Living Sacrifice

sermon by Torin Eikler
Isaiah 51:1-6 Romans 11:33-12:3

I have been thinking a lot about goats lately. I know that sounds strange, and it’s not some kind of obsession for me, I assure you. But, at Mennonite convention and at conference gathering, the scripture about the separation of the sheep and the goats came up. Then, at the county fair, we went to visit the animals (where, by the way the sheep and goats were not separate) and I watched Alistair reaching into the pens to pet the animals. He was scared of the sheep and the pigs a little because they were easily startled when he touched them. But the goats were different. They were “friendly.” They came up to the bars of the cage and stood still appreciatively while being scratched.

And then I was listening to the radio this week with half my attention and I heard a commentator talking about the current political or social climate in our society mention goats of a different kind. Scapegoats.

Scapegoats, he said, seem to be the order of the day. The US credit rating has been downgraded. And politicians and voters alike are blaming the other party or Congress in general and its childish behavior. The economy seems to be on the verge of another slump and economists and pundits lay that at the feet of greedy banks or negligent rating agencies or lazy regulators. Unemployment is still high and the president’s faulty immigration or fiscal policies seem to be the favorite target for that blame.

But there is one situation that has been very much on my mind as we approach the 10th anniversary of September 11th. I have been thinking about how we, as a country, have responded to the World Trade Center attacks and the global terrorism of the past decade.

For many … perhaps most people in the United States as well as a hefty number of those overseas, the forceful approach that has been taken is entirely appropriate and maybe the best possible response to Al Qaida and Osama bin Laden. And while as a pacifist I cannot approve of violent invasion, I do understand where they are coming from. Sometimes fear and pain can bring us to the point of attacking others so that we feel safe.

There are others, though, who believe that global terrorism in general, Osama bin Laden, and his followers have become a scapegoat. And I can see their point as well. The rise in terrorist attacks is, probably, linked to ongoing international policies that support and enforce Western ideals and maintain the dominance of the Europe and the United States at the expense of the people of other nations. Rather than facing that truth with the eyes of compassion and empathy which might require changing our approach, we have placed the entire weight of responsibility on Al Qaida and its leader. The continuation of the war on terror despite Osama bin Laden’s death, they say, is proof that we are ignoring some deep and problematic aspect of our culture. Of course, it could be said that Osama bin Laden made a scapegoat of the United States in the same way.


And now I’m wondering if you know what a scapegoat actually is. It’s a term that comes from the Bible, actually – from Leviticus – and it is a part of the celebration of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement for the chosen people. On that day, observant Jews fast from all food and drink and spend the day reciting prayers of repentance. In ancient Israel, the high priest of the Temple would lay the sins of all the people on the head of the goat and release it into the wilderness. The goat would escape, an offering that took the sins with it, and the people would be allowed to start with a clean slate.


Thankfully, we don’t need that kind of a scapegoat anymore because as the author of Hebrews says, “Jesus offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins [and] has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” That’s a bit confusing, I know, but it basically says that the grace we have been given by Christ brings forgiveness without the need for sacrifice. And that grace and forgiveness never run out. We don’t need scapegoats anymore … but we still use them.


As someone recently noted, I don’t like to be wrong. I suppose I pride myself on knowing a lot of things, and I probably overestimate my sense of judgment. So, when it looks like I might have made a mistake or said something that’s not true, I get uptight and defensive. At times, in the past, I have made up “facts” or statistics to support my errors or even laid the blame for my failure on the head of another.

I know I’m not alone in this. Most of us, I think, have done that at one time or another. Probably, we have done it several times. It’s a way of protecting ourselves – of holding criticism at bay or holding on to the respect of others. Sometimes, it may even seem to be the only way to save our jobs or our relationships. And while it shields us to some degree, it makes those blameless others a scapegoat in the more modern sense. They take the blame for our mistakes and sometimes they are made to suffer in our place. In a way, we make them a sacrifice to save our pride or our insecurity or our fear.


