First Sunday After Christmas 2024

There have actually been religions that called for human sacrifices, even child sacrifices. The Mayan and Aztec cultures in Central America once did. This was also true of the ancient Celts and Vikings in northern Europe. And in the ancient Near East, it was the case among the Canaanites, for instance to the god Moloch, as mentioned in the Old Testament. But the human sacrifice called for in Christianity, in the words of the Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans, is “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” That said, there is a lot in the Bible about sacrifices and consecrations. And in the Book of Exodus we will get at the root of Jesus’ consecration mentioned in the Gospel Reading, which is a prelude to His sacrifice…