The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 46: Set Apart for God (2023)

Episode Date: February 15, 2023

Fr. Mike points out how blessing something sets it apart for the purposes of God, and it is no longer meant for ordinary uses. So when we are filled with the spirit of God, our daily task becomes extraordinary, because it is consecrated to God. Today's readings are Exodus 30-31, Leviticus 22, and Psalm 115. 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 46. We keep on rolling. If you have printed out your Bible in a Year reading plan, you have the great honor of being able to flip

the page because this is the top of the second page of the Great Adventure Bible in a Year reading plan or Bible in a Year podcast. If you want to get that so you can flip the page as well, you can go to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year and you can download your free Bible in a Year reading plan. You can follow along with us. Also, if you want to follow along with your eyes, not just with your ears, the Bible translation that I am reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition, and I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. Also, my invitation to you, if you have not yet subscribed, you can subscribe in your podcast app. And lastly, keep this in mind. If you have the Bible reading plan in front of you, downloaded or whatever, maybe it's

on your computer, maybe it's printed out. You can see that we only have six more days left in this period, this period of Egypt and the Exodus. We only have six more days left to get through Leviticus. And so if Leviticus has ever given you a problem in the past, or you've gotten hung up in this section of Exodus, where there's a lot of details when it comes to the tabernacle, a lot of details when it comes to the priest's garments, or when it comes to the labor, you are in for a treat because in six days you will have completed, maybe for the first time

ever, the entire book of Leviticus, and maybe for the first time ever, the entire book of Exodus. So speaking of, today we are reading two chapters from Exodus, Exodus chapter 30 and chapter 31, also Leviticus chapter 22, and then our psalm today is Psalm 115. So again, Exodus 30 and 31, Leviticus 22, and Psalm 115. The book of Exodus chapter 30. The altar of incense. You shall make an altar to burn incense upon. Of acacia wood shall you make it. A cubit shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, it shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides round about, and its with it and you shall overlay it with pure gold its top and its sides round about and its horns and you shall make for it a molding of gold round about and two rings golden rings

shall you make for it under its molding on two opposite sides of it shall you make them and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold and you shall put it before the veil that is by the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps, he shall burn it. And when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall offer no unholy

incense thereon, nor burnt offering, nor cereal offering, and you shall pour no libation thereon. Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement, he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord. The half-shuckle for the sanctuary. The Lord said to Moses, When you take the census of the sons of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each who is numbered in the census shall give this, half a shuckle according to the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel is 20 geras, half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered in the census from 20 years old and upward shall give the Lord's offering. The rich shall not give

more and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the sons of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for yourselves. The Bronze Lever The Lord said to Moses, You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing.

And you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout the generations. The anointing oil and incense. Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, take the finest spices of liquid myrrh 500 shekels

and of a sweet smelling cinnamon half as much that is is two hundred and fifty, and of aromatic cane two hundred and fifty, and of cashew five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil, blended as by a perfumer, a holy anointing oil it shall be. And you shall anoint with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the table, and all its utensils, and the lampstand, and its utensils, and the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the table, and all its utensils, and the lamp stand, and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its utensils, and the laver, and its base. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate

them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the sons of Israel, This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured upon the bodies of ordinary men, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people. And the Lord said to Moses, Take sweet spices, stacti, and onica, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense, of each there shall be an equal part, and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt pure and holy. And you shall beat some of it very Chapter 31 for you holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people. Chapter 31. Bezalel and Aholiab. The Lord said to Moses, See, I have called by name Bezalel,

the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood for work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab, the son of Ahesamach of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability that they may make all that I have commanded you, the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the mercy seat that is thereon, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the The Sabbath Law And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the sons of Israel, You shall keep my Sabbaths,

for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days your work shall be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to

death. Therefore the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the sons of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. The Tables of the Covenant And he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, the two tables of the covenant, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. The book of Leviticus chapter 22, the use of holy things. And the Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons to keep away from the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to me so that they may not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.

