DAY 57: JAN 28

LV 8-9

The Rites of Ordination

8 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull of sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; ³ and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁴ And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting, ⁵ Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.”

⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, and washed them with water. ⁷ He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He then put the decorated band of the ephod around him, tying the ephod to him with it. ⁸ He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹ And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its base, to consecrate them. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. ¹³ And Moses brought forward Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and fastened sashes around them, and tied headdresses on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁴ He led forward the bull of sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of sin offering, ¹⁵ and it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on each of the horns of the altar, purifying the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ Moses took all the fat that was around the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and turned them into smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁸ Then he brought forward the ram of burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,¹⁹ and it was slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood against all sides of the altar. ²⁰ The ram was cut into its parts, and Moses turned into smoke the head and the parts and the suet. ²¹ And after the entrails and the legs were washed with water, Moses turned into smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²² Then he brought forward the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, ²³ and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ After Aaron’s sons were brought forward, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet; and Moses dashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat—the broad tail, all the fat that was around the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat—and the right thigh. ²⁶ From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷ He placed all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raised them as an elevation offering before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and turned them into smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments.

³¹ And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I was commanded, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it’; ³² and what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn with fire. ³³ You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day when your period of ordination is completed. For it will take seven days to ordain you; ³⁴ as has been done today, the Lord has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You shall remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the Lord’s charge so that you do not die; for so I am commanded.” ³⁶ Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord commanded through Moses.

Aaron’s Priesthood Inaugurated

9 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. ² He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. ³ And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt offering;⁴ and an ox and a ram for an offering of well-being to sacrifice before the Lord; and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.’” ⁵ They brought what Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting; and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. ⁶ And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” ⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and sacrifice the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the Lord has commanded.”

⁸ Aaron drew near to the altar, and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. ⁹ The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ But the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver from the sin offering he turned into smoke on the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses; ¹¹ and the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp.

¹² Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he dashed it against all sides of the altar. ¹³ And they brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, and the head, which he turned into smoke on the altar.¹⁴ He washed the entrails and the legs and, with the burnt offering, turned them into smoke on the altar.

¹⁵ Next he presented the people’s offering. He took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin offering like the first one. ¹⁶ He presented the burnt offering, and sacrificed it according to regulation. ¹⁷ He presented the grain offering, and, taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸ He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of well-being for the people. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, which he dashed against all sides of the altar, ¹⁹ and the fat of the ox and of the ram—the broad tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat on them,^[a] and the appendage of the liver. ²⁰ They first laid the fat on the breasts, and the fat was turned into smoke on the altar; ²¹ and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron raised as an elevation offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.

²² Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being. ²³ Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. ²⁴ Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

PS 59

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
    protect me from those who rise up against me.
² Deliver me from those who work evil;
    from the bloodthirsty save me.

³ Even now they lie in wait for my life;
    the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
⁵     You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah

⁶ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
    with sharp words^[a] on their lips—
    for “Who,” they think,^[b] “will hear us?”

⁸ But you laugh at them, O Lord;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my strength, I will watch for you;
    for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
    my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
    make them totter by your power, and bring them down,
    O Lord, our shield.
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³     consume them in wrath;
    consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
    that God rules over Jacob.Selah

¹⁴ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They roam about for food,
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your might;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.

ACTS 2.1-21

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵ Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶ And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷ Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹² All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵ Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
        and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will show portents in the heaven above
    and signs on the earth below,
        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
²¹ Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

CAT 446-455

IV. Lord

446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,⁵⁹ is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. the New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.⁶⁰

447 Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles.⁶¹ Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin.

448 Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as "Lord". This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.⁶² At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, "Lord" expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.⁶³ In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: "My Lord and my God!" It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: "It is the Lord!"⁶⁴

449 By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first confessions of the Church's faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God",⁶⁵ and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.⁶⁶

450 From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord".⁶⁷ "The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master."⁶⁸

451 Christian prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maranatha ("Our Lord, come!") or Maranatha ("Come, Lord!") - "Amen Come Lord Jesus!"⁶⁹

IN BRIEF

452 The name Jesus means "God saves". the child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (⇒ Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (⇒ Acts 4:12).

453 The title "Christ" means "Anointed One" (Messiah).Jesus is the Christ, for "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (⇒ Acts 10:38). He was the one "who is to come" (⇒ Lk 7:19), the object of "the hope of Israel" (⇒ Acts 28:20).

454 The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father (cf ⇒ Jn 1:14, ⇒ 18; ⇒ 3:16, ⇒ 18); he is God himself (cf ⇒ Jn 1:1). To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf ⇒ Acts 8:37; ⇒ 1 Jn 2:23).

455 The title "Lord" indicates divine sovereignty. To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit'" (⇒ I Cor 12:3).