The Sacrifice of Christ

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent

Given at St. Patrick's Church

By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd

The other day I was asked an odd question—
what would have happened if we went back in time
and stopped Jesus from dying on the Cross for us

Setting aside the interesting question of time travel,
I think the question betrays a misunderstanding
many of us have about what Jesus actually did.

On Good Friday the Church will adore the Cross,
and pray, “We Adore you oh Christ and we praise you,
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the World.”

But what did he do for us on the Cross,
He offered a Sacrifice for us,
the same sacrifice we celebrate here on the Altar,
but what is that Sacrifice?

Its not a human sacrifice, human sacrifice was a pagan practice
which the Old Testament specifically prohibits.

God is not a cruel God,
He doesn’t demand an innocent human to die to redeem us from our sins,

In fact in the Old Testament the Psalmist tells us that
God is tired of the blood of bulls and goats
He is not thirsty for blood, or hungry for flesh.

Rather he wants what those sacrifices symbolize,
A contrite humble heart.

That is what Christ Sacrifices on the Cross.
And what is a contrite heart?

During this season of lent
We hear a lot about confession,
because Confession is all about
being humble and contrite before the Lord.

A humble and contrite heart is a heart that acknowledges the possibility
That my will might not be correct,
That my plan might not be as good as God’s plan,
even if I can’t understand what God is doing in my life or in the World.

This is what Jesus did, by becoming a man, and being born of the Virgin,
And walking among us, and following God’s plan even unto death,
death on a cross.

As the Greek Fathers note, in a sense our salvation was won
not on the cross but in the Garden of Gethsemane,
where Jesus’ human emotions and human will and human passions
placed him at odds with the divine will of the Father,
and yet begging the Father to take this cup from Him,
Our Lord humbly submits to the will of the Father, saying:
“not my will but yours be done.”

Jesus though truly God, was truly man,
and death was in the plan God had for Him,
whether that meant death of old age or on the Cross.

The sacrifice Jesus makes to God the Father is not human sacrifice
but sacrifice of the human will.

Truly, the violence of the Cross was more an invention
of man’s cruelty to man than God’s explicit will,
and yet in God’s plan that includes human freedom,
God uses the cross to show what true love looks like.

On the Cross, Jesus shows us that it is possible to trust God’s will
more than we trust our own instincts and wisdom,
and He invites us to do the same.


We come here each week to the Altar of God to offer sacrifice,
To “worship in Spirit and Truth”
By offering not the bloody sacrifice of bulls and goats,
But the bloodless Sacrifice of Calvary,
The sacrifice of a humble and contrite heart.

And as we are asked to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
We are asked to make the same sacrifice that He made for us,
We are asked to unite our entire life, the good and the bad alike,
In thanks to God.

Ultimately it all comes down to Faith
Not the faith of pious frauds, but the faith that allows us to live
Even when living means embracing the Cross.

In the Gospel today we are challenged to ask ourselves
the simple question, do I trust God.

Lazarus died, and despite the fact that Jesus loved him,
Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, because it was God’s plan,
For the glorification of God and the revelation of His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus wept in Bethany, but he did not weep for Lazarus,
But for the weakness of their faith.

At the altar we are asked to make a sacrifice of praise,
with humble and contrite hearts,
thanking God for the beauty and joy of our lives
but also for the sorrow, anguish, and death,
because we know and believe that these things are allowed to happen
only for the glorification of God.

This is the central message of the Gospel:
God is in charge, in charge of world history,
and the particulars of our story,

Trust in God—and give Him thanks and praise for His goodness
No matter what,
This is the sacrifice He desires.