Jeremiah 31; 31-34; Psalm 51: 1-13; Hebrews 5: 5-10; John 12: 20-33
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at St. John’s Church, in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 22, 2015.
“SIN,
SACRIFICE & PRIESTLY MINISTRY”
(Homily texts:
Hebrews 5: 5-10 & John 12: 20-33)
Let’s do some theological reflection
on the topics of sin, sacrifice and priestly ministry.
These three topics arise out of two
of our wonderful readings for this morning, the one from the Letter to the
Hebrews which confirms Jesus’ identity as the great high priest, one who is
appointed by God, and the gospel reading from John’s gospel in which Jesus
points forward to the time when He will be lifted up (on the cross) in order to
draw all people to Himself.
Before we dive into these three
important topics, it might be wise for us to define each one:
Sin: Is a transgression against God’s commands. It is, in its most basic understanding, either missing the mark of holiness that God requires of His people, or it is open rebellion against God.Sacrifice: The word itself comes to us from the Latin, where it originally meant “to make holy”. The word is more commonly understood to mean “giving up something” in order to take hold of something better.Priestly ministry: Under the Law of Moses, the Torah, priests were those who were to be holy themselves, that is to say, they were set apart for holy work. Priests also guaranteed the purity of the sacrifices that were offered under the Law of Moses, and they were the ones who entered into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem.
To understand these three topics:
sin, sacrifice and priestly ministry, it is important to back up and take a
look at these three aspects of life under the Law of Moses, the Torah.
The Torah took all three quite
seriously.
Among the elaborate system of animal
(and grain) sacrifices that the Torah prescribed was the sin offering, as we
find it in Leviticus 4:1 – 5:13. The
animal which was to be offered as a sacrifice for sin was placed on the altar,
the worshiper (or the priest) laid his hand on the head of the animal, which
was then killed and burned on the altar.
It strikes me that this sort of sacrifice was an object lesson for the
worshiper. The message was “sin leads
to death”. This message was graphic,
brutal by the standards we live by today.
But this system of sacrifices could
not exist without the priests whose work it was to conduct the ceremonies by
the standards that the Torah laid down.
In addition to these liturgical duties, the priests were also charged
with guaranteeing the purity (and acceptability) of the animals which were to
be offered for sacrifice. One final,
major duty which priestly ministry entailed was duty in the Most Holy Place
(or, later on, in the Temple in Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies). The high priest was appointed to enter into
God’s very presence. On the Day of
Atonement (Hebrew: Yom Kippur), the high
priest would enter into this most holy place to make atonement for his sins and
for the sins of the people.[1]
Now all of these three topics come
together in the person of Jesus Christ.
Taking them together, let’s
understand something of Jesus’ high priestly sacrifice for our sins.
We hear in our epistle from reading
from Hebrews this morning just a short passage in the long an detailed explanation of Jesus’
identity as both priest and sacrificial victim which confirms that Jesus is not
only the high priest who has been appointed by God, but Jesus is also the
perfect sacrifice for sin. Turning to
the passage we hear this morning, we notice that the Letter to the Hebrews
calls Jesus the “high priest” who was “appointed by him who said to him, ‘You
are my Son, today I have begotten you.’”
A bit later on, the writer confirms that Jesus has been made “perfect”,
so that “he could become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
The understanding in Hebrews is that
Jesus is the one who has entered into God’s very presence to make atonement for
sin. Not only that, but, as the high
priest, Jesus has guaranteed the purity (and acceptability) of the sacrifice.
Turning to John’s gospel account, we
find two terms that permeate the Fourth Gospel:
“Hour” and “Glorified”.
Since these two terms appear quite
often in John’s account, it would be good for us to look more closely at them:
Hour: Jesus uses this term again and again as John’s gospel unfolds. The term refers specifically to His death on the cross on Good Friday. It is to this time and this event that John’s entire gospel account is pointing.Glorified: John’s understanding of Jesus’ death is quite unique from the other three gospel accounts. In this gospel, Jesus’ death on the cross is the time when He is reigning from the cross in victory and power. It is the most glorious time in the entire span of Jesus’ earthly life. John’s understanding differs from the other three gospel accounts in that the other accounts portray Jesus as a victim who died a shameful death. (It is important, I think, to understand that both approaches to Jesus’ death are essential for a more complete understanding of the Good Friday event.)
John’s entire gospel account is
pointing toward Good Friday. Summarizing
the trajectory of his writing, we can see that John has informed us that Jesus
Christ is the One who was sent from the Father (John 1: 1–18, the Prologue to
the gospel); that Jesus Christ’s miraculous signs affirm that He is one with
the Father (Chapters two through eleven); and that Jesus’[2]
passion (His “hour”, the time that He is “glorified”) is the reason for His
coming (chapters twelve through twenty).[3]
Now, let’s apply all that we have
considered thus far to ourselves and to our walk with Christ in this holy
season of Lent.
First of all, we need reminding that
sin is a serious matter to God. Sin
should also be a serious matter for us.
Christ’s death on the cross, each and every time we see the symbol or
consider the events of Good Friday, ought to remind us that sin leads to death.
Fortunately, the sin offering is a
vicarious one. We do not need to come
and place our hand on the head of the sacrifice, and then to witness the bloody
outcome of our sin.….Jesus has paid the full penalty for sin, being not only
the perfect and acceptable offering, but
the offering which is made of Himself by His own agency.
Ours is a bloodless sacrifice.
And therein lies a problem.
It might be easy to think that,
since we are removed from the graphic nature of the sacrifice, that we are also
removed from the power of sin.
I said a moment ago that ours is a
bloodless sacrifice. It is a sacrifice
which we recall each and every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.
Notice that the fair linen on the
altar has five crosses on it. These five
crosses remind us of Jesus’ five wounds (hands, feet and sides).
As the consecrated bread is broken,
the priest says, “Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.”
So, each time we approach God’s
presence in the Eucharist, perhaps the task before us ought to be remembering
Christ’s sacrifice for sin, made vicariously on our behalf, that we might
enter, with Him, into God’s very presence.
For Christ has made the perfect
offering for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole
world. He has made the perfect atonement
for us.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN.
[1] See Leviticus 16: 1–34 for a complete
description of the Day of Atonement and the high priest’s role.
[2] Chapter twenty one of John is usually
characterized as an Epilogue to the gospel.
[3] Put more succinctly, many scholars outline
John’s account as follows: 1. The Prologue (John 1: 1–18); 2. The
Book of the Signs (John 2–11); 3. the
Book of the Passion (John 13–20; and 4.
The Epilogue.
