First building block: Sacrifice – Sermon by Fr. Vasile Tudora
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing! (Psa 107:22)
Last week we acknowledged a number of spiritual building blocks we need to lay at the foundation of our New Church. The first among them, that will constitute the theme of this homily, is sacrifice.
Doing some research the other day I stumbled upon a website where someone was asking why the daily sacrifices for sin where abolished in the Judaic tradition and by whom. The answer he got was that the daily sacrifice ceased when the Romans attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in the 1st Century. The sacrifices were not abolished, it’s just that one cannot bring a sacrifice outside of the Temple and so, if there is no Temple, there is automatically no sacrifice.
For us to fully understand this, we have to go back to the Old Testament where the Levite priests had to bring daily sacrifices for their own sins and for the sins of the people. These sacrifices of animals were brought in the outside court of the temple and were burnt as a sweet fragrance to God. But these were not enough to release the people from sin; they were not enough for salvation, as the Apostle Paul recognizes: “indeed every priest stands daily ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”(Heb 10:11) There was something more profound than a sacrifice of a dove or a lamb that needed to happen in order to be released from the bond of death that comes through sin.
From a Christian perspective, the animal sacrifices have stopped for a whole different reason. Messiah, Christ, the Son of God, has come into the world and He took upon Himself the sin of the world and “has given Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God.”(Eph 5:2). By this “one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.” (Heb 10:14)
It appears therefore that through this one sacrifice that was made for us the need for a sacrificial attitude has ended. We don’t need to concern ourselves with offerings to God because He got all He wanted.
Let’s read a verse from Romans: “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.” (Rom 3:23-25)
The key to understand this is “effective through faith”. What does this really mean? One can interpret it that if we believe in Jesus Christ we’re pretty much done, we just have to sit back and enjoy the ride to heavens. But here is another dilemma because the same Bible says: “for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”. (Jas 2:26)
It appears therefore that is not that sacrifices are not needed anymore, but only meaningless sacrifices, like those of killing animals. We still need to maintain a sacrificial mindset, but redirected on a path of true spiritual significance from the perspective of the Resurrection of Christ. Here is what the Apostle says: “Through Him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:15-16)
Indeed what God wants is not some stinking smell of burnt fur and fat, but the sweet spiritual fragrance of our prayers and the wonderful aroma of communion when reaching out to somebody in need.
It is not anymore about offering something to God, but is about redirecting our attention from the “number one” to everybody else; it is about understanding that the meaning of the word sacrifice has to do with sharing. Here is what Jesus Christ said to a pious young man that asked Him how to attain everlasting life: “He said to him, Yet you lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, follow Me.” (Luk 18:22) Yet this is very difficult to do, no matter how big or small our treasure is.
The young man failed the test in the story because he was so attached onto his possessions. Shall we follow his example, shall we continue to cling on to treasures that will rust, or lose their value in the next financial crisis, or be smashed by a tornado or earthquake? No, of course we don’t want this. We heard the Gospel today when God talked with the rich man that kept everything for himselfow God talks to the richman that kept everything for himself: “Fool! This night your soul shall be required of you, then whose shall be those things which you have prepared?“(Luk 12:20). But again this also is not a call to financial irresponsibility; it rather is about “laying up in store for [ourselves] a good foundation against the time to come, that [we] may lay hold on eternal life. (1Ti 6:19). Sharing is nothing else but the greatest investment there is: you don’t gain just a couple of interest points, but everything you do here is multiplied tenfold in heavens.
You might of course say, well I am not that rich, my land has not brought forth plentifully, on the contrary in this economy, so what shall I do? First there is so much more we can offer than money: our time and talents are always needed. The Church needs teachers, chanters, council members and so much more. Second, the thing about giving is that is not about the quantity, but is about the heart. Remember what Jesus Christ said when he observed a poor widow putting two small coins in the temple’s treasury: “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has cast in more than all those who have cast into the treasury. For all cast in from their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, has cast in all that she had, all her livelihood.” (Mar 12:43-44)
The most meaningful gift is one that is truly sacrificial, that expresses the greatest virtue of all: unconditioned love. After all we are not doing anything new in this “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:16)”
We do so many things and we spend so much time and resources on really trivial matters, but when it comes to do something meaningful, everlasting, like helping someone in need or building a church we always find ourselves being either really busy or counting our pennies. We don’t seem to realize that is important on what we spend our money, time and effort. As the Apostle again says: “All things are lawful to me, but not all things profit. All things are lawful to me, but not all things build up. (1Co 10:23)
We have to reevaluate this attitude that seems to be more and more prevalent throughout the world and try to re-channel our resources, small or big, as God has given, to what is really important from the perspective of eternal life, not just for a comfortable life on the earth. Let us offer ourselves to God, completely, listening to the words of the Scripture: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom 12:1)