Scapegoating Today

In Leviticus 16, there's a profound ritualization that's been passed down to us through the ages, what we now recognize as scapegoating. Picture this: on the Day of Atonement, a priest would lay hands on a designated goat, symbolically placing all the sins of the Israelites onto this innocent creature. Then, this scapegoat was led out into the wilderness, burdened with the weight of collective guilt, and left there. The people, back home, would rejoice. It's a scene that's played out in various forms throughout history. European Christians, after burning someone at the stake for heresy, or white Americans, after a lynching of a Black man, would return home with a sense of relief, believing they've rid themselves of evil.

But here's the thing: scapegoating, it never really worked to eliminate the evil. The ego might feel temporarily relieved, safe even, in the exclusion of the "sinner." But this relief is fleeting, illusory. The cycle repeats, deepening the illusion, conditioning us in harmful ways.

Now, as a Christian, I believe in the historical significance of Jesus' death. It's no coincidence that we date history around his life. His message, the gospel, planted seeds of a radical love and forgiveness into human history. Yet, it seems that followers of other religions often watered these seeds more effectively than many Christians.

The Christian West, it seems, was so shaken by this radical message that it went into overdrive. It hid its shadows, covered its fears, and continued to hate and scapegoat others. This, despite the central message of Jesus on loving enemies, forgiving, and caring for those at the bottom of society. Irony at its peak, as Christians would worship Jesus the Scapegoat on Sundays, then go about making scapegoats of others throughout the week.

One might think that those who "gazed upon the one they had pierced" would have understood the message about the wrongness of domination, power, and hatred. Yet, they trusted the system that was utterly wrong about their own chosen God figure.

Scapegoating, it's a sophisticated but learned ability. It compartmentalizes, separates, divides the world into the pure and the impure. Religion often begins here, creating an entire moral system with its taboos, punishments, fears, and guilt. It gives us a false sense of order, control, and superiority, satisfying the ego's desires.

But the brilliance of Jesus was in his refusal of these divisions. He rejected the codes of debt and purity, he refused to search for sinners to condemn. This, to the dismay of many then and now. He challenged the very foundation of scapegoating, calling for a love that transcends boundaries and a forgiveness that breaks cycles of hate.

In summary: Scapegoating, with its illusory relief, its false sense of purity and control, has been a persistent force throughout history. Jesus' message of love and forgiveness stands in stark contrast, challenging us to see beyond divisions and embrace a radical unity. Yet, many have fallen into the trap of the very thing he sought to dismantle, making scapegoats of others instead of heeding his call to love. This, perhaps, is the greatest tragedy of all.