Feces on Faces
Dear Mosaic Family,
Some of us have a hard time being honest about our sin. We don't like the word sin. We have struggles, failures, foibles, baggage, issues, challenges, character flaws, hang ups, not sins, per se. Our culture likes to use nice words to describe sin. It's not fornication, it's hooking up. It's not adultery, it's an affair. It's not perverted, it's natural. Perhaps that's why we're a little uncomfortable when God uses graphic language and images to describe the darkness of our sin.
Jesus didn't just call out sin, He also called out sinners. With really strong language. He calls people "hypocrites," "blind guides," "blind fools," "whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness," "you clean the outside of the cup and the place, but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence," "you serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?"
Because God loves us, He despises our sin. We must learn to despise it as well. As we turn our attention to Malachi 2 tomorrow, we see one of the most graphic rebukes from God in all of Scripture. He says, "If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name... I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it." Spread dung on faces? Dung? What's that in the Hebrew? I'm glad you asked. Peresh (פֶּרֶשׁ). You're welcome to look it up. The word is used in six verses in the Hebrew Scriptures. 3 times it's literally talking about bull's dung (bull פֶּרֶשׁ), Ex. 29:14, Lev. 4:11-12, Lev. 8:17. 3 times it talks about dung in the context of sin offering sacrifice (holy פֶּרֶשׁ), Lev. 16:27. Num. 19:5, Mal. 2.
In Malachi 2, God directs his divine rage at His people, for going through the motions of asking for forgiveness, while still loving their sin. God calls their bullפֶּרֶשׁ and rejects their (un)holyפֶּרֶשׁ. He shows them their hearts are full of sinful פֶּרֶשׁ and the first step to cleansing is exposure.
Join us tomorrow as we study the Holy Scriptures from Malachi 2.
With Love,
Pastor Jan
This Week's Announcements
Mini Mo Phase 3 Reopening
Sundays, 9:30 & 11:30 am
We are offering childcare for children 0-4 years old during the 9:30 & 11:30 am services as well as for children K-2nd grade during the 9:30 am service only. Capacity is limited so please visit our website for more information and to reserve your spot.
We are also looking for more volunteers for our Mini Mosaic team. If you are interested, you can find more information and sign-up on our website.
Members' Meeting
Sunday, November 15th at 3 pm
Our quarterly members' meeting is coming up! Please join us if you are a covenant member of Mosaic or being voted into membership.
Songs for Sunday
If you would like to know what we'll be singing on Sunday, you can find the playlist here.
Reopening Process
For a full overview of our reopening process and the safety standards that we have in place, visit:
https://brookline.mosaicboston.com/covid-19.