10-20-2024 Scapegoating Jesus by Marie Duquette

A rare type of atonement that repeats itself in history.

Transcript

Today in our readings we heard lots of words about atonement theories. There are between five and seven depending on how you count them. Atonement theories seek to answer the question, ‘Why did Jesus have to die? Why did he have to be tortured? Why did he go from rising to being crucified as quickly as it seemed to happen? What was this about? You know some of these atonement theories, and they overlap. It isn't just one that is the answer here--one Atonement Theory. It was to fulfill scripture. We routinely hear Jesus predicting: This is the plan. This is how it's going to be. It was foretold before I ever got here.

Another atonement theory is he had to go first to show us to not be afraid of death--that there is something on the other side of death and suffering. That's an atonement theory. Possibly the most well known Atonement Theory--most people will tell you if you ask them, ‘why did Jesus have to die?’ they will say, “Jesus died for our sins.” Right? It's easy. It's three words: For. Our. Sins. We remember it, right? We don't question it so much. We have no defense. We cannot say, ‘well we're not sinful,’ right? We know better than that. And yet, there is this sense when we say, ‘Jesus died for our sins,’ that it wasn't just the sins of the collective at the time that he was crucified for, but it is all the sins going forward which conveniently gives people an out.

I want to talk about an Atonement Theory today that does not get a lot of press. We're not that familiar with it. But I've been thinking about it and reading about it for about seven years now and it is a burning thought within me to bring it to you today, and it is called The Scapegoat Theory of Atonement made popular by French philosopher and psychologist Girard…I’m not remembering his first name at the moment. Girard’s Atonement Theory is part of his life's work--studying systems that are made of flawed people. And what Girard says is that in any system--a church, a business, a corporation, a school, a government, a family--even in any organized system or disorganized--as many are, there is a cycle that takes place and it looks like this:

Someone rises to the top of the family, the school, the corporation: The beloved uncle, the most loved teacher, the CEO. And then people in the organization start jockeying for position to be as close to that person as they can. Some might take the person gifts. Some might give the person inside knowledge: secrets. Some might look out for the person and defend them when they're not in the room. But all the things that happen to the individuals doing them, they are simply being supportive of the one at the head. But it starts a ripple effect. People in the corporation get jealous. They want to be the one that is closest to the one at the helm. They want to be able to say they are at his right hand – that they are his right-hand man, right? They flank him when he walks in a room. She confides in them. People naturally want this honor as it were, and so James and John, want it in today's Gospel. We've heard about it before. Even though Jesus has told them before—recently--a couple weeks ago—no, no, no, no, no! They still continue to jockey for position. Now at least they're willing to split it! Okay you take the right; I'll take the left and we’ll both be there, right? So it’s when this kind of competition--this rivalry, this desire that, ‘if I can't be at the helm I'm going to be second. I'm going to be right up there and they will confuse me for the leader because I'll be standing so close to the leader. Right? When this happens in corporations, rivalries start to bubble up. Jealousies begin to bubble up. A sense of injustice that maybe one's accomplishments or contributions are not being credited. And they're not being credited publicly, thank you very much. I want you to not only give me credit, but tell the whole conference room that I did that right! This is part of human nature. So rivalries start happening in all these various systems and when that happens it creates anxiety and tension in the system. We can't even always identify it--we just know that one day we come into work and things are great, and we got a new CEO, and oh I remembered my lunch --and it's a good one! And then within a matter of weeks or months sometimes a couple years things begin to turn, and this leader that everyone loved and got behind at first, people start saying, ‘well but they didn't turn in their report’ or ‘they didn't call me out for what I accomplished’ or ‘they took credit for my idea’ and slowly they start chipping away at the person they once thought was their Savior. When this happens, the system--and when I say system I'm talking about everyone and no one--it isn't usually one individual--we are all connected. The system then finds a scapegoat. They find a scapegoat that they can blame for all the anxiety and all the tension that has become the norm in the system, that makes it uncomfortable to show up at Thanksgiving, or to show up at the company picnic, or to show up in our churches on Sunday. It's uncomfortable. There is this anxiety. So, they choose a scapegoat, or a scapegoat emerges. Someone who is often humble. Someone who is often vulnerable. Someone who often believes the best about other people, so they never see it coming. And the scapegoat, they end up driving out. They fire them. They lay them off. They tell her, ‘you're not doing exactly what we thought you would do when we first called you.’ They find excuses to attach the anxiety of the system to this one person--to blame them. And then the solution is easy: get rid of that person, right? They get rid of the person and then usually a couple people—two, three, maybe five--one at a time they  reach out to that person out of guilt. Out of a sense of wrong-doing. They'll send them a card. They'll take them lunch. They'll stop and visit, and they'll say something like, ‘How you doing? I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I thought it was wrong.’

