This seems to have been a season of thinking about sacrificial theology for me. I am well aware of circumstances and situations where that particular way of thinking leads to mistaken notions about the nature of God. The bottom line is that despite what we say, when we get into thinking about sacrificial theology it leads us to the notion of a god who demands sacrifice - and this is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is not the God of Jesus.

At the core of the prophetic message of the Bible is a call to people to turn away from their mistaken notions about God and how God works. When we imagine God to be different than God is, we also get mistaken notions about who we are and our role in the relationship.

Central to my theology is the simple, yet confusing, belief that Jesus is fully God. Different from any other theology of which I am aware, Christianity looks to Jesus on the cross - to God at the most extreme point of human suffering. It is not God who demands Jesus’ death. It is not God who calls for the sacrifice. Rather it is God who is on the cross - in the midst of the suffering - present at the point of death.

I know this can seem like a gruesome thought. But it is important on multiple fronts. It is important because despite there is immense suffering in this world. I realize that my writing of suffering is a bit theoretical. I haver not been the victim of the worst kinds of violence. But I have been a witness. In my work as a suicide first responder and law enforcement chaplain I have seen things that should not be described in this blog - or elsewhere. I have been witness to agony that no human deserves. I have seen people suffer beyond the limits of any reasonable boundary. There is deep pain in this world and violence beyond the gore depicted in movies and video games.

God is not the author of this suffering. Any theology that places God on the side of the cause of this suffering is inadequate for those who have endured it. We human beings are the cause of intense cruelty. We have even committed great violence in the name of religion. But to blame God for the violence is to fail to see God. God is always with the victim. God always takes the suffering.

There is more I can say on this subject, but I also need to go one step further in the light of what is unfolding in the news headlines today. The theology of sacrifice not only produces a mistaken notion of the nature of God, it produces a mistaken nature of the nature of humans - and provides justification for a dangerous mis-application of justice. If one believes that God demands suffering, it is a short intellectual step to believing that humans are justified in causing suffering. It is the appeal of retributive justice. The concept is fairly simple: those who commit wrongful acts, especially serious crimes, should be punished even if punishing them would produce no other good. Punishment should “fit” the crime. People who cause others to suffer should themselves suffer.

This notion makes victims not only of those who are convicted of crimes, but also of those who must carry out the punishments. Families who have lost loved ones to murder sometimes give up the rest of their lives in search of revenge. Entire communities and countries are destroyed in cycles of ever-increasing violence. Witness northern Ireland. Witness Palestine and Israel. Witness Somalia. The list can go on and on and on.

I have no doubt that there has been institutionalized racism and injustice in Ferguson, Missouri - and in Rapid City, South Dakota. But making more victims will not solve the problem. Shooting officers in Ferguson makes the problem worse, not better. You can count on that much.

From time to time I hear people try to make the distinction between the two volumes of the Christian Bible saying things like, “The God of the Old Testament is the God of vengeance and the God of the New Testament is the God of forgiveness.” That isn’t accurate, in and of itself. When Romans urges believers not to seek vengeance, it is quoting Deuteronomy: God says, “Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay.” It is an important concept - trust God to be the author and source of justice. We don’t need to try to make things even out in our own imperfect human ways. But it presents the image of God seeking revenge.

The way that God brings justice is not to seek revenge, but to never take the side of the oppressor. God always stands with the victim. God is always present in the midst of suffering. It is God up there on the cross.

As a Sheriff’s chaplain, I do not carry any weapons. I do not wear a Kevlar vest. And, quite frankly, the patrol officers are quick to shield me from any risk of violence. I don’t investigate the crimes or gather evidence. My role is not to be the attorneys who argue it out in court or the judge who decides on sentences. I am there to witness. And I am there to stand with the victims and remind them that they will never be left alone.

When I became a pastor, I knew that I would be called upon to officiate at funerals. I didn’t realize then what it would mean to officiate at the funeral of someone I had known for decades, but I have learned to walk through those moments, knowing that I do not walk alone. What I didn’t know, and couldn’t imagine, was how often I would go to the funeral of someone I had never met to sit as a witness and a support to those who grieve. It is a small role. It is a very little thing. But I do it frequently. Last Friday. Next Tuesday.

I am absolutely convinced that God sits with the mourners. God stands with the victims. God weeps at the suffering our human failings cause. But God remains God. The creator of the universe - the source of all that is - shares the pain of those who suffer. We, who seek to serve God, do well to sit with the mourners as well.

I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.