The Body

" Brothers and sisters: When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, He entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For, if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God." --[Hebrews 9:11-15].


We humans have always faced the problem of how to rid ourselves of the stain of sin. A Christian person would say, 'We are all sinners'.  A secular person would say, 'We are all human, we all make mistakes.'

A bad mistake can hang over our lives like a heavy burden that never leaves our side, not in our waking hours, not in our sleep. How to "cleanse ourselves" of our sins, so that we can move on?

In ancient times, in the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were made on a ritualized basis, to cleanse the community of sin. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the inner sanctum alone for this sacrificial rite, wherein the bull and the goat were slaughtered and their blood sprinkled on the atonement cover.

In Leviticus 16, there is even introduced the concept of the "scapegoat" -- that is, one goat was chosen for ritual slaughter, by casting lots. The other goat was kept alive, and the high priest would confess the sins of the community, with laying on of hands, over the live goat. Once all of the rebellion and sins of the community were placed on the goat's head, the goat was released into the wilderness, to carry the evil away from the people.

The trouble with this ritual is that the high priest had to continually offer sacrifices for sin. This was a ritual without end. BUT, when Christ died on the cross, He died once and for all, for all of our sins!

I think that most people today would think that the concept of ritual slaughter, or of the scapegoat, is archaic. Certainly, we see few cultures today which still sacrifice animals to cover the sins of the community.

And yet -- we Christians are called to empty ourselves all the time!-- to sacrifice our ego and our physical comfort and our gifts, for the good of this world.

I think of my own childhood and how, despite the harshness of my family towards me, I made sacrifices in order to make peace. I routinely went hungry and had to find my own food. I was threatened with being put out of the house to fend for myself.  I was not allowed to go to church, but I hid my Faith in my heart.

My mother called me a failure, yet I weeded her garden and helped her put away the weekly groceries. My father took his anger, at his marriage, out on me; and yet, I simply absorbed his anger. Then, I helped him out around the house, painting the foundation of our house, hemming his pants, baking him his favorite cake. My brother called me ugly everyday, and my parents did not allow me to complain about this. And yet, I mended my brother's clothes, I knitted my brother a sweater, and I tutored him in English and French.

Years later, I have looked back on these times and I have said, to myself, maybe I was a Fool ?! What utterly ridiculous mistakes did I make, sacrificing myself so much for a family who did not even seem to love me? I have physical damage today, because of their medical neglect; emotionally, I fight despair and constant anxiety. A lot of things that render us human have died inside me, and it is a struggle to get them back. People hear my story and say, 'WHO would do that?!'

But St. Paul said, "As I see it, God has exhibited us apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and human beings alike. We [apostles] are fools on Christ's account, but you [Corinthians] are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor but we in disrepute. To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad, and roughly treated, we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment." -[ 1 Corinthians 4: 9-13].

I sacrificed MYSELF body and soul for my family, and I have paid a dear price. Would I do it again? As I ponder this, I realize that I really had no choice. I was urgently seeking the Truth: Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe, leading to Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

In this reading from Hebrews, Christ becomes the One who passes through "the tabernacle not made with human hands"; that is, He is an eternal sacrifice, not made in a constructed temple; but the Son of Man offering Himself up, according to God's Plan. Through sacrifice, Jesus enters once and for all, into God's eternal sanctuary, and He leads the way for US.

Knowing this about how Jesus became the tabernacle and the ultimate sacrifice for us, how does this not transform you? How does this not make us One Body, all seeking the same Fruits of the Spirit?Are you a Fool to stand for Jesus, and all that is promised to us - Joy, Love, Peace?  Or, would you, too, empty yourself, all for the Truth of His Word?


[Related Postings: "The Truth of His Wounds",  April 13, 2012; "Corpus Christi", June 27, 2011; "Holy Body and Blood of Christ", June 7, 2012; "The Body and Blood",  June 2, 2013].

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