No offering that we could bring could possibly reconcile us to Thee, our God. All that we can plead is the work of Thy Son, His perfect obedience in all that He did and all that He suffered, His body nailed to the cross for us, His blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. -- A. C. Piepkorn, *The Church* p. 241
Or as we Orthodox would say, "offering unto Thee Thine own of Thine own in behalf of all and for all."--Anaphora of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
ReplyDeleteThat is ALMOST what he went on to pray:
ReplyDeleteAs by the mystery of the sacramental union Thou hast made His true Body and Blood present for us in this Bread and this Cup, for us Christians to eat and to drink, so, we beseech Thee, let it be present in Thy sight also as the price of our redemption. Let it remind Thee that Thou hast forgiven mankind in the reconciliation which Thou hast wrought in Thy Son. Before Thee we appeal to no virtue, no righteousness of our own, but only the alien righteousness of Thy Suffering Servant and Son, our true Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us and has taken away the sin of the world, Who by His death has destroyed death, and by His rising to life against has restored to us everlasting life.