A smattering of anti-sacrificial texts 1 Sam 15:22 Ps 40:6 Ps 51:16 Hos 6:6 (also referenced in Matt 9:13 and 12:7) Jer 7:22 There are LOTS more, as this is a whole field of study in and of itself. If you ever want resources, I’ll point you in the direction of some great ones.
“charcoal fire” mentioned in John 18:18 (belongs to the scene involving Peters three-fold denial of Jesus) and again in John 21:9 (belongs to the scene of Jesus’ three-fold forgiveness of Peter and his commissioning).
Jesus does not demand Peter to splatter blood on an altar. He demands no sacrifice to God for forgiveness of sins. Instead, he sacrificed himself to human betrayal and brutality, and in doing so, exposed it for its futility. God never demanded that, but humans did and attributed it to God. What God desires is not sacrifice, but mercy. Here Jesus enacts that mercy for Peter. Peter’s “sacrifice” will be to feed Jesus’ sheep and to tend his flock — not to kill them and offer them to God.
I'm a baker's dozen years or so into this "professional ministry gig" (if you count seminary), and still kind of wonder how the heck I got here.
I'm currently serving as pastor of a fantastic, wonderful, faithful congregation in Cape Coral, Florida. That's a story in itself. I'm also serving as honorary pastor/chaplain for the German American Social Club in Cape Coral and for the Evangelische Kirke/German Ministry, Inc. in town.
Recently moved from pastoring a weirdly wonderful congregation in Tulsa, OK. That first call ran from 2012 to 2021.
All three congregations are many literal and cultural miles removed from my home in one of Detroit's first-ring suburbs.
As a holdover from a previous life, I'm a recovering museum nerd, having somewhat accidentally chosen living history museum work as my first career post-military. Temperamentally, I'm an INFP (according to the MBTI) and a Self-Preserving 4-6-8 Enneagram Tri-type, but that 6 might actually be more dominant than the 4. Still working all that out. As is my family: wife, 2 lovely children (a boy and a girl), a Yellow Lab named Sunny, and 3 domestic shorthair cats (Otto, Oscar, and Miss Juniper Cleopatra Tiana Martin).
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The Accidental Lutheran 