At-one-ment

If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done and incurs guilt, when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed. You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering. The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.  He shall remove all its fat, as the fat is removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven. ~ Leviticus 4:27-31
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters and my brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other ~ Paul Hewson (Bono, U2)
"Atonement" is one of those words that I struggled with for a long time.  President David Lose of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia helped a lot with that in his book, Making Sense of the Cross.
He pointed out that the definition is right there in the word.  Atonement is literally "at-one-ment."
The process of being made one.
Leviticus often feels like a long slog.  Whenever I've had anyone tell me they have decided to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, I always know there's going to be that time when they hit Leviticus where they are going to start regretting that decision! (unless of course you are part of our Holy Ground's Bible Study group where we discuss it at length!)
That doesn't mean there's no value in reading Leviticus.  The law may feel arcane to us, but the reasons behind them and God's role in the narrative of these laws are every bit as important and vital now as they were then.
God throughout the Old Testament is all about creating a special community of people.  A people who would be "at-one" with God, and "at-one" with each other and eventually, "at-one" with their neighbors as well.  The laws were a means to that, and the priests were the vehicle through which that "at-one-ment" occurred.
As Christians, the cross is now how we understand our "at-one-ment" to have happened. And to continue to happen. 
No atonement theories here.  Just an understanding of what it means.  Why we need atonement.
To be made one.  To be whole.  To be complete.  God wants the community of God's people to be made one.

 One with each other. Sisters and brothers, carrying each other.
In Leviticus and today.  
The rituals have changed.  But the love behind the desire to be one with us remains.

Lord, we are one in you and through you and with you.  Thank you!  And help us to live our lives remembering that always.  Amen.
Thoughts for engagement:

- What are ways we could try to be one with each other at Grace that we haven't tried before? In our community? In our country? In our world?
- What have your thoughts been about atonement? Does this make sense to you?

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