Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23
Leviticus 21-22
Leviticus 21
Holiness Required of Priests
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say to them, ‘A priest must not be defiled for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother. 3 For his virgin sister who is near to him and has no husband, he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself for those related to him, being a leader among his people, to make himself unclean.
5 They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they present the burnt offerings of the Lord and the bread of their God: therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not marry a woman who has been profaned by prostitution. A priest shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband, for he is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I God, who sanctify you, am holy.
9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
10 He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose or tear his clothes. 11 He must not go in to any dead body or defile himself for his father or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.
13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. He shall take a virgin from his own people as a wife. 15 He shall not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’ ”
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.’ ”
Restrictions against those with Blemishes
18 ” ‘For any man that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or anything superfluous, 19 or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand, 20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or a skin disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.
21 No man from the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of God made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’ ”
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.
Leviticus 22
Restrictions against the Unclean
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the Israelites, which they have consecrated to me, that they do not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.
3 Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things which the Israelites consecrate to the Lord while he is unclean, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord.
4 Whoever, among the offspring of Aaron, is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing, or any unclean thing, the touching of which is defiling, 6 that person who touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening. He shall not eat of the holy things until he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun is down, he shall be clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his food.
8 That which dies by itself or is torn by beasts, he shall not eat and defile himself by it. I am the Lord.
9 They shall therefore keep my ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die if they have profaned it: I am the Lord who sanctifies.
10 No stranger shall eat of the sacred offering: neither a foreigner living with the priests, nor a hired servant, may eat of the sacred offering. 11 But if a priest buys a slave, purchased with his money, he shall eat of it, and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the heave offering of the sacred offerings.
13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food, but no stranger shall eat any of it.
14 If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add twenty percent of its worth to it and give the sacred offering to the priest. 15 The priests shall not profane the sacred offering of the Israelites, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat their sacred offering, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’ ”
Worthy Offerings
17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the Israelites and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who presents his offering, whether it is any of their vows or any of their free will offerings, which they offer to the Lord for a burnt offering, 19 must offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats, to be accepted. 20 But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be accepted on your behalf.
21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. 22 You shall not offer what is blind, injured, or maimed, or has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord.
23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a free will offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 You must not offer to the Lord that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your own land. 25 You must not offer any of these as the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner, because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’ ”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be acceptable for an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.
29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day. You shall leave none of it until the morning. I am the Lord.
31 Therefore you shall keep my commandments and do them. I am the Lord. 32 You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord who makes you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am the Lord.”
Mark 9:1-29
The Transfiguration
1 Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power.”
2 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up onto a high mountain to be apart and alone, and he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothing began to shine brilliantly white, such as no launderer on earth could ever whiten them. 4 And there appeared to them, Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter answered Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were very afraid.
7 A cloud came, overshadowing them, and there came a voice from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
8 And suddenly after looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 And they kept that saying among themselves, questioning with one with another what “rising from the dead” meant.
11 They asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12 He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first and restores all things. How is it written about the Son of Man, that he should suffer many things and be despised? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they have also done to him whatever they wanted to, just as it is written about him.”
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit
14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great crowd around them, and the scribes questioning with them. 15 Immediately, the whole crowd, having seen him, was greatly amazed and went running to greet him. 16 He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing?”
17 One from the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a spirit that causes him to be mute, 18 and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
19 He answered him, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”
20 They brought him to Jesus, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been with him?”
He said, “From childhood. 22 Often, it has cast him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!”
26 After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up, and he arose.
28 When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “How is it that we couldn’t cast it out?” 29 He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except by prayer and fasting.”
Psalm 43
Send out Your Light
1 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
2 For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Oh, send out your light and your truth.
Let them lead me.
Let them bring me to your holy hill,
to your tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you on the harp, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
Why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God!
For I shall praise him still,
who is my savior and my God.
Proverbs 10:18
18 He who hides hatred has lying lips.
He who utters a slander is a fool.