Leviticus 16:10 (NIV) But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
It surprises me that the disbelief and sadness linger still from yesterday's documentary on how mob mentality can generate the energy to destroy individuals in a matter of seconds.
It was a mundane moment of vacuuming in prep for dad's study later in the evening. I turned on the TV as a distraction and selected 30 for 30's episode on "Catching Hell," a story on the 1986 Boston Red Sox and the 2003 Chicago Cubs on their individual jaunts to the World Series. We had been watching so much baseball and the Cubs had just lost their division series again, so the blood of the game was still in me. The film iterated the stories of two men, Red Sox first baseman, Bill Buckner, and Cubs fan, Steve Bartman, both who became scapegoats for the crucial game losses that negated their respective team's World Series run. Buckner's miss of the ball that rolled between his legs resulted in vindictive fans, caustic media coverage, and 20 years of unforgiveness of himself and the hurt inflicted by the Boston fans. Boston's subsequent World Series pennants abated the controversy, even celebrating a "Bill Buckner Day" for atonement. My reaction was, "Poor Buckner."
But the story of Steve Bartman encapsulated in the youtube short above drenched me with despair because of one man's life that was destroyed by an incidental act, a mistake, for which he became the human scapegoat for the thousands of fans in the audience, some who threw beer cans at him, and most who chanted obscenities. The face of Bartman was shown redundantly throughout the game. Cubs' security had to usher him out of his seat and a compassionate guard hid him in her apartment until he could be safely returned home. Today, he is described as a semi-recluse who works at an office job. Once, a newspaper writer stalked him at his workplace for an interview. His 7-hour wait was rewarded with a confrontation with Bartman, but the compassionate newsman accepted his kindly refusal and watched him walk away, opportunity lost. It seems that Bartman's non-vindictive response immobilized the newswriter. Chicago hasn't won a World Series pennant since 1908. Perhaps the washing of the blood off their hands needs a few years more to wear off. They are a reminder that the use of a scapegoat became unnecessary once Christ was crucified, and that it should no longer continue in the vocabulary of our minds.
Still a learner,
Mom
Of Note: Aunty will have a CT scan tomorrow at 11:30 am at Castle because of abdominal pain. The doctor just informed her, too, that there was a shadow on her chest x-ray, and so tomorrow's scan has been broadened to encompass her abdominal and cardiac areas. Please remember her in prayer.
It surprises me that the disbelief and sadness linger still from yesterday's documentary on how mob mentality can generate the energy to destroy individuals in a matter of seconds.
It was a mundane moment of vacuuming in prep for dad's study later in the evening. I turned on the TV as a distraction and selected 30 for 30's episode on "Catching Hell," a story on the 1986 Boston Red Sox and the 2003 Chicago Cubs on their individual jaunts to the World Series. We had been watching so much baseball and the Cubs had just lost their division series again, so the blood of the game was still in me. The film iterated the stories of two men, Red Sox first baseman, Bill Buckner, and Cubs fan, Steve Bartman, both who became scapegoats for the crucial game losses that negated their respective team's World Series run. Buckner's miss of the ball that rolled between his legs resulted in vindictive fans, caustic media coverage, and 20 years of unforgiveness of himself and the hurt inflicted by the Boston fans. Boston's subsequent World Series pennants abated the controversy, even celebrating a "Bill Buckner Day" for atonement. My reaction was, "Poor Buckner."
But the story of Steve Bartman encapsulated in the youtube short above drenched me with despair because of one man's life that was destroyed by an incidental act, a mistake, for which he became the human scapegoat for the thousands of fans in the audience, some who threw beer cans at him, and most who chanted obscenities. The face of Bartman was shown redundantly throughout the game. Cubs' security had to usher him out of his seat and a compassionate guard hid him in her apartment until he could be safely returned home. Today, he is described as a semi-recluse who works at an office job. Once, a newspaper writer stalked him at his workplace for an interview. His 7-hour wait was rewarded with a confrontation with Bartman, but the compassionate newsman accepted his kindly refusal and watched him walk away, opportunity lost. It seems that Bartman's non-vindictive response immobilized the newswriter. Chicago hasn't won a World Series pennant since 1908. Perhaps the washing of the blood off their hands needs a few years more to wear off. They are a reminder that the use of a scapegoat became unnecessary once Christ was crucified, and that it should no longer continue in the vocabulary of our minds.
Still a learner,
Mom
Of Note: Aunty will have a CT scan tomorrow at 11:30 am at Castle because of abdominal pain. The doctor just informed her, too, that there was a shadow on her chest x-ray, and so tomorrow's scan has been broadened to encompass her abdominal and cardiac areas. Please remember her in prayer.