(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
“Be holy, because I am holy, says the Lord in this passage from Leviticus. All our relations with other people and creation include God. The reason for not defrauding a person or for not acting dishonestly, or for not harming another is that God is the Lord. This does not mean that we keep commandments only because God says so. There is a deeper reason, a relationship, underlying the commandments.
God has entered into essential relations with all creation by the very act of creating. While we tend to think of this in terms of human creation, it also holds for the whole of God’s creation. To take advantage over another is to try to take advantage over God.
Stealing, lying, and speaking falsely profane the name of your God: God says, “I am the Lord.” Defrauding, robbing, cursing the deaf and tripping the blind insult God who says, “I am the Lord.” Dishonest judgments, partiality, spreading slander, letting people die assault God who says, “I am the Lord.” Hatred, revenge, holding grudges is likewise offensive to God, who says, “I am the Lord.”
Leviticus declared that our relationships, especially human ones, involve God. God has a part in all our relationships. This is why God has given us commandments. Even the Ten Commandments start with a verse proclaiming God as the Lord our God. The commandments defend God’s relationships with the whole of creation.
This view is also made in the new testament writings. Matthew’s Gospel, for instance, in 25:31-46, portrays Jesus as the final judge. Decisions will be based on how each person shall have treated others. Jesus says that what we have or have not done to the least, we have done or have not done to him. Jesus identifies with the least; he has relationships established. It is the same standard in the New Testament as it is in Leviticus.
If you love God, then you must also love your neighbor. This is a summary of our passage from Leviticus.