Scapegoats, Part 1: Introduction - Leviticus 16

Scapegoats, Part 1: Introduction - Leviticus 16

1. Eternal One, whose thoughts and ways are not ours, you alone are God, awesome, holy, and most high. School us in the ways of faith and wisdom, that we, like Job, may learn to truly see and hear, and in humility find blessing. Amen. OPENING PRAYER

2. SUNDAY // OCTOBER 13 The Gospel for Scapegoats: Part 1 - Intro

3. a person who is blamed for the  wrongdoings , mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of  expediency SCAPEGOAT

4. Everywhere and always, when human beings either cannot or dare not take their anger out on the thing that caused it, they unconsciously search for substitutes, and more often than not they find them. RENE GIRARD

5. CUBS v MARLINES (NLCS) Tuesday, 10.14.23 Cubs lead series 3-2 Ahead 3-0 8 th inning Steve Bartman

6. CUBS v TIGERS October 6, 1945 Cubs lose to Detroit William Sianis & “Murphy” the Billy Goat kicked out of the game

7. LEVITICUS 16:6-10 Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the  Lord  at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the  Lord  and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the…scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to (make) atonement…

8. LEVITICUS 16:21-22 (Aaron) is to lay both hands on the head of the live (scapegoat) and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites— all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the (scapegoat) away into the wilderness ( or: literally, to Azazel, representing the chaotic/ disordered wilderness ) in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

9. Social psychologists argue that personal prejudice motivates many contemporary forms of scapegoating. Their “scapegoat theory of prejudice” maintains that people who experience frustration that cannot be expressed will often vent that frustration upon groups or individuals who are visible but powerless in society and often disliked. Societies blame scapegoats as an intentional diversion or cathartic displacement of anger/frustration. JENNIFER GARCIA BASHAW

10. POST COVID-19 POST 9/11

11. EXTREME DISLIKE Major disagreement, prejudice, etc. FOUR REASONS…

12. EXTREME DISLIKE Major disagreement, prejudice, etc. FEAR Of the different, of potential losses… FOUR REASONS…

13. EXTREME DISLIKE Major disagreement, prejudice, etc. FEAR Of the different, of potential losses… IGNORANCE Of the unknown, the “what if?!” FOUR REASONS…

14. EXTREME DISLIKE Major disagreement, prejudice, etc. FEAR Of the different, of potential losses… IGNORANCE Of the unknown, the “what if?!” DISPLACEMENT OF BLAME Blaming the weak > the powerful FOUR REASONS…

15. As we experience Jesus and the people he loves, heals, and champions in the Gospels…it will change the way we recognize and treat victims today. The radical message the Gospel writers communicated about Jesus…should lead Christians to the truth that God is on the side of the scapegoat, and when the church participates in, condones, or ignores scapegoating, it opposes the work of God in our world. JENNIFER GARCIA BASHAW

16. BIBLICAL Learning to read the Bible from the place of victim > victor THREE UNVEILINGS

17. BIBLICAL Learning to read the Bible from the place of victim > victor HISTORICAL How the scapegoating mechanism has played out in Christian history THREE UNVEILINGS

18. BIBLICAL Learning to read the Bible from the place of victim > victor HISTORICAL How the scapegoating mechanism has played out in Christian history TRANSFORMATIONAL Build new structures by removing cracked foundations THREE UNVEILINGS

19. CHRISTIANITY OFFERS THE CURE FOR HUMAN VIOLENCE AND SCAPEGOATING The death of Jesus on the cross is meant to be the conclusion to the cycle of violence, as the innocent victim’s death reveals OUR violence, not GOD’S GIRARD’S ARGUMENT

20. THE GOSPELS OFFER US AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PATTERN SEEN IN LITERATURE/SOCIETY While other religious myths and literary stories tend to conceal the scapegoat mechanism by framing reality from the perspective of the persecutors, the Bible (and especially the Gospels) write from the victim’s perspective, and are written by victims themselves GIRARD’S ARGUMENT

21. THE GOSPELS EXPOSE THE SCAPEGOAT MECHANISM Persecutors always believe in the excellence of their cause, but in reality they hate without cause; Jesus is the perfect example of scapegoating victim, revealing the violence/blame that originates in and plagues HUMAN hearts/society (not GOD’S) GIRARD’S ARGUMENT

22. The gospel story, then , is a story about a victim, written by victims, and featuring victims; it’s a scapegoat gospel. These are fundamental details for Christians to acknowledge about Jesus and the Gospels. Christianity does not inhabit a marginalized position in American society…this does not mean that those who are closer to power center of society cannot understand Jesus or the Gospels; it just requires more awareness and empathy. JENNIFER GARCIA BASHAW

23. SUNDAY, 10.20 The scapegoating of women SUNDAY, 11.10 The scapegoating of the poor SUNDAY, 11.17 The scapegoating of the sick SUNDAY, 11.24 The scapegoating of the outsider WHERE WE’RE HEADED

24. God of all who are cast down, you call us to seek good and to meet oppression with justice. Teach us to find salvation in the emptying of ourselves for the sake of those in need, so that goodness may prevail and your kingdom come in Christ Jesus. Amen. CLOSING PRAYER