The first part of the second reading from the Letter of Hebrews states that "For it is not as if we had a High Priest who was incapable to feeling our weaknesses with us. But we have one who have been tempted in every way that we are." This means that our God is not simply some sort of a superman. Jesus Christ has experienced everything that you and I experience including death. Our God is a God who is ready to dirty His hands and enter completely into any situation that you and I might find ourselves in. There is no experience or feeling that our God does not experience. He knows exactly how we feel in our moments of joys as well as in our moments of desperation and destruction. We cannot say that God does not understand how we feel because he has been through all the experiences that all of us have to face or go through.
No wonder that once again in the second reading of today Paul encourages us, "let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help". In plain language Paul is saying that because our God has been through whatever we go through, we can go to Him with confidence and find solace and peace when we are troubled and in need. The cross is indeed a source and a power of healing and encouragement.
But I ask Paul "where did you get this from? Did you find it written somewhere or is it something that you made up?" Paul was a Pharisee, he was very well acquainted with the Old Testament. He studied the Old Testament with a very good tutor called Gamahel. Paul therefore knew well the different feasts that Jesus celebrated. One of the feasts is called "Yom Kippin", The Day of Atonement, the day of expiation. It is one of the great feasts of the Jewish people and it is still celebrated today.
In the Book of Leviticus, (which is one of the Books of the Old Testament) in Chapter 16 we have a description of how this feast was celebrated. The High Priest would be dressed to the hilt and he would stand before the tent where the ark of the covenant was placed. At one point of the ceremony the people would bring two he-goats before him and they would draw lots. One he-goat was earmarked for God while the other was earmarked for what they called Azazel, which is another word for the devil. They would kill and sacrifice the he-goat which was earmarked for God as a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has done for his people during the past year and as a prayer of protection for the coming year.
After the sacrifice was completed, they would bring the he-goat which was earmarked for the devil before the High Priest. The High Priest would put his hands over the head of this he-goat and he would confess all the guilt sins and the iniquities of the whole nation upon his he-goat. "Having thus laid then on the goat's head he will send it out into the desert and the goat will bear all their guilt into some desolate place." (Lev 16:21) This is the reason why in English we have the word "scapegoat" to denote a person who takes the blame for the fault of others.
Paul would have known this ceremony very well. This is precisely what Jesus did. He is our scapegoat. We should have died on the cross not Jesus. I should have died on the cross not Jesus. Yet Jesus as our God was prepared to experience the destructive results of jealousy, hatred, gossip, pain, suffering and death so that when I come to him with these experiences he will in turn show me the way of peace and of life. Whenever I see the cross today I can go up to my God and give him all my rubbish, all my fears, all my anxieties, hurts, problems, sickness and death and in turn he will give me life.
The cross is an invitation not to despair when we are beset by all kinds of negative attitudes and feelings but to bring them to the tomb with Jesus so that they will die with him in order to emerge renewed and strengthened with hope and perseverance.
As I go around our parishes I see this amazing thing repeated over and over again. I see it in the parents who in spite of many difficulties they keep trying their best to give what is necessary to their families. I see it in husbands and wives as they live daily their married lives. I see it in our hospitals as our nurses, doctors and hospital staff use their God given qualities to facilitate healing in so many broken bodies. I see it in our aged care facilities as people advanced in years are helped to live their remaining years in dignity. I see it in so many of us as we try to give hope in times of despair, comfort and encouragement in times of sadness. I also see it as many face their own death totally abandoned in the promise that with our God everything will be O.K., that with our God death does not mark the end of us but marks the beginning of our eternity with our God.
My friends we cannot appreciate fully Easter unless we also enter the tomb of our problems and anxieties with God. Jesus knows exactly what it means to enter the tomb.
"Take my hand Lord, lead me to die, to all negativity to all my fears and anxieties. Even though I may be surrounded by darkness and uncertainty, I can still feel your touch and your presence. Guide me through this time. I trust you. I know that you will bring me to life."
