Present Your Bodies as a Living Sacrifice

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Hear the echo of Paul’s exhortation to the Roman Christians in the Great Thanksgiving of Rite I in the Book of Common Prayer: “And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee….” From the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and Greek and Latin histories we know that the ancient Israelites, the Jews of Jesus’ time, and the Greeks and Romans all sacrificed animals in their worship. But what is a “living sacrifice,” and how do we present our bodies as a “living sacrifice?”

Paul’s letter to the Romans is the first letter in the New Testament. That’s because it’s the longest, and the Epistles are arranged in order of descending length. Actually, Paul’s letter to the Romans was his last, written about 60 AD. It was addressed to mixed community of Jews and Gentiles, which he hoped to visit on his way to Spain. In the chapters preceding today’s reading, Paul has struggled with the refusal of most Jews to accept Jesus as God’s anointed one. Since he is himself a Jew of the highest rank, Paul concludes his argument with the assurance that God’s covenant with the Jews will stand forever, but that now, by virtue of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God’s covenant also embraces the Gentiles.

Paul then turns to the issue of how a community of Jesus’ followers, who come from different social classes and ethnic groups, can actually live and work together. By exhorting his hearers to be a “living sacrifice,” in contrast to the sacrificial animals with which they were so familiar, Paul begins by reminding them that their commitment to Jesus goes well beyond intellectual assent. Their commitment to Jesus also goes beyond muttering “Jesus is Lord” or some other confession of faith, even if it is God’s grace that enables a person to make such a confession. Rather, Paul exhorts his hearers to live a life that reflects their commitment to Jesus. Such a lifestyle may involve doing with the body actions that may be at odds with their culture, and may even earn them the disapproval or hatred of their neighbors.

In asking the Roman Christians to intentionally live out their commitment to Jesus, Paul was indeed asking them to live in ways that would set them apart from their neighbors. They were to dress modestly. After a suitable period of instruction they were to be baptized in front of the entire Christian community. While Jews normally gathered for worship on Saturday, and Greeks and Romans gathered on days dedicated to the various gods, Christians were to gather for worship on Sunday, i.e., on a normal working day. They were to continue to grow in their knowledge of Scripture. Gentiles were to forego the civic clubs that combined worship with socializing. They were especially expected to avoid the drunken orgies that celebrated Bacchus and Dionysus. They were also to stay away from the rituals that venerated the Roman emperors, and they were not to eat meat sacrificed to the gods. In their communities, they were to disregard social rank and gender, and were to regard all as equals in God’s eyes and as needed and valued. Through all these practices Christians distanced themselves from their neighbors. In some cases, they were ostracized, and periodically they were persecuted. For most, it was truly a sacrifice to follow Jesus – and it was certainly not good for business!

Fast forward to today. How do we “present our bodies as a living sacrifice?” Like the hearers of Paul’s letter, we too must do more than mutter “I believe in Jesus Christ.” If we want to honor our commitment to Jesus, we too must do more than simply recite the Creeds. We too are called to live out our commitment to Jesus with our bodies. How do we do that in concrete terms? What does a Christian lifestyle look like in the twenty-first century?

A generation or two ago, it might have been easier to answer that question. Episcopal parishes regularly observed major feasts, even those not falling on Sunday. Feasts such as the Presentation, February 2nd, the Annunciation, March 25th, the Transfiguration, August 6th, and All Saints, November 1st, would regularly have found the parish gathered for worship. Worshippers would have flocked to churches on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Few people would attend or give “Christmas” parties in Advent. Most would fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, would “give up” something for Lent, and would take on other devotions. Most people would tithe and also respond to special offerings. Well before the 1960s, men and women would have been moved by their commitment to Jesus to support movements for better working conditions, votes for women, better housing for the poor, and civil rights.

So what now? What’s a “living sacrifice” for us? Perhaps Paul’s words and the practices of our forebears in the faith are more relevant than we might think. Indeed, we might all be stronger spiritually if we were to re-adopt some of those earlier practices. However, more than anything, Paul exhorts us to take our commitment to Jesus seriously, to be intentional about our membership in this – or any – faith community. The spiritual life is not icing on the cake of a well-lived life. It is a commitment to a new and different way of being in the world, a lifestyle that lets others know that our highest allegiance to is someone who calls us to a way of living focused on the needs of others. Such a commitment calls us to continually grow in our relationship with God and in our ability to follow through on the promises we made at our baptisms. For most of us – and how appropriate this reminder is when we celebrate the beginning of a new school year – this means regularly engaging in some form of Christian formation. Our commitment also calls us to engage in regular individual prayer – even if it’s only five minutes stolen from your lunch hour – and in regular Sunday worship.

Our commitment to Jesus also calls us to grow together in community. Within this group of Jesus’ followers, we are to neither overvalue nor undervalue our place. As we work together to bring God’s realm closer, we are to understand that we all have gifts. Every one of you here – and even those not here – has a gift needed by God and by this community. No one can say, “Not me,” or “I’m too busy,” or “I’m too young,” even “I’m too old.” Just as in Paul’s time, this Christian community needs people who can proclaim God’s word. It doesn’t take a collar to share your experiences of how God has been working in your life. It doesn’t take a collar to speak out on issues of peace and justice, or to use social media to inform your friends of your views. This Christian community needs those who can teach. We need teachers for children, for youth, and for adults. It doesn’t take a collar to lead a group reflecting regularly on Scripture. This community needs people to engage in outreach to those in need. Now by God’s grace we have a deacon among us, who is especially ordained to lead us into areas of ministry beyond the red doors. She needs people to follow her out. This Christian community needs people to provide financial support. If you have the means, Jesus expects you to give generously to support the parish – tithing, or at least giving intentionally is still expected of us -- and to support other ministries and charities.

Brother James Koester, a member of the Episcopal Society of St. John the Evangelist, tells the story of one of his Methodist forebears.1 In 1790, at the age of twenty, Matthew Evan, the brother of his great great great great grandfather, was “convicted of the necessity of being born again” by the preaching of an itinerant Methodist pastor. What fascinates Br. James about Matthew Evan and others like him is that they “weren’t simply interested in warm spiritual fuzzies, because as passionate as they were about the conversion of their souls, they were also intent on the reformation of society. This same Matthew Evan was one of the first members of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor of the Midland District [of Ontario] founded in 1819 in order to “to prevent the increase of pauperism and to furnish relief and assistance to the indigent, destitute and sick.” The Anglo-Catholic founders of the SSJE shared a similar ethic. While committed to beautiful and dignified worship, they also developed a Rule that commits the brothers to stewardship of the earth and real solidarity with the poor. For Br. James, both the Canadian Methodists and the SSJE founders clearly remind us that, “if we are serious about what we say, then we need to be just as serious about what we do. If we are truly believe we have been called, justified and glorified by God, and that through baptism we share the life and work of God then not only what we believe matters, but what we do matters as well.”

With all your heart, and mind, and strength, be a living sacrifice, offering back to God what God has given you. Heed Br. James’ call: “Go out and change and convert and reform the world. Do it, do it now, do it today. Do it because what you believe really does matter. Do it, because what you do matters even more.”

1. “You are Christ’s Hands.” http://ssje.org/ssje/2011/07/24/you-are-christs-hands-br-james-koester/ .