Scapegoat

Matthew 25:32 – “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate one from another just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

Far from representing the greatest of all time, goats were sacrificial animals in Israel. The book of Leviticus describes how a perfect goat would be chosen to carry the sins of the nation into the wilderness. “Then Aaron (the priest) shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness (Lev. 16:21-22, NRSV).” 

Nowadays we use the word scapegoat. A scapegoat is a person or group who has been chosen to be blamed when s#!t hits the fan, in much the same manner as the goat as sacrifice in Ancient Israel was chosen to bear the sins of the nation.

But, back to the parable. We will soon see that the reason that the Son of Humanity is separating the sheep from the goats is for purposes of judging them. This is the third parable describing heaven and who will gain entrance and who will be left out. And I have to confess that I have had a very hard time this last week not playing God and deciding on my own who will make the cut and who will not, especially regarding the president and his enablers. Instead, I have been continuing my prayers for the world. It’s difficult to remember when the president’s actions are getting people killed, that he is hurting. This chaos and confusion he is creating echoes the chaos and confusion in his mind. He is very unfit for the position he is in.

This morning, while I was praying, it occurred to me that I could treat Donald like an alcoholic. Let me explain. I am a member of Al-Anon and one way to deal with an alcoholic is to not let their words derail our hour/morning/day. Donald may or may not be an alcoholic, but the lies, the gaslighting, the constant changing of plans, the chaos and confusion are all actions alcoholics tend to take to keep the focus on something besides their alcohol consumption and the problems it creates. The point is, life is more manageable when we recognize that someone’s word is not to be trusted, when we can ignore it, when we have a plan B. So many of us have not yet recognized that Donald’s words are not to be trusted, and so he is able to create chaos and confusion. I understand that news networks have started cutting away from his daily briefings, belatedly recognizing that he is abusing the privilege. 

When it comes to the pandemic raging around the world, don’t trust the president. His agenda is not to inform, but to make himself look good, no matter who pays the cost, to create scapegoats. He's very good at creating scapegoats. If you, like me, find yourself on Donald’s emotional roller coaster, get off. However, you’re able to do that. Whether by remembering he is not well, working to ensure some of his worst ideas do not come to fruition, by remembering that ‘hurt people hurt people,’ or by spreading love in the world. Our time and emotional energy could be used for more positive, productive, and healthy purposes, like loving our neighbors.

We’ll get through this as a nation one day at a time. That was a hard sentence to write because many people won’t get through this, which makes it all the more important to spread God’s love, love our neighbors, stay at home if we can, check on those around us, check on friends and family.

How will you get or stay off Donald's roller coaster today?

B