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The Sacrifice. |
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The Sacrifice. In the sequence of the cards of the major arcana in the
Tarot, there is often a correspondence between succeeding cards. After having showed that
true believers can shut the mouth of a lion, there is no room for pride, as if the power
of true believers came from themselves…No, the card before us, the sacrifice, reminds
us that the road of discipleship often leads to persecution. The apostle Peter was
crucified upside down just as the victim here in card 12.
Jesus told Peter this would happen to him:
True disciples of the Great Pattern can expect no more glorious an earthly fate than He. Remember that He said, the "student is not greater than the teacher. If they did these things to Me, how much more to you?" The gold pieces dropping from the victim’s hands are a reminder that the refinings of persecution we undergo are meant to purge us of the dross of carnality and the fallen nature. The love of money and pleasure must be removed by the skilled surgical hand of the Great Physician. Jesus gives a message to believers living in days like ours where earthly treasure is abundant. This message tells them to buy gold from Him:
Gold. That is what the seeker should get. Gold. The kind of gold dripping from the fingers of the Sacrifice in card 12 of the Tarot...the gold of self-sacrificing character, the gold of nobility, the gold of purity, the gold of large-heartedness. This gold is not valued in today's Hollywood culture. It is not often valued on trashy talk shows. It is not valued by opportunistic politicians. But there is one sober character, if he is allowed to get the attention of the seeker, who can help him/her see that gold of character is something worth living for, whose value does not fade... The character in the next Tarot card...
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