SACRIFICE ASIDE (47 OF 49)
Scripture: Hebrews 10:5-10
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Sacrifice Aside (47 of 49)
Lectionary, Year C, Advent 4
Christopher B. Harbin
Hebrews 10:5-10
Like our tales of Santa Claus, traditional Christianity has often used fear and guilt as tools to keep people in line. ''You better watch out; You better not cry; Better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.'' It's somehow the same way we too often talk about God. I could not begin to count the times I heard comments about God watching my actions used to intimidate me into following prescribed norms. That is the kind of attitude that enforces our notions of sacrifice being necessary to appease a God of wrath. Is that really where our understanding of God's essential character must reside? Perhaps we should wonder with the Grinch if it doesn't mean a little bit more.
We read the Hebrew Scriptures with a sense that sacrifice is essential to worshiping God. The problem is we don't understand what sacrifice meant to the Hebrew people. Rather than approach it from their perspective, we read the word from the standpoint of pagan concepts designed either to appease the wrath of a spiritual being or otherwise manipulate and control what lies beyond our reach. Sure, there are instances in the Hebrew Scriptures where those notions bleed into Hebrew practice, but it is not the central understanding of Yahweh nor how we are to approach Yahweh.
It should be obvious that attempts to manipulate God are hardly worship. Using rites, rituals, or other elements as magic is manipulation. It is not placing ourselves into another's service. It is a crass attempt to gain the upper hand, to be the ones in control, to defy our lesser status. If we understand sacrifice as appeasement, we are still attempting to control another, even if by some more palatable means. It's like I heard said of one of our wealthiest billionaires this week, they would be glad to make investments to eradicate global hunger, as long as it would result in their avoiding taxes. The tran ...
Lectionary, Year C, Advent 4
Christopher B. Harbin
Hebrews 10:5-10
Like our tales of Santa Claus, traditional Christianity has often used fear and guilt as tools to keep people in line. ''You better watch out; You better not cry; Better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.'' It's somehow the same way we too often talk about God. I could not begin to count the times I heard comments about God watching my actions used to intimidate me into following prescribed norms. That is the kind of attitude that enforces our notions of sacrifice being necessary to appease a God of wrath. Is that really where our understanding of God's essential character must reside? Perhaps we should wonder with the Grinch if it doesn't mean a little bit more.
We read the Hebrew Scriptures with a sense that sacrifice is essential to worshiping God. The problem is we don't understand what sacrifice meant to the Hebrew people. Rather than approach it from their perspective, we read the word from the standpoint of pagan concepts designed either to appease the wrath of a spiritual being or otherwise manipulate and control what lies beyond our reach. Sure, there are instances in the Hebrew Scriptures where those notions bleed into Hebrew practice, but it is not the central understanding of Yahweh nor how we are to approach Yahweh.
It should be obvious that attempts to manipulate God are hardly worship. Using rites, rituals, or other elements as magic is manipulation. It is not placing ourselves into another's service. It is a crass attempt to gain the upper hand, to be the ones in control, to defy our lesser status. If we understand sacrifice as appeasement, we are still attempting to control another, even if by some more palatable means. It's like I heard said of one of our wealthiest billionaires this week, they would be glad to make investments to eradicate global hunger, as long as it would result in their avoiding taxes. The tran ...
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