Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Bullocks Offered at the Altar

"...Appol ninte bali peedathinmel kaalakal baliyaayi karerum." [Malayalam]


"..then bullocks will be offered as sacrifices on your altar." (Psalms 51:19)

Bullock Sacrifice at the Jerusalem Temple
As pious Orthodox Christians, we are all used to this prayer (Psalms 51), originally used by King David, but adapted by the Church as the prayer of repentance and used at the beginning of all our Namaskarams. The prayer conveys a hope - a hope that when Jerusalem is rebuilt (a hope of Jews, Christians and
Muslims), the Lord will accept sacrifices once again, and then bullocks will be offered at the Altar of the Lord (like in the days of old, recollects David)

As we repeat this prayer day in and day out, do we remember to meditate on the verses?
If we do, do we realize what this means?

I wanted to focus on this verse in the light of Christian reality and Orthodox understanding.
Our faith is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ embraced the Cross for our sake.
The death of Christ on the Cross is significant not because it was a brutal murder,
not because it was spilling innocent blood, not because it was unjust -
it was all the above, but much more - the death of Christ is significant and unique because God became the ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of mankind. No more sacrifices would be needed to wash away sins, hence we celebrate the Holy Qurbana - the bloodless sacrifice which is a continuation of (or a participation in) that one Holy Sacrifice at Calvary.

Christ the Sacrificial Lamb
NOT repetition of the first sacrifice again and again each Sunday, but continuation of the One and Only sacrifice that first Good Friday. Again, NOT just remembrance of the original Sacrifice each Sunday, but what we celebrate is a participation in the first, original and Only Sacrifice every time the Holy Qurbana is offered.

The blood shed by the Lamb of God established the bloodless sacrifice for the faithful. The bloody sacrifice of the Lord stopped the bloody sacrifice at the Temple, forever (probably symbolised by the tearing of the veil of the Temple at the time of the death of the Heavenly Lamb)

With this background in mind, how do we interpret our prayer that the Lord allow bullocks to be offered at the altar when Jerusalem is rebuilt? This verse had much relevance and was a reminder of the good times as also a great hope for the future during David's time, even during the Old Testament times (and to this day
for the Jews) - but for Christians - are the words in this verse in contradiction with our faith as Christians?

Many times we hear the argument that Old testament verses must be seen in the light of their fulfillment in the new testament. In that case, how do we "adapt" this verse so that it expresses the correct meanings based on our understanding of the New testament? How do we explain the contradiction to our Sunday School
students?

Holy Qurbana is the Perfect Sacrifice
I have seen at least one prayer book where "kaalakal" (bullocks) have been modified to "kaazchakal" (gifts), but this still leaves out the question of the role of Holy Qurbana then in such a world. Maybe this is a reference to the end of times (when Jerusalem is rebuilt), but if "gifts" are offered at the altar in
such a time, why not Holy Qurbana from the altar of Jerusalem Temple?

I understand we are trying to use hindsight to retro-fit a Bible verse already written, but I am really trying to understand the relevance of this verse in the light of the New Testament revelations.

In any case I think it will be better if we discuss and the Church as a whole make any changes needed at a central level and in a standardized manner.

Hope the discussions will throw some light.

[Is it just me or does this verse bother anyone else?]


Source : ICON

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hosea 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
Malayalam--adhara arpanamaya kaalakal.(halleluiah, stothram,stuthi etc. Now count how many of these are there in a namaskaram and H Qurbana. Countless.

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