A Sacrifice of Love
Hebrews 9:11-14
First in the series “Discover the Power to Make a Difference”
Rev. Cynthia O'Brien
April 1, 2007
HEB 9:11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
In this year, 2007, the Year of Discovery, we have learned that each of us has a story of God’s love for us, and that each of us has unique gifts. This month’s theme is Discover the Power to Make a Difference.
“Making a difference” is what many young people today identify as their reason for coming to a church. They don’t just want to sit in the pew, they don’t just want to worship God on Sunday. They want to do something that helps other people’s lives be better. They want to see tangible results. Feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, keeping kids healthy, that’s what they are interested in.
A couple of weeks ago, Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis held a Community Safety Summit at City Hall. He brought together law enforcement like Chief Piluso, Sherriff Giuso, the head of the FBI, the head of Tri-Met, the District Attorney and about 200 interested people. The question on everyone’s mind was, How can we, the people in this room, keep our citizens safe? Gresham is about to reach a population of 100,000 people, and that will mean a natural jump in crime unless we can do something about it. The people at the Safety Summit were committed to combining their individual efforts to make a difference.
And “making a difference” is the clear call of every Christian. Jesus made it clear by his example, in his ministry of healing and forgiving people’s sins. He told us to go out into the world and make disciples.
Where do you want to make a difference? Maybe you want to be a person in your neighborhood who helps others in an emergency, and you want to join me in being trained for Community Emergency Response. Maybe you want to help your friend who’s in trouble, but you’re afraid of offending her. Maybe you want to start a new business or nonprofit that fills a real need, but you don’t know if you have the strength. Maybe you just want to raise your kids right in a challenging, confusing world. You want to make a difference, but how do you start?
This month, we’ll discover the Power to Make a Difference. On Thursday night I’ll talk about faithfulness and commitment. Next week, on Easter, we’ll envision a better life and hope for the future. On Bright Sunday, we’ll discover how a sense of humor and a good attitude will give you success. The following week, I’ll be talking to young couples and busy families about how they can make a difference even when they have limited time.
But before we can move forward, we need to be aware of something that has been done for us that makes it possible for us to have the life that we do, and to even think about making a difference in the world. We need to acknowledge something that has been given to us that we don’t often give much serious thought to.
Let’s go back to that day in Jerusalem, when Jesus came into the city. The people knew they needed to be saved, and they hailed Jesus as the one who would save them… from the Romans. But Jesus wasn’t a warrior king, riding a stallion, ready to overthrow the government. He came into Jerusalem riding a donkey, humble, with something else in mind. While the people wanted to get out from under the burden of Roman occupation, they really needed something much more important – to be forgiven of their sins.
Go back further, back to Genesis, to the Garden of Eden. When Eve and Adam disobeyed God and were cast out of Paradise, they became slaves to their sin. God, loving people, first tried to start over with Noah and his family. But there was no way for humanity to get away from sin. Sin is so serious that death is the only way to get rid of it. But God loved people and didn’t want us to die. So God made a promise with Abraham, and a promise with Moses, and set up a system by which the people could bring an animal to a priest, and the blood of the animal would cover the person’s sin.
“Cover” is actually a pretty good word to desribe it. It’s as if you got a stain on your carpet, a bad one, like red wine. By the way, did you know that many churches don’t allow red punch or red jello at church for that very reason? When my children were younger, I started putting up signs in the church kitchen: “Please do not serve red punch at coffee hour, and if you do, don’t give any to my children!” Anyway, imagine getting a terrible stain on your carpet, so you put an area rug over it. The stain is “covered” but it’s not clean.
When you brought an animal for a sacrifice, you realized at that moment how serious your sin was, and how merciful God was. Our weekly prayer of confession and assurance of pardon doesn’t begin to have the impact that the temple sacrifices must have had on people. Because when you realize that a sacrifice was made for you, then you know that a sacrifice will be required of you. You will have to live in a new way, obedient to God, out of your appreciation for how God has forgiven you. You’ll go and try to follow God’s laws and love your neighbor because you are thankful for the sacrifice that was made.
We can all grasp the idea of making a sacrifice to benefit someone else. Every parent makes sacrifices for their children’s benefit. There are things you’d like to buy, or places you’d like to go, that you give up for the love of your children. Every veteran knows what it means to make a sacrifice to serve his or her country with honor, to be prepared to make a sacrifice of personal well being. Many have paid the ultimate price, in the hope that their death would lead to the ultimate good.
So we can understand, in a way, the sacrifice of Jesus. That he, the Son of God, who had been tempted to become a great world leader, who had instead lived an itinerant life with a few close friends, who spoke wisely and showed compassion to the needy, who had been challenged and derided and humiliated by those who should have welcomed him, this extraordinary person became the ultimate sacrifice for us.
We know the famous verse from John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Now sin is not just “covered.” It is cleansed. It is completely erased. We can approach God knowing that he considers us righteous. And one thing that amazes me, is that even though the Bible says that “God gave his Son,” it also took Jesus’ willingness to give himself.
By this point in the life of Jesus, when he came to Jerusalem, he knew what was coming. He was extraordinary in his wisdom, and he knew that it was the Father’s will for him to die. He said things that made it seem like he knew everything would be all right after his death, like “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it.” And, “Where I am, you will be also, in my Father’s house are many rooms.” But I wonder how much Jesus could comprehend that he would be the sacrifice by whom all people would be saved. Through Jesus, all people in every time in history, could be saved. Even the people in the Old Testament, those who went through the sacrificial system, would ultimately be saved through the blood of Jesus. Could Jesus comprehend that? Did he have time to think about it, that last week in Jerusalem?
This week, I will have the church open every day from noon to 1 p.m. for prayer and reflection. There will be a prayer guide for you, and one of the suggestions will be to read the Scriptures of the last week of Jesus’ life. What he did, what he taught, and how he suffered. As you reflect on that, you draw closer to God and learn more about your own faith.
One man came to a time in his life where he was thinking about the passion of Jesus a great deal. His name was Johann Heerman. It was a difficult time in his life. There was a war going on, and there was a lot of tension and uncertainty. He was also experiencing suffering in his personal life. In any case, Heerman was reading a Christian devotional and was struck by an early Latin text, maybe of Augustine, that was in this book. Based on that text, he wrote a hymn called "Ah, Holy Jesus" and published it. The year was 1630.
In the lyrics, Heerman describes the afflictions of Jesus.
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.
Then he poses a question:
Who was the guilty- Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
'Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was, denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.
He goes on to talk about what Jesus had done for him, for us: the incarnation, meaning God being born as a human child; the oblation, meaning that Jesus gave himself as an offering, and Jesus’ passion, meaning Jesus’ suffering between the night of the Last Supper and his death. Here’s how Heerman wrote it:
For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life's oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For our atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.
In the last verse of his hymn, Heerman suggested what our response should be to the sacrifice of Jesus for us:
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.
Let us pray.
Dear Jesus, kind Jesus, we cannot repay you for your love for us, and your sacrifice on our behalf. Forgive us for the sin which drove you to the cross. May we, in this Holy Week, draw near to you, adore you, pray to you, and think on your love, which we do not deserve. Accept our love and our prayers. And empower us, by your Spirit, to forward your love to others. Amen.
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