Many of these sacrifices involve slaughtering and burning up an animal from one's livestock. The details of slaughter and blood and organs and fat are so distasteful to us that we find ourselves saying: "This is so crude. If ever this had any reference to the way we live our lives today, I can't see it."

These sacrifices are a demonstration on the part of the one offering sacrifice. They say: I want to make things right with God. I want to prove that I am serious about my relationship with God. I especially want to prove to God that I am sorry for my sins against him. Is there any better way to demonstrate how serious I am than by giving up my best livestock, which might have provided many meals for me?

Again we say: "This is unsophisticated and disgusting. This is such a big part of the Bible, but it has nothing to do with me and the way I live my life."

Well, think again. If we examine the ways in which we envision our relationship with God, we will in fact find many instances in which we behave like the sacrificers of old.

Does the word "perfectionist" carry positive or negative connotations for you? We see many examples of the ennobling of perfectionism in our society. We might think of people and corporations, for instance, devising "perfect" phones and other electronic devices. Many people lead cheers in favor of producing "perfect" devices at whatever cost. People, particularly in American society, are so devoted to their work, and especially to doing things "perfectly," that they work long hours to the detriment of family and other relationships, and even abbreviate vacation time.

Perfectionism in fact has nothing to do with the real meaning of "perfection": that is, being a complete, balanced, well-rounded person. Instead it concentrates on narrow goals for human achievement, in the pursuit of which we diminish our lives.

If we can imagine a sacrificer offering herself up as the sacrifice, we reach an insight into a good deal of human behavior. In order to make our life "right," we damage ourselves by our unrealistic expectations. We can imagine ourselves burning ourselves up on an altar of perfectionism.

As we move from Lent into Passiontide, we learn to appreciate the fact that sacrifice is a common impulse of the frustrated human being. It is not surprising to find sacrifice described throughout the Bible. We are given the opportunity to lay down our tendency toward self-punishment and to recognize that Jesus, in his sacrifice for humanity, has taken upon himself our frustrations, and has made himself the definitive, effective sacrifice. He has liberated us from our tendencies toward self-destruction. Some particularly helpful Scriptures are the ninth and tenth chapters of the Letter to the Hebrews.

If we reflect on the liberation given to us in Jesus' death and resurrection, the Good News of Easter really can be a gift, an opportunity to be set free from self-imposed punishment and a hint of what it feels like to live a risen life in union with the first-born from the dead.