To borrow the phrasing of The Wiggles – a singing group for kids that my family has fallen in love with … and not just the boys …. “There’s some really great news:” The Realm of God has drawn near. “There’s some sad news too:” we’ve lost our way and are not really living in the Kingdom. “But there’s some really wonderful news:” we can find our way back. Even without a scapegoat, we can return to the Realm of God with a clean slate because of the forgiveness and mercy Christ offers to everyone. And Paul tells us how.

“By the mercies of God, [present yourselves] as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.”


All very nice, but what does it mean to be holy and acceptable to God? What does that look like to be un-conformed to this world? How do we live as a part of the Kingdom of God?

The easy … and hard answers – the ones we hear often in church – come from Jesus himself. You’re your enemies. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Visit the imprisoned. Care for the sick. Love your neighbor as yourself. You know them all, and they have become so mundane or are so big and undefined that we sometimes have trouble applying them to our everyday lives. Paul offers some further guidance, though, that can help us find our way.

Practice compassion and forgiveness. When others are in pain, don’t ignore them. Talk with them. Comfort them. Offer them support as their struggle through their pain or their grief or their depression and despair. When others are celebrating, don’t belittle their joy. Rejoice with them instead of begrudging them happiness. And forgive those who hurt you in big or little ways – even the people who seem to be out to get you. Let go of the anger and frustration you feel toward them so that, one day, you can call them friend and live together in harmony.


Let go of “judgmentalism.” That’s a hard one. As Carrie talked about earlier this year, it seems like it’s impossible to avoid judging people. Especially in this world of rights and wrongs, we notice when people do “bad” things or make “bad” decisions, and we can’t help but think that they are “bad people” or, at least, that they have bad judgment.

One way to deal with that is to become relativistic – to say that we can’t impose our own views on others and that our view of right and wrong only applies to us. Then, we can leave it up to God to sort out the sheep and the goats when the time comes. But that kind of tolerance doesn’t really get at the heart of our habit of judementalism. We still feel superior because we are sure we are the sheep and they are the goats.

It may be more helpful to work at seeing people and the things they do in the best possible light. Think about your own lives and the choices that you make. There are always lots of past experiences and current circumstances that stand behind every decision that we make and every thing that we do. Sometimes that means that we do or say things that other people might think are questionable or just plain wrong even though they seem to make sense to us. And that is true for everyone else too. If we make a practice of assuming that there must be a reason why people do what they do, then we may be seen as naïve, but we will be less likely to be judgmental.


Please others … not yourselves. That sounds like a recipe for self-destruction or at least co-dependence, but that’s not what Paul meant. He meant that we should put up with each other’s failings. Instead of complaining or taking advantage of those weaknesses, we should encourage each other and work at building one another up so that we are all able to grow stronger. We should make ourselves feel better or stronger or somehow “bigger” by building others up rather than by making them feel worse or weaker or “smaller.” In essence, we should not make scapegoats of our neighbors or friends or even our enemies. We should sacrifice our own immediate gain so that we can all grow into stronger, better people.


Practice compassion and forgiveness. Let go of judgmentalism. Please others … not yourselves.

Sisters and brothers, we are called to live in a way that is different from the world around us. We are called to give up “[thinking] of ourselves more highly than we ought to” so that we can do “what is good and acceptable and perfect” according to the judgment of God. We are called to be living sacrifices – to live sacrifice in a way that shows compassion for the last and the least, in a way that forgives and embraces our enemies and those who bring us suffering, in a way that puts the well-being of those around us on the same level of importance as our own well-being – that loves neighbor as it loves self.

This is the Kingdom which demands no sacrifice of blood but only a heart dedicated to the will of God. It is the welcome work of believers – of the disciples of Christ who seek to follow the path he laid out in his life among us. It is the way to of grace and mercy that are freely given for the joy and salvation of all – a gift that will never end though the heavens vanish like smoke and the earth wear out like a garment.

Let us turn again into that joy and hope.

Let us follow the way laid out for us by our Master and our Friend.

Let us come into the Kingdom that has been prepared for us – the eternal kingdom of love and peace.