Say to them, if anyone of all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy things which the sons of Israel dedicate to the Lord while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord. None of the line of Aaron who is a leper or suffers a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen and whoever touches a creeping thing by which he may be made unclean or a man from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be, the person who touches any such shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed

his body in water. When the sun is down, he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because such are his food. That which dies of itself or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am the Lord. They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctify them. An outsider shall not eat of a holy thing. A sojourner of the priests or a hired servant shall not eat of a holy thing. But if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and those that are born in his house may eat of his food. If a priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the offering of the holy things. But if a priest's daughter is a widow or divorced and has no child and returns to

her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food, yet no outsider shall eat of it. And if a man eats of a holy thing unwittingly, he shall add the fifth of its value to it and give And the Lord who sanctify them. Acceptable offerings. And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel, when any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents his offering, whether in payments of a vow or as a freewill offering, which is to be offered to the Lord as a burnt offering, to be accepted, you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls or of the sheep or the goats. You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace

offerings to the Lord, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, from the herd or from the flock to be accepted, it must be perfect. There shall be no blemish in it. Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord or make of them an offering by fire upon the altar to the Lord. A bull or a lamb, which has a part too long or too short, you may present for a freewill offering, but for a votive offering, it cannot be accepted. Any animal which has a part too long or too short, you may present for a freewill offering, but for a votive offering, it cannot be accepted. Any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord or sacrifice within your land. Neither shall you offer as the bread of your God, any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a blemish

in them because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you. And the Lord said to Moses, When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to the Lord. And whether the mother is a cow or a ewe, you shall not kill both her and her young in one day. And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall not kill both her and her young in one day. And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten on the same day. You shall leave none of it until the morning. I am the Lord. So you shall keep my commandments and do them. I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the sons of

Israel. I am the Lord who sanctify you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. Psalm 115, the impotence of idols and the greatness of God. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your mercy and your faithfulness. Why should the nations say, where is their God? Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak, eyes, but they do

not see. They have ears, but do not hear, noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel, feet, but do not walk, and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them are like them. So are all who trust in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, put your trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield.

The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you increase, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the sons of men. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord.

From this time forth and forevermore, praise the Lord. Father in heaven, we do give you praise right now and forevermore. As you continue to reveal your heart to us, as you continue to recall us, to give you our hearts and you make those hearts holy because you are the Lord and you are the one who makes us holy. You are the one who is the source of all goodness. And every time we come into contact with you, we come into contact with true goodness. Help us, Lord, today to hear your word and to allow that word to transform our minds, to transform our hearts, and transform the way that we see this world. We make this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

So the last couple days, we've been talking about the priesthood. We've been talking about the reality that the Levitical priesthood, which we're going to see in just a second why it was given to the tribe of Levi and not to everybody. When I say just a second, I mean the next couple of days. But what we're going to find is that holiness, and this is Leviticus, is the holiness code, right? This is the whole idea behind the book of Leviticus. It's not just here are some rules. Yes, obviously, the book of Leviticus is not just here are some rules.

Yes, obviously the book of Leviticus is about rules, but truly what it is really about is holiness. It is about being separate, being set apart because that's what it is to be holy, right? To be consecrated to the Lord is meant to consecrated, right? Made sacred for the Lord. To be made sacred for the Lord is to be holy. To be made holy is to be set apart. And so one of the things that we recognize, right? As Catholics, we have this tradition of this practice of blessing stuff. We bless ourselves before meals.

We bless our vehicles. We bless medals. We bless crucifixes and crosses. What does it mean to bless those things? It doesn't just mean we've invoked the Holy Spirit upon them, although we definitely have done that, but we're also setting them apart for a certain purpose, for a dedicated purpose. So whenever you've asked for something to be blessed, you've asked for it to be set apart. Now it is no longer for a normal thing. It's no longer for an ordinary thing. It is now extraordinary. It is now set apart for a specific purpose. So if you have a cross that was blessed, that means it's no longer jewelry. It is set apart for a purpose and it must be worn that way, right? It must be treated that way. And that's what God is saying here in throughout Leviticus and throughout Exodus. What he's talking about is

when something gets set apart, it is no longer to just be used whenever we want to use it. It's no longer just to be used however we want to use it. Even when it comes to the oil, the anointing oil or the incense mixture. If you noted that in the book of Exodus, one of the things that God had said is, okay, this is the incense mixture. Do not copy it and don't just have it to perfume your homes. This is the oil mixture. Do not copy it. And don't just have it to perfume your homes. This is the oil mixture. Do not copy it. This is a mixture that is set apart. This is a mixture that is dedicated to a specific purpose. And that purpose is anointing. That purpose is ordination. That purpose is to fill the presence of God with that sweet smelling smoke. And so that's just like that recognition. And I want to read

this little quote. It's a quote from St. Pius X. Pope St. Pius X was a pope back in the day. And one of the things he talked about is when it came to priests and when it comes to anybody, when it comes to sanctity, when it comes to holiness, he says this, sanctity alone makes us what our divine vocation demands, namely men crucified to the world and to whom the world is crucified. Men walking in the newness of life, who as St. Paul tells us, show themselves to be ministers of God in labors and in sleepless nights, in fastings, in innocence, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unaffected love, in the word of truth, who seek heavenly things alone and strive in every