Thinking it was wrong and doing nothing about it when you could have, is just as bad as acting like the ones who are driving the person out. Can I get an Amen? So, they try to make amends for their own guilty conscience, by telling the person that they know, that what happened to them was wrong. And then there is peace in the valley until someone else steps in, and the whole cycle repeats itself. You're nodding because you recognize it, don't you? You know people. Maybe you are someone that has lived through this horror; that knows what this is. This sense of betrayal and confusion and amazement that the only answer was to drive them out. Come now people. It should not be so among us. We ought to be able to have conversations that are hard and honest; that are uncomfortable and hopeful; that point out what's happening and forge a way forward. That respects the dignity of all including, maybe especially, the scapegoat.

In the old rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, we hear it some. They say, “This Jesus Must Die. For the sake of the nation, this Jesus must die.” And then everybody jumps in, “Must die, must die, this Jesus must die.” See it's even in there, “So like John before him,” the song goes, “This Jesus must die.” Yes. Because this is a cycle that repeats itself over and over again.

What does this have to do with you? What does this have to do with today's readings? Today's readings all focus on the theory of atonement that we know of in the short form:  “Jesus died for our sins.” I wanted to expand the way you think about it to make you realize, ‘yes and there is a lot more going on than Jesus just saying, ‘I don't want to see y'all get in trouble--nail me to this cross.’ There's a whole lot more going on. Who would benefit from Jesus being scapegoated? Let's see… someone in Rome, I'm thinking. Someone who was threatened by Jesus--that people were now calling King. Temple priests who found it blasphemous that people called him the Son of God. Well that's against the rules! Maybe even people who followed him who thought, ‘I could do what he's doing. People could follow me,’ right? All of these people could stand to benefit. And that's how you know you have a scapegoat situation, too, is when you ask, ‘Who could stand to benefit, and are they behaving in such a way, that they seem to want to benefit?’ So if we look at ‘Why did Jesus die? through that lens, all of a sudden this story about James and John continuing to duke it out about who is going to be closest to Jesus makes more sense. They didn't stop when Jesus said knock it off! Well, Jesus probably didn't hit them, but I might have. They didn't stop. They just found another angle to continue their quarrel, right? They were bound and determined that one of us is going to be closest to Jesus. Okay. Both of us. But we have to be perfectly on the right and the left. Don't try to move up, right?

And so part of the reason they continue the quarrel is human behavior. It's human dynamics. And I want to add that to the way you understand what Jesus Christ did for us. It wasn't all a sacrificial kind of love. It wasn't just in obedience to God, to fulfill scripture. It was those things, but it wasn't just that as a person who is God In the flesh--made fully divine and fully human--Jesus was subjected to Scapegoat Theory, which goes way back in time. Which people do to try to secure for themselves the best seat in the house. The front row. The place where God is most likely to notice how obedient and righteous they are.

What do we do with this new-found knowledge? One thing that we can do is recognize scapegoat dynamics when they happen, in systems that we are part of. We can stand up. Being an ally only in private is not being an ally. If you are going to stand up for someone who's being wronged, you need to do it when it matters--before their world comes crashing down. It's about expanding this understanding that Jesus died for us and Jesus dies with us whenever injustice causes an individual to be scapegoated for things they may have never done. For things they may have done, but no one noticed. They may be scapegoated because what they are doing is intimidating and causing other people to be not thankful, but jealous.

God With Us is one of the defining tenets of our faith. We cling to it fiercely, especially when we are going through times of trial. Thinking about the scapegoat theory of atonement gives us yet another view into how God is with us, so that when these kinds of things happen to you, you understand at a bigger level what's happening. When they happen to someone you know, perhaps you are more courageous about speaking up, and stepping out, and standing with them when it matters. And also, so that we can remember Jesus says, “If you want to be great, you need to be servant of all.” Because the ones in the background--the ones who are serving. The ones who are doing the work that no one else wants to do. It's too messy. It's too dirty. It's too scary. The ones who are doing those things often are not recognized in a positive way, but in the end if you are the one being persecuted, those are the people you will look to and say: Thank you. Thank you. You were great.