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In the Old Testament, the Azazel goat, translated as scapegoat, was one of two goats chosen for a ceremony on The Day of Atonement. The first goat was sacrificed, but a priest would lay hands on the second goat and symbolically transfer all the sin and guilt of the community on to this animal. The scapegoat was then driven into the desert, to die, thus cleansing the community of its sin.
“And when he has made an end of atoning for The Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:20-22 RSV)
Every society, every culture has a tradition of a scapegoat; someone to blame and punish for the sin of that particular society. It follows then that in the beginning of the spiritual life when we are confronted with our own sinfulness and those around us, we are conditioned to act like the scapegoat. When I take on the identity of a scapegoat, even if I live a devout, disciplined, ascetic lifestyle with a daily round of mass, rosaries, Eucharistic Adoration and frequent confession, I still fall into the scapegoat trap. It is a trap that all of us fall into as we try to become devoted disciples of Jesus. It is a piety that in the end focuses on ourselves, our actions, our devotions and effort. I am at the front and centre, not God.
To make a shift from an egocentric lifestyle to a God-centered lifestyle is tricky business. Thank heavens the Catholic Church has always understood the need for spiritual directors. But the fundamental difference between self-centered piety and true, vibrant life in Christ is when we give up trying to save ourselves and surrender to Jesus. When we consciously choose Christ, the switch is immediate from misery to joy, even if we seem to suffer just as much in our external lives we are no longer pitiful scapegoats.
PART OF THE MASS
A: We proclaim your death, O Lord,
and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
B: When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord,
until you come again.
C: Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.
When we act like a victim sacrifice, suffering for our own failings or like a scapegoat who suffers as the result of others sins, we might like to think of ourselves as saintly martyrs, but our suffering is anything but holy. There is no act filled with more pride. We are in fact stealing Christ’s job. Christ came to suffer and die on the cross for our sins. He is the sacrificial lamb who takes away all sin. He is like the scapegoat of the Old Testament, burdened by the sins of the people who by his death and resurrection, justifies everyone by the power of His blood in the eyes of God the Father.
It takes humility to realize that our miserable, self-inflicted suffering does not save anyone, least of all ourselves. Accepting Jesus as our Saviour really goes against our grain as human beings, because we want to earn our salvation, purify ourselves by suffering out of a misplaced sense of guilt. Ironically, it usually takes suffering to break down our ego and pride. Once exhausted by trying to save ourselves, we often must hit bottom before we are desperate enough to change, to let go of our pride and control and surrender in humility to Christ our Saviour. Only the drowning man even realizes that he needs to be saved, only a sick man grasps the truth that he needs to be healed.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.(Isaiah 53:5 NASB)
Yes, there is a place for redemptive suffering. But what most of us experience is far from redemptive, because our suffering is not in union with Christ’s; we are simply falling into the scapegoat trap. Redemptive suffering is not long-faced misery, but in fact joyful because it is life-giving and life affirming as we live in, with and through Christ our Saviour. It might involve physical pain, but it is lived in the Light, in peace and in joy. When we are no longer the centre of attention, but Jesus is the centre; all heavy, psychological despair and mental anguish dissipates like insubstantial mist under the burning sunlight.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)
© 2014 Melanie Jean Juneau
16 thoughts on “Falling Into the Scapegoat Trap”
Author is ignorant about the scapegpoat role in family systems. No one wants to be a scapegoat. It is a lifetime of suffering and isolation. The only pride involved is a deficiency of self esteem…not accepting your own dignity as a child of God because you were not treated with dignity in your formative years. I don’t know how a scapegoat would be proud in the traditional sense of the word. I don’t see how anyone would be proud of being the family outcast. I fail to understand how a person could be proud of being the recipient of extreme physical abuse while their siblings are seldom given a reprimand. Your article is uniformed at best.
What is a scapegoat trap? Either your a scapegoat or your not. Do people really pretend to be scapegoats? It’s not pleasant. You usually end up cut off from everyone for no good reason. This is very weird.
It’s usually a family system that picks one person to scapegoat. The person is slandered, gossiped about, excluded etc… It’s something that starts very early in childhood and never stops.
Maybe you should do a little more research. As a family scapegoat this isn’t helpful at all.
You are right; no one CHOOSES to become the family scapegoat but we can choose to change our attitudes and responses by turning to our Saviour. Even though it was not my fault that I was the burden carrier in my family, I had to repent and let go of a scapegoat mentality.
For ten years, I was part of a group of scapegoats who worked with a Catholic psychiatrist to find healing by slowly allowing Christ to free us. Christ’s suffering saves, not my suffering.
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Melanie, this is deep. What an excellent article! We need more of this type of insight. God bless.
it is a tricky concept to grasp without direction but once you understand, it is liberating
Excellent reflection. Helps shed light on the victim posture that has become too common.
YES! The sad thing is when we think that we are sharing in Christ’s suffering when in fact we are wallowing in self- crafted misery
WOW, Perfect timing! Really, It’s not very often anymore I get up and wonder the house in the middle of the night. I did last night. Early in my conversion, years ago, I would tell people not to put their guilt on me, I had no room for it. Last night, I was telling my self, “I’m just so dam tired of giving”! This morning, that sounds to me like, “I don’t want to serve”…. Truly, thanks for taking the time to write this article, I needed to hear it today! That doesn’t mean I’m not real tired………..
Perhaps it is God’s perfect timing
ALWAYS IS!
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Thank you for that. I have to work on the pride that made me grateful
there was no one here to see the blush.
no need, it is just the truth
Very nice.
Since your comments are always insightful, piercing through the rhetoric, I am honoured.