Bending the Rules

God gave the Jews very strict rules for the observance of Passover. He also, apparently, blessed deviations from these rules. A particularly outstanding example is found in 2 Chronicles 20.

"Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God – the Lord, the God of his fathers – even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.' And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people."

It is true that one of our jobs as clergy is to maintain the rituals and traditions of our faith. We believe these rituals and traditions have come to us from God.

At least as important in our work as pastors is our obligation to make sure these rituals and traditions never become barriers between people and the God they are seeking. All the rules and customs of church life are intended to serve as bridges between people and God. As agents of God our first loyalty is not to the bridges themselves but to the people they are intended to serve.

This means that occasionally in order to do right by the people God has called us to serve we will need to bend the rules. We will need to adapt the official, well-established rituals and customs of our church. These exceptional cases do not invalidate our customary practices. Our traditions are important and useful for spiritual life. On the other hand if we fail to make exceptions, if we fail to make room for individuals who are seeking God but who do not fit our norms, then we will misrepresent God.

Bending the rules is God-like. That's one of the lessons of Hezekiah's Passover story.

(Additional examples of this include: 2 Kings 5:17-19; Numbers 9:6-11; Matthew 12:3-8.)