“The Scapegoat” by William Holman Hunt, 1854. (“The [scape-]goat shall bear [the people’s] unrighteousnesses upon him into a desert land” – LV 16:22 Septuagint.)Jesus reminds us in today’s gospel that it’s mercy that God desires, not the sacrifice of a burnt offering or a scape-goat. While Jesus redeems us from the eternal consequences of our sins, Fr Charlie points out, we still retain responsibility for them – and for making right what can be made right.
