Today’s Readings: Psalm 50; Leviticus 16:20-34; Luke 20:19-26; Philippians 3:1-7; Psalm 31
Today’s reading from Leviticus is fascinating because it lays out for us the origin of the term scapegoat. As I read about the origin of the term, something interesting occurred to me. The verbiage around the term tells us that the real issue behind the term scapegoat implied a focus on the sins of the community and not upon the goat itself. So why is this interesting? Well, sadly lots of modern religious folks continue to employ the notion of scapegoat. The difference, however, is that most modern religious folks who use the term want to make the term about those whom they are targeting as their version of a scapegoat and not about themselves. Those on the far right, for instance, want to target LGBT individuals or illegal immigrants as their scapegoat and insist the problems in their world are the result of these individuals. Those on the far left, on the other hand, want to target groups like Focus on the Family or Operation Rescue and blame the ills of the world on these folks. In each case, the individuals involved are missing the boat. To use the concept as teased out in today's passage from Leviticus, they fail to ask themselves which sins of their own are they projecting onto the scapegoat of their choosing. Today I would ask you, “What individual or group serves as a scapegoat in your life?” Once you figure that out, I would ask that you resist the temptation to go on a tirade against the person/group. Instead, use that energy to do some honest soul-searching and see what sins of your own those feelings are masking. Then do something radical. Invest your time and energy in addressing those issues instead of lashing out at others. Til next time…
Today’s reading from Leviticus is fascinating because it lays out for us the origin of the term scapegoat. As I read about the origin of the term, something interesting occurred to me. The verbiage around the term tells us that the real issue behind the term scapegoat implied a focus on the sins of the community and not upon the goat itself. So why is this interesting? Well, sadly lots of modern religious folks continue to employ the notion of scapegoat. The difference, however, is that most modern religious folks who use the term want to make the term about those whom they are targeting as their version of a scapegoat and not about themselves. Those on the far right, for instance, want to target LGBT individuals or illegal immigrants as their scapegoat and insist the problems in their world are the result of these individuals. Those on the far left, on the other hand, want to target groups like Focus on the Family or Operation Rescue and blame the ills of the world on these folks. In each case, the individuals involved are missing the boat. To use the concept as teased out in today's passage from Leviticus, they fail to ask themselves which sins of their own are they projecting onto the scapegoat of their choosing. Today I would ask you, “What individual or group serves as a scapegoat in your life?” Once you figure that out, I would ask that you resist the temptation to go on a tirade against the person/group. Instead, use that energy to do some honest soul-searching and see what sins of your own those feelings are masking. Then do something radical. Invest your time and energy in addressing those issues instead of lashing out at others. Til next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment