Trash Night

My husband and I have a nightly routine: every evening one of us (normally him) takes out the day’s accumulated trash. Sure, throughout the course of the day we might make a trip to the recycle bin to toss in some paper, plastic or cardboard, but for the most part, the household garbage is just tossed in the container under the kitchen sink to await its transfer, normally after we have completed our supper and the dishes are all but done. We pride ourselves on who actually removes the last pod from the Keurig, therefore robbing the other one of the joy. 

Then comes trash day, which is a Thursday for us. So on Wednesday night, the ritual is to make sure all the trash in the house is collected, bagged, tossed in the outside garbage bin and hauled to the street for pick up the next day. It is a weekly occurrence and if we miss it, one of two things will happen: either we are running down the driveway before dawn the next morning with bins in tow as we hear the trash truck approaching or our bin becomes overflowing, smelly and an attraction for the resident raccoons.

Side note: when we lived in Richmond Hill some 25 years ago, there was no garbage pick up and so we had to go to the land fill on a regular basis. They also had individualized bins for glass, cardboard, plastic, etc. We would throw the itemized bags in the minivan and my kids would ride like garbage men on the side of their trucks, jumping off and throwing the items in the appropriate containers. They had so much fun doing it that I actually became concerned they might make it their life’s calling.

Reading through Leviticus this morning, I was reminded that the Israelites had their own “trash” day, just on a much larger and more serious note. And instead of weekly, theirs happened only once a year on what was called the Day of Atonement.

We read in Lev. 16:9-10, Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel (NRSV).

Scholars can’t agree on exactly what or who this Azazel was, but what we do know is that Azazel’s non-sacrificial “tote” goat (scapegoat) served as a ritual “garbage truck” to purge the Israelite community of desecration through this process of “transfer.” And what’s interesting to me is that the Israelites were not the only ones to observe such a ritual as other ancient Near Eastern cultures had their own rites of transfer and disposal. It seems that we all are born with some kind of knowing and desire to be “clean.”

So they took out the trash, purging themselves for whatever short period they could.

Of course, the Israelite ritual pointed to a far greater event and one that was a “once for all” kind of deal. The Old Testament ritual upheld the promise of a coming Messiah who would be the ultimate Scapegoat, One who would provide the end of all garbage pick up. And thanks be to God, that work has been done through Jesus Christ and Him alone.

So the next time you haul your bin to the street or your load to the land fill, return to your door with a lilt in your step, a heart full of gratitude and a joy beyond measure because the One who takes away your “trash” has come. You are forgiven, restitution has been made, and full fellowship is yours. 

Glory be to the One who did it all.