2 'Speak to the Israelites; say to them, "When any of you brings an offering to Yahweh, he can offer an animal either from the herd or from the flock.
3 "If his offering is to be a burnt offering from the herd, he must offer an unblemished male; he will offer it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, to make it acceptable to Yahweh. (Lev. chapter 1, verses 2 and 3, and on and on for four more chapters.)
I have written about this before: http://365newthoughtsperyear.blogspot.com/2010/12/fake-christmas-trees-yuk.html. I have since had more thoughts about it and I am convinced that it is time that you should hear it again coming from a deeper part of me and in a slightly different context.
I am of the conviction that what we place in church, before the altar and around the community of the faithful is not "decoration." It is a part of the sacrifice. The plants that we offer to the Father who accepts our sacrifices should be the best, without blemish. We should offer them from the deepest part of our adoring hearts to the Father who offers us His Son on the very altar before which we are placing our humble sacrifice. I invite you to read the first chapters of Leviticus and appreciate the numerous types of sacrifice that are ennumerated there. These different sacrifices cover the very same reasons why we pray and why we offer sacrifices. We do it to atone for our sins, sins of all kinds. We sacrifice to help others in prayer and in some tangible way. Offering flowering plants are a direct sacrifice from us that has repercussions on the community. They make the environment more prayerful. We offer sacrifice to thank God for all that He gives us. For all these and many more reasons to sacrifice, we are bound to give nothing but the best, unblemished creature gifted to us by our Father Himself.
I therefore present these humble thoughts to you. Do not let anyone get away with "decorating" the worship space with imitations of God's personal gifts to us. God's gifts are meant to be offered back to Him in prayer. After all, we wouldn't want to imitate Cain, now, would we?
When you read Leviticus you'll notice how often the words "... a smell pleasing to Yahweh" are repeated. Now that excludes fake stuff. We should all remember that.
I am of the conviction that what we place in church, before the altar and around the community of the faithful is not "decoration." It is a part of the sacrifice. The plants that we offer to the Father who accepts our sacrifices should be the best, without blemish. We should offer them from the deepest part of our adoring hearts to the Father who offers us His Son on the very altar before which we are placing our humble sacrifice. I invite you to read the first chapters of Leviticus and appreciate the numerous types of sacrifice that are ennumerated there. These different sacrifices cover the very same reasons why we pray and why we offer sacrifices. We do it to atone for our sins, sins of all kinds. We sacrifice to help others in prayer and in some tangible way. Offering flowering plants are a direct sacrifice from us that has repercussions on the community. They make the environment more prayerful. We offer sacrifice to thank God for all that He gives us. For all these and many more reasons to sacrifice, we are bound to give nothing but the best, unblemished creature gifted to us by our Father Himself.
I therefore present these humble thoughts to you. Do not let anyone get away with "decorating" the worship space with imitations of God's personal gifts to us. God's gifts are meant to be offered back to Him in prayer. After all, we wouldn't want to imitate Cain, now, would we?
When you read Leviticus you'll notice how often the words "... a smell pleasing to Yahweh" are repeated. Now that excludes fake stuff. We should all remember that.
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