Aug. 4, 2009

Texts:
Numbers 17-19
Luke 2

Numbers:
Chapter 19 describes the sacrifice of the red heifer. The requirements for this animal are so restrictive as to make it a very rare event. Jewish traditions say that this sacrifice was successfully carried out only 8 or 9 times from the time of Moses to the destruction of the second temple.
There is a reference to a red heifer in Daniel as well. And some ancient texts that didn't make the canon of scripture refer to Jesus as the red heifer and associate its sacrifice with his second coming.
Today, there is a movement within Judaism to locate a red heifer in order to bring about a new temple in Jerusalem. And, in an odd confluence, some fundamentalist Christians are actively trying to breed red heifers so that the sacrifice can happen in Jerusalem, thus bringing about Christ's second coming.
For more information, there is an article at wikipedia about the red heifer. This article is more trustworthy than some other websites about the red heifer.

Luke:
This is the text we hear in worship on Christmas Eve. What did you hear differently when reading it in August?