Scratch That.
Last week I shared some rambling thoughts about what I might preach about during Lent this year. After giving it a bit of thought I have pretty much abandoned those ideas.
This is mostly because of the great reactions that I got to my sermon last week. I preached about forgiveness and, as I explored the theme, I found myself digging deep into the Old Testament notions and practice of sacrifice. I realize how essential it is to understand where these kinds of concepts, like forgiveness, came from in the first place.
The fact of the matter is that when the early church tried to understand what the life and, especially, what the death of Jesus really meant, the first place they looked was to Old Testament practices and concepts. Jesus, in their reflections, became the sacrificial lamb, the scapegoat, the passover lamb and much more. How can we possibly think that we will be able to realize the true significance of what Jesus accomplished on the cross if we have misconceptions about the central concepts of ancient religion that the Christian understanding was based on.
The early Christians could assume that their members knew what a sacrifice looked like, what it smelled like and even what it tasted like. That is no longer the case. So we're going to go back and take a crash course on these Old Testament practices. I hope you find it enlightening.
And, don't worry, I'm not planning to build an altar and bring in a fatted calf...
... but not that you mention it....
This is mostly because of the great reactions that I got to my sermon last week. I preached about forgiveness and, as I explored the theme, I found myself digging deep into the Old Testament notions and practice of sacrifice. I realize how essential it is to understand where these kinds of concepts, like forgiveness, came from in the first place.
The fact of the matter is that when the early church tried to understand what the life and, especially, what the death of Jesus really meant, the first place they looked was to Old Testament practices and concepts. Jesus, in their reflections, became the sacrificial lamb, the scapegoat, the passover lamb and much more. How can we possibly think that we will be able to realize the true significance of what Jesus accomplished on the cross if we have misconceptions about the central concepts of ancient religion that the Christian understanding was based on.
The early Christians could assume that their members knew what a sacrifice looked like, what it smelled like and even what it tasted like. That is no longer the case. So we're going to go back and take a crash course on these Old Testament practices. I hope you find it enlightening.
And, don't worry, I'm not planning to build an altar and bring in a fatted calf...
... but not that you mention it....
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