way to lead others to them. Again, that's a quote from Pope St. Pius X, and it's about the sanctity that's meant to be exhibited and lived by the priests, to be able to live this sanctity, to live this, oh gosh, you know, there's another long, long quote that I do not have right in front of me, but it's on the uniqueness in that sense of being set apart of the priesthood. It's to live, to be part of every family, yet belong to none. To be a part of every relationship and yet belong to none. It's to be a friend of all and yet exclusive to none. You know, that sense of being able to say, how can a priest like myself, how can I live in a way that's truly consecrated to the Lord? Just like St. Paul had said in another context where he says, I have been crucified with Christ

and no longer, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So that's what it is to be a ministerial priest. And we see that in Exodus. We see that in Leviticus, but we also, that's what it is to be a kingdom priest. And so if you're listening to this and you're not an ordained ministerial priest, you're still, if you're baptized, you are a kingdom priest. I call them kingdom priests because it's part of the priesthood of the faithful, which means that you also are called to live in that way that is set apart, that's consecrated, that we're called to be holy, truly holy. And again, this is the last thing, but keep this in mind that sometimes, I don't know if it's happened recently, but I know in the history of the church, sometimes in

the history of the church, there's been a big deal made over the dignity of the priesthood, which is great. But sometimes to the detriment maybe, or to the reducing of how important it is to labor, how important it is to have truly gifted and skilled laborers. And yet in Exodus chapter 31, we hear this description of these two men, Bezalel and Aholiab. And what they do is they're laborers, they're skilled laborers, they're skilled artistic craftsmen. And so what's it say? It says they have ability and intelligence.

They have knowledge in all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs and to work in gold, silver, and bronze, cutting stones and carving wood. That's Bezalel and Aholiab. But it's not just that they were very good at their job. It was in verse three of chapter 31. God says, I have filled him, this is Bezalel, with the spirit of God. What's that mean? What does that mean?

To be filled with the spirit of God, which means that you can now do your skilled labor well. That is incredible that you've been filled with the spirit of God. I'm now Samson. Samson, I'm going to defeat the lion. I'm going to push down the pillars and kill the Philistines. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I'm David, and I'm going to lead the armies of Israel into battle. I'm the Lord Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. He goes off to do battle with Satan in the wilderness

or I'm filled with the Holy Spirit and I'm going to go off to work, just to my job. I'm going to go off to my work. My work might be ordinary, but since you are consecrated, since you are set apart, since you are holy, your work is therefore extraordinary. And this is so important for us to hear in chapter 31 of Exodus. These ordinary laborers did extraordinary labor because they were filled with the spirit of God. And all of their work then was for God. Yes, in this case, they were making the articles of the tabernacle. They're making the articles that were meant for worship. Yes, in this case, they were making the articles of the tabernacle. They were making the articles that were meant for worship. But we recognize this is true for all those who work.

Whether your work is answering phones, your work is teaching, your work is filling out papers, your work is air traffic control, whatever your work is, that when you do it with the spirit of God, even ordinary work becomes extraordinary. Even secular work becomes sacred. Why? Because the one who is doing it has been sanctified, has been consecrated, is sacred. And you, my brothers and sisters, you are set apart. You are consecrated.

You are sacred as well,illed with the spirit of God. So when you go off into your work, maybe you're listening to this on your way to work. Maybe you're at work right now. Realize this. Oh my goodness. What a gift. What a gift.

This day, even the most ordinary day, it can be extraordinary. Even the most secular work can be sacred because you have the spirit of God. Because of that, your work is transformed. It is now not just the work of man. It is in some ways the work of a son or a daughter of God. That is amazing. So incredible. This is just day 46. I know that if you've hung with us, you stuck around for this long, you have faced the battle

of the challenge of, of, of being able to continue to journey with us. Please keep praying for each other because this journey has been good. It's been great. It's been incredibly a huge blessing, but also we need strength to continue to journey even further. We have come a long way. We're in the middle of the journey. And my invitation, you guys, after this day,

only five more days until the end of Exodus, until the end of Leviticus, and you will have been something, someone. You will then be someone who has read through, gone through the entire book of Exodus, the entire book of Leviticus, and on to Numbers, on to Deuteronomy, and on to abers, on to Deuteronomy, and on to a holy, consecrated,

extraordinary life. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you again tomorrow. God bless.