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Before Sunday

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Psalm  80

Micah 5:2-4

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-56

By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10).

 We are reconciled with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This sounds pretty simple and clear, but it doesn’t always work its way out in our lives so easily. Centuries ago, people believed that Jesus was re-sacrificed during the Mass (a belief still held today in certain quadrants of Christendom). The Protestant Reformers took issue with this understanding of the Eucharist, realizing that such an interpretation merely maintained the old sacrificial system of the Temple in New Testament terms. In other words, if Christ needed to be re-sacrificed, then His atoning death on the Cross was ultimately not effective. This is why Cranmer repeatedly emphasizes the finality of Jesus’ triumphant sacrifice on the Cross:  “…who made there [on the cross], by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world …” (1979 Book of Common Prayer, page 334).

Though we affirm this in our liturgy, we sometimes slip back into that economic relationship with God that says, “If I do this, then God, please do that.” This is but another expression of the “re-sacrifice of the Mass,” in that we offer our personal sacrifice as a means of obtaining God’s grace and mercy. In the capitalism of the West, there is no such thing as a “free lunch.” However, in the Kingdom of God, there is. There is nothing we can offer, nothing we can sacrifice, that gains God’s favor. It is purely of His grace.

Thus, the only  “sacrifice” we offer God is one of “praise and thanksgiving” (Book of Common Prayer, page 335), as “…we are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice…” (336). No bartering here. No negotiation. Sheer grace. Pure mercy. Something only to be received with a thankful heart.

As the holiday pressure bears down upon us, the whisper inside says, “Hurry up! Do more! Go faster! It’s all up to you!” But it’s not. In the final analysis, it’s all up to God. And He came through in Jesus Christ. Once for all.  Hallelujah!

A Prayer

Almighty God, who does not abandon His people nor leave His mission unfinished; we give you hearty thanks for the completed work of your Son, Jesus, on the Cross. May we rest in that finished work, and find in His atoning sacrifice true joy and peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.