To Differ is Divine:
Feb 22, 2023 |
Lent, Part 1: Sacrifice or Offering?
| The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman, Rabbi Raachel Jurovics
Lent, Part 1: Sacrifice or Offering?
Today we begin our four-part Lenten series with an exploration of sacrifice, or, as Rabbi Raachel teaches us, offerings, as the Hebrew of the Torah is more correctly translated. She and Bishop Sam dive deep into an exploration of sacrifice in the context of both Jewish rituals in the Temple and Christians observing Lent, discussing what it means to align our wills with God’s. They wrestle with two of the most difficult stories of their respective traditions: Jesus’ agony in the garden and ultimate crucifixion and Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac. Their conclusions may surprise you.
Episode 7 Notes
Lent/Holy Week/Easter
Lent is the period of 40 days before Easter Sunday during which Christians traditionally enter a period of self-examination and penitence. This year, Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, falls on February 22, and Easter Sunday falls on April 9. (For those doing the math, Sundays are not counted as part of Lent.) The Triduum, or three holy days leading up to Easter Sunday, include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday and commemorate Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet, the Last Supper, his imprisonment and trial, and his crucifixion and entombment.
Jesus’ 40 Days of Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you’,
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
(New Revised Standard Version)
Korban
Literally “drawing near,” this Hebrew word has been translated as both sacrifice and offering.
Priests and Levites
Priest is a general term in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scripture) and in the Christian Bible to describe those set apart to worship God in a ritualized way in the Temple. Levites are descendents of Levi, Jacob’s third son, who held a special right and obligation to the priesthood.
Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-36, and elsewhere)
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”
(New Revised Standard Version)
The Synoptic Gospels
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels because they can be “seen together” (syn-optic) and contain many of the same stories and sayings, often related in the same relative sequence.
Jesus Sweated Drops of Blood (John 22:44)
In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
(New Revised Standard Version)
Song of Songs 8:6
“Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death,” which Rabbi Raachel habitually remembers as “stronger than,” perhaps an expression of her own hopes concerning the World to Come.
Akedah (Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19)
Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.
(Jewish Publication Society, 1917 edition)
Torah Scroll
The Sefer Torah is a handwritten copy of the Torah, rolled into a scroll, used during worship in the synagogue.
The Last Trial - Shalom Spiegel
The First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars initiated by the Latin Church (a branch of the Catholic Church) during the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule.
Midrash
A rabbinical mode of interpreting Tanakh.
Kiddush Hashem
Translated as “sanctification of the Name,” Kiddush Hashem refers to private and communal acts that honor God, in dire circumstances, even unto death.
Substitutionary Atonement
One among many theological models to explain Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, substitutionary atonement refers to the idea that Jesus’ died for or instead of humanity as payment for our collective sins.
Christus Victor
Latin for “Christ the Victor,” this phrase refers to the theological model that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection represented the liberation of humanity from the bondage of sin, death and the devil, and that God the Father vindicates him in his bodily resurrection. This construction has sometimes been misappropriated to justify an attitude of Christian superiority or supersessionism (the theological idea that the Christian Church has superseded the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, assuming their role as God’s covenanted people).
Episode 7 Notes
Lent/Holy Week/Easter
Lent is the period of 40 days before Easter Sunday during which Christians traditionally enter a period of self-examination and penitence. This year, Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, falls on February 22, and Easter Sunday falls on April 9. (For those doing the math, Sundays are not counted as part of Lent.) The Triduum, or three holy days leading up to Easter Sunday, include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday and commemorate Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet, the Last Supper, his imprisonment and trial, and his crucifixion and entombment.
Jesus’ 40 Days of Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you’,
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
(New Revised Standard Version)
Korban
Literally “drawing near,” this Hebrew word has been translated as both sacrifice and offering.
Priests and Levites
Priest is a general term in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scripture) and in the Christian Bible to describe those set apart to worship God in a ritualized way in the Temple. Levites are descendents of Levi, Jacob’s third son, who held a special right and obligation to the priesthood.
Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-36, and elsewhere)
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”
(New Revised Standard Version)
The Synoptic Gospels
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels because they can be “seen together” (syn-optic) and contain many of the same stories and sayings, often related in the same relative sequence.
Jesus Sweated Drops of Blood (John 22:44)
In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
(New Revised Standard Version)
Song of Songs 8:6
“Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death,” which Rabbi Raachel habitually remembers as “stronger than,” perhaps an expression of her own hopes concerning the World to Come.
Akedah (Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19)
Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.
(Jewish Publication Society, 1917 edition)
Torah Scroll
The Sefer Torah is a handwritten copy of the Torah, rolled into a scroll, used during worship in the synagogue.
The Last Trial - Shalom Spiegel
The First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars initiated by the Latin Church (a branch of the Catholic Church) during the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule.
Midrash
A rabbinical mode of interpreting Tanakh.
Kiddush Hashem
Translated as “sanctification of the Name,” Kiddush Hashem refers to private and communal acts that honor God, in dire circumstances, even unto death.
Substitutionary Atonement
One among many theological models to explain Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, substitutionary atonement refers to the idea that Jesus’ died for or instead of humanity as payment for our collective sins.
Christus Victor
Latin for “Christ the Victor,” this phrase refers to the theological model that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection represented the liberation of humanity from the bondage of sin, death and the devil, and that God the Father vindicates him in his bodily resurrection. This construction has sometimes been misappropriated to justify an attitude of Christian superiority or supersessionism (the theological idea that the Christian Church has superseded the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, assuming their role as God’s covenanted people).
