Meaning & Purpose of Sacrifice

As is usual, the Scripture challenges us to examine our lives. But first consider the nature of a sacrifice. From ancient times man has offered sacrifice to the gods. That frequently involved the immolation of animals or produce. But, in the Judeo/Christian tradition the ‘thing’ being sacrificed took no better than second place behind the meaning and purpose of the sacrifice. The sacrifice was an acknowledgement of many things: It conceded that there was a higher power than man. It was intended to glorify that higher power. It symbolized the relationship between God and man particularly in the confession that man was not God and was not equal to God, but subordinate to God, in fact, a creation of God.

Today we are neither farmers nor ranchers; but even if we were we would probably not be offering grain or animal sacrifice. What then is our offering? How do we choose the best? How do we acknowledge today what the sacrifice of grain and animals was intended to demonstrate?

Reflection - The Best


http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021819.cfm
Genesis 4:1-15, 25
Mark 8:11-13


The first Biblical story following Adam and Eve’s eviction from Eden involves an incident of murder — Cain kills his brother Abel, as we hear in today’s first reading. The tale is one that offers possibilities for pursuing a variety of themes. There is the oft repeated, multi-faceted story of brothers in conflict. The conflict between them itself generates some prospects for contemplation of social issues as we recall it being rendered in song in the stage production: Oklahoma. “The cowboy and the farmer should be friends.” We might examine the early development of natural moral law. The ancient views on the origin’s of nations also suggest themselves as fertile territory for discussion. The growing estrangement between God and man contributes still another reasonable venue for our consideration. While all of these are interesting, even intriguing, and are deserving of serious reflection, none would address the truth revealed in the story.

When we read the text, the thing that sticks in our minds is the murder and what happens to the murderer. The very title we have imposed on the account — “The story of Cain and Abel” — is misleading because it implies that this is a story about two men, two men who are also brothers. That title is as accurate as saying that the movie, Titanic, is about Rose DeWitt and Jack Dawson.

The fact is, this story, like every other story in Scripture, is about God and God’s relationship with mankind. Read it closely and image the scenes as you go along. It’s easier to discover what it reveals by watching it unfold.

Following the birth of the two brothers and their assumed growth to maturity, we find that both make an offering to the Lord. Abel’s offering is received favorably while that of Cain is not. (Why one is and one isn’t we’ll get back to in a moment.) Thus far the account is merely setting the stage for what we are to learn about God. The second thing about God that is there for us to understand is God’s compassionate response to Cain’s discouragement.

Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
So the LORD said to Cain:
“Why are you so resentful and crestfallen.
If you do well, you can hold up your head.”

Clearly, the Lord is saying that there is potential for improvement and that errors can be corrected. Even this early in the Scriptural text, just a few pages from the beginning, we find God ready to set man’s sinful deficiencies far from him.

The plot thickens. Cain kills Abel and then tries to pretend otherwise: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord, however, knows the truth. But, it is significant that we hear nothing from God about punishment or retribution such as the saying: ‘An eye for an eye.’ Rather the consequence of Cain’s action is a natural one. He has contaminated the soil of his livelihood with his brother’s blood and, therefore, the land can no longer be productive for him. It may be poor science, but the teaching is definitive. He has sentenced himself; he is to be a wanderer. But Cain bemoans his newly realized circumstance, complaining as if God is responsible for the fix he is in. He’s like the drunk who drowns his paycheck at he local tavern and then bewails the fact that he can’t buy food. He’s like the child who smashes his toy and then cries for his mother to replace it. He’s like the student who refuses to study the course material and blames the instructor for the “F” he receives as a grade..

God, however, is merciful. Even now he will provide protection; and he marks Cain so that others will know he has the Lord’s protection.

This is the just, the merciful, the compassionate God we meet in this fourth chapter of Genesis. Amazing!

One thing still remains to be considered: what was the source of the jealousy and the resulting anger which took a brother’s life? We touched upon it at the beginning: Abel’s offering was received favorably by God while that of Cain was not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. But even from here we must take another step back and recall the details of the offerings.

In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD
from the fruit of the soil,
while Abel, for his part,
brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.

The storyteller draws a sharp distinction which cannot be ignored. He informs us that Abel was diligent in selecting the best, not just one of the firstlings, but one of the best of the firstlings. Cain, on the other hand, is presented as having been nonchalant about his choice of offering. It was dutifully given, but lacked the qualities of the best — or maybe it was selected with indifference: ‘Let’s see? Two of these, three of those, maybe a couple of handfuls of this and that for the sake of appearance. That ought to be enough. That ought to do it.’ As the story unfolds there is an image of Abel as one carefully considering how he can praise God and an image o& Cain as one who seeks to do his duty. And when the time came “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not.”

Neither would you.

As is usual, the Scripture challenges us to examine our lives. But first consider the nature of a sacrifice. From ancient times man has offered sacrifice to the gods. That frequently involved the immolation of animals or produce. But, in the Judeo/Christian tradition the ‘thing’ being sacrificed took no better than second place behind the meaning and purpose of the sacrifice. The sacrifice was an acknowledgement of many things: It conceded that there was a higher power than man. It was intended to glorify that higher power. It symbolized the relationship between God and man particularly in the confession that man was not God and was not equal to God, but subordinate to God, in fact, a creation of God.

Today we are neither farmers nor ranchers; but even if we were we would probably not be offering grain or animal sacrifice. What then is our offering? How do we choose the best? How do we acknowledge today what the sacrifice of grain and animals was intended to demonstrate? Both Scripture and the liturgy of the church are constantly suggesting the offering we should make. Hear it in these words from today’s morning prayer of the Divine Office.

Lord God, open our mouths to proclaim your glory.
Help us to leave sin behind
and to rejoice in professing your name.

The book of Hebrews, which addresses the subject of sacrifice in detail, says the following.

Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

If we step back and look at the Old Testament sacrifices, particularly in their meaning and purpose, we see that their intent was to give praise. That’s why Hebrews talks about a “sacrifice of praise,” referring in this context to “the fruit of the lips.” In other words, we no longer praise God with the sacrifice of animals and produce; we now praise him directly, uniting with his Son and giving voice, in what ways we can, to the glory of God.

So, when we ask how we can offer God our best sacrifice we are essentially asking how we can offer the best praise we can. Our praise is our sacrifice. Naturally we turn to the Mass as he embodiment of perfect sacrifice. But that would seem to beg the question. What we really want to know is how I, as an individual alone or even as an individual united with the Body of Christ, can offer the best “sacrifice of praise,” the best “fruit of the lips.”

We have come to the point in this reflection where the author is no master. The following observations are the limit of what this reflection can offer and if you can add to it, please share.

  • Praise God frequently, not just at set times of the day.
  • Praise God while reaching into the depths of your heart.
  • Praise God with words you mean, not just words that flow from memory.
  • Praise God with the fullness of your intention even if it’s only for a few seconds. In other words, do not multi-task while giving praise.

At least some of the time praise God while you’re fully awake, and not worn down from the day.

When offering praise, remember your union with his Son.

By the way, I find that I frequently need to reflect on these admonitions and must try to actively re-instate them in my life.

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