tribes. And they're meant to be over his heart, which reveals to us what it truly is to be a priest. It is to be a father, and it is to carry the names of his sons and daughters in his

heart as he approaches the Lord. That's the heart of the priesthood in so many ways. It's the heart of the Father. And what's meant to be is that, well, here's what I do for all of our students, for my actual blood family and my friends, but also for this community of people who are going through the Bible in a year, your names are in this mysterious way are on my heart. Because as a new covenant priesthood, as a New Testament priesthood, as a Catholic priest, what I'm called to be is called to be that spiritual father who has your names engraved over my heart. So that every time I approach the Lord in worship, I am bringing you with me into his presence. And so just that's what your

pastor does at your home parish. You're your priest in your home parish. That's what he's doing too. Your names are inscribed and engraved over his heart so that every time he approaches the Lord, he's not just approaching the Lord as Father Joe or as Father Mike. He's approaching the Lord as a priest of God with your name inscribed and engraved on his heart. As I said, I'm praying for y'all. This is kind of a, I apologize for my scattershot at the end of this, but it just was something that moved my heart and wanted to share that with you.

I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. Please pray for each other, this community. I think we need the community more than ever in these days. And so just keep lifting each other up in prayer. Continue with your discussion, continue with your discussion, continue with your feedback, continue with this community as we continue tomorrow. My name is Father Mike, and I cannot wait to see you again tomorrow. God bless.