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6--Schism and Liturgical Mediation
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93 CHAPTER 6 Schism and Liturgical Mediation In Numbers 16 Moses and Aaron defend their leadership of the people of God against a schism led by Korah, Dathan, andAbiram. In seeking to understand schism and its healing, this chapter first explores the role of (hierarchical) liturgical action in uniting the people of God. Since my sympathetic reading of Numbers 15–18 cuts against the grain of contemporary biblical exegesis, I briefly examine how Richard Elliott Friedman and Walter Brueggemann understand Numbers 16. In distinct ways, Friedman and Brueggemann suggest that the story and its historical underpinnings involve a sordid power struggle. In this light, I turn to Thomas Aquinas’ study of schism as a sin against charity.Through his use of Numbers 16, Aquinas helps us to appreciate how liturgical action serves the unity in charity of the people of God. The Liturgical Unity of the People of God: Numbers 15–18 After detailing the animal offerings, cereal offerings, and drink offerings that individual Israelites should regularly offer, Numbers 15 addresses three issues regarding the unity of the people of God. First, can non-Israelites fittingly be joined to the unity of Israel’s liturgical life? YHWH teaches through Moses that the answer is 94 — The Betrayal of Charity yes: “If a stranger is sojourning with you, or any one is among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord, he shall do as you do. For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. . . . As you are, so shall the sojourner be before the Lord” (Num 15:14-15).The liturgical life of Israel aims to draw in the stranger so as to enrich the unity of the people before God. Second, YHWH, speaking through Moses, addresses unintentional failure to obey his commandments and offers a liturgical solution aimed at restoring unity. YHWH explains that if the lack of obedience “was done unwittingly without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing odor to the Lord, with its cereal offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering” (Num 15:24).The priest offers the sacrificial offerings on behalf of the whole congregation so that the congregation shares in the priestly action and receives forgiveness and renewed unity as a people before God.This forgiveness and unity extends to any non-Israelites who join the people in the liturgical action: “And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the error” (Num 15:26). Liturgical action mediates the divine forgiveness that reunifies the participants. Third, YHWH commands through Moses that Israel not countenance intentional disobedience. Deliberate rebellion separates a person from the community’s liturgical unity: one cannot despise YHWH’s commandments and worship YHWH at the same time. As an example of a person who “reviles the Lord” by despising “the word of the Lord” (Num 15:30-31), Numbers gives the instance of someone who violates the Sabbath rest. Because this person disregards the foundation of Israel’s liturgical unity before God, there is no liturgical solution to his plight: “That person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him” (Num 15:31). So as to remind all the people of their obligation to obey the commandments, YHWH also requires Moses to give the people a sign of their liturgical unity, namely, “tassels on the corners of their garments,” with each tassel containing a blue cord (Num 15:37). [3.236.19.251] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:09 GMT) Schism and Liturgical Mediation — 95 Rather than speaking to each member of the congregation separately ,YHWH speaks through Moses, and the liturgical action is led by Aaron. But why should Moses and Aaron be privileged within the one people of God? Does not this privileging undermine the real unity of the people? Can a people truly be united before God if each member of the people does not possess the same prerogatives as every other member? In light of Numbers 15’s exposition of liturgical action as uniting the people of God, Numbers 16 examines whether liturgical action, undertaken hierarchically, truly fosters the people’s unity. Koran, Dathan, and Abiram argue that the liturgical action of the...