When a person commits sacrilege by inadvertently misusing any of the Lord’s sacred objects, the wrongdoer shall bring to the Lord as reparation an unblemished ram from the flock, at the established value* in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel, as a reparation offering. (Leviticus 5:15)
The sacrificial system in ancient Israel with its differing offerings was designed to meet the deepest needs of a sinner. The burnt offering was very personal, offering atonement for sins, reconciling God with an individual. The Peace offering was a communal thanksgiving feast celebrating the peace made between God and family and friends. The purification offering cleanses the land defiled by sin so that God could dwell with humanity. With this last offering we see that restitution has to be made for sins committed against Holy Space and things within, i.e. the Tabernacle and its sacred objects, sacred vows broken, or false oaths given. Such sins, as with sin in general, steal from God, and deprives those around us of what could be. Sin is a debt that must be repaid, a reparation for damage done.
Israel was granted the privilege to have YHWH dwell in their midst within the Tabernacle. Everyone to some extent was in contact with the Holy. Intimacy with YHWH in such close physical proximity inevitably brought with it the danger of unintentionally misusing the things belonging to God. Indeed, service to God demanded their full attention, a conscious respect for the holy things they handled, the vows taken, words spoken, tithes not delivered, or gifts misappropriated.
The Hebrew word for this offering is ‘asham, often translated as “guilt offering.” All sin brings with it guilt, but what differentiates this offering in the context of the others is the idea of stewardship. Adam was given the stewardship of the Garden, which, as we have described in our earlier posts, was sacred space. This stewardship was transferred to the Tabernacle and Temple, and with this gift came grave responsibility. Consider this quote from Radner:
These sins are a violation of the stewardship of creation. Thus the term for the offering, ‘asham, is linked with a sense of “liability,” as in the case of a trust, deposit, or debt, whose demands extend, in the case of default, to some kind of punishment and restitution. But guilt is bound to the gift, embedded in God’s act as creator.
Leviticus, p. 69
Radner goes on to say that this “guilt is removed by giving,” an offering of a ram plus an added value that surpasses “the bare quantity of the amount owed (p. 69).” A perfect ram (or male lamb) was prescribed, sacrificed, presumably in the same fashion of the other sacrifices, along with a confession (Numbers 5:7), a repayment of what was taken, plus 1/5 of this value. The priests were allowed to eat the flesh of this offering, as was true of the purification offering, in the court of the sanctuary.
It is God who sanctifies in this offering (as well as in the others), but the Israelite is given the dignity to act in response to God’s mercy by giving in addition to what was taken, repairing what was broken in his infraction. The offender is therefore forgiven, and is sanctified through the divine and human act, moving from chaos, to order to rest, that is, the Sabbath restored. (See chart under the post What is holiness Anyway? above). His guilt is absolved, and he regains his stewardship of the sanctuary.
Being a priest myself, my mind takes flight with a legion of possibilities for sins specifically located on holy ground. The questions linger: has laziness diminished what I could give? Have I been presumptuous in my attitude while serving? Do my actions belie an unnoticed disregard to God? Am I defrauding God in my duties? A similar set of questions could be asked by the laity. Am I cheating God by offering a pittance of what I should really be giving, knowing that all I have has been given to me in stewardship by God? Is my body and soul lazy before the altar at Mass? Do I partake the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ in mortal sin?
The extension of this offering reaches to the property of others. To steal from someone, or being reckless with someone else’s property, is to commit sacrilege against YHWH, for YHWH owns all people and property.
When someone does wrong and commits sacrilege against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about a deposit or a pledge or a stolen article, or by otherwise retaining a neighbor’s goods unjustly …
Leviticus 5:21 (6:2) and 5:23 (6:4)
Origen focuses on the concept of “deposit” in the verse above in his Homily #4. He allegorizes the idea by associating this deposit with the deposit God has given to all of us in trust as divine image bearers. We must restore this deposit to God intact as it was received, as St. Paul encourages Timothy, “Oh Timothy, protect the good deposit!” (I Tim. 6:20). Included in this deposit are all the wonderful powers of the soul, such as intellect so we can understand divine things, along with memory, judgement, emotions, etc. Beyond this, he points out how we have received Christ Himself and the Holy Spirit as a deposit, and therefore must be careful not to be sacrilegious with this trust.
Takeaway: Meditation on the reparation offering helps us to respect holy space and sacred things, property, and our vows.
Questions:
- How do you respond to the questions asked in the paragraph above which I ask myself as a priest and the laity?
- Many people go through life unreflective of all the amazing interior powers of the soul, let alone understanding they are given as a “deposit” for which we are responsible as described above in Origen’s allegory. Is this true of you? Explain.
Resources Used:
Radner, E. Leviticus
Origen, Homilies on Leviticus, Homily 4.
Wenham, G. Leviticus, pp. 104-112.