NOTES for Lev 21:1-24

As we have already seen, the figure of the Old Testament priest is an image, a type of the holy mediator between God and the world. In this sense, he foreshadows Christ as the perfect and sole Mediator and—because we partake of Him—also us, as bearers of God's grace to the rest of the world. From this perspective, the ordinances concerning the priest's constant purity, that is, his constant readiness to stand before the Ark of the Covenant, are very important to us. The priest is a special person. He may not defile himself even where this is permitted to an ordinary mortal. For him there are no non-sacred or profane moments in life. Therefore, the commandment concerning his particular holiness becomes for us the ideal of unceasing prayer: the dedication to God of every moment, every thought, every inhalation and exhalation.