Homily, The Gift of Sacrifice
The Thirteenth Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 16A (2026)
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Have you ever hosted a dinner or a party for a small group of people and when you open the door to the guest they have in their hands a gift for you? Isn’t that just lovely?
Most of the time it’s a bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers. Or perhaps they’ve brought something to contribute to the meal, a special dipping sauce or a chocolate cake. They didn’t have to, of course, but they didn’t want to show up at your door empty handed. They wanted to contribute. To express their gratitude. To share in the work of hospitality. There is something lovely about opening the door and realizing, Oh, they didn’t just come to consume what I have prepared. They came bearing something of themselves.
Gift giving is this beautiful way of connecting with another person.
And it’s one of the oldest customs in the history of humanity.
Even Saint Paul speaks about the custom in his letter to the Romans, which we hear from today, though you may not notice at first. He writes, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”
Now to our modern ears, the word “sacrifice” doesn’t exactly call to mind the image of gift giving. We tend to think of sacrifice as either (1) doing something hard or painful for a greater good OR (2) as one of those weird and violent things that the primitive ancients took part in. But at its heart sacrifice is about gift giving.
In the ancient world sacrifices were simply gifts given to the gods. And the vast majority of those gifts were food items. Things that could be eaten by the priests who offered them, and the people who brought them, and presumably by the gods themselves who received them as the smoke and aroma that was lifted up to the heavens. In the Hebrew world the choice offerings would be lamb or oxen, or sometimes birds, and even wine.
We often imagine ancient sacrifice only as the appeasement of a blood-thirsty and angry God. But sacrifice was also, and often profoundly, about communion: gratitude offered to God and a meal shared in God’s presence. The atonement that took place came not purely from the satisfaction of a hungry God, but from the relational connection formed at a shared table. The ancients practiced sacrifice to express gratitude for all that God had done for them, and to draw close to that God through a shared meal. The sacrifice, then, was a gift. A bottle of wine at the door to a dinner party. A contribution to the meal at the table of the host.
And, yes, often there arose more complicated understandings of the sacrificial system regarding the propitiation of sins and requirements of purity and restrictions of who and what and when a sacrifice should take place. But at it’s heart, sacrifice is simply a gift at a shared table.
But here’s where, for me, it gets really interesting. For centuries humans have made their sacrifices to the gods. In all kinds of places. In all kinds of religions. Humans have placed their gifts upon the altar before their gods.
But in the Christian tradition, God has placed the gift upon the altar for people.
For centuries humans have given their fattest lamb to be consumed by the gods. But in Christ, God gives himself to be consumed by the people. “Take. Eat. This is my body, which is given for you.” And thus, each week when we gather at this table, Christ is the sacrifice. “Alleluia. Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.”
The ancient ritual of sacrifice continues, but almost in reverse. It is God who gives Godself to humanity.
So then what does St. Paul mean in this passage when he appeals to the Romans to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice? Simply this, to do what Christ has done. To offer oneself, as a gift at the table, to the living God, just as God has offered Godself to us at that same table.
This is the liturgy of the Eucharist. Week by week we share this table with God, not only to make a sacrifice to the heavens, and not only to receive a sacrifice for humanity, but for the shared sacrifice that comes in the mutual giving of self between God and people.
The offertory, in the liturgy, is not simply a collection taken up to pay the church electric bill, it is the moment we give ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. When we place upon the altar our money, our art, and our bread and wine, those things act as a stand in for our very selves. Our whole selves. Body, mind, and spirit. We place ourselves upon the altar.
But then what happens? Christ offers himself at that same altar. And gives us back what we have given him as transformed holy food and drink. And then, as Saint Paul speaks of to the Romans, we, too, are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The sacrifice of the Eucharist is not one that we solely receive, nor is it one that we solely give. It is a sacrifice of mutuality—not equality, but mutuality—shared between God and humanity.
So going back to the start. Every good dinner party has a host who offers a meal. And every good dinner party has a guest who brings the wine. This is the greatest of dinner parties. This is the most generous of hosts. The question is, what will you bring to the party? What will you contribute to this shared meal? What will you offer to express your gratitude for this profound and Divine act of hospitality and love? I appeal to you brothers and sisters, offer yourselves. Offer yourselves as Christ has offered himself, a sacrifice to God. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- What does it mean for me to present my body as a living sacrifice to God in the context of my relationships, work, and community involvement?
- In my experience of the Eucharist, how do I engage with the idea of mutuality between myself and God during communion?
- What specific gifts or talents do I have that I can offer to God and my community as a way of expressing my faith and gratitude?
Thoughts on Faith 