More and more we see ‘faith leaders’ expressing their political views and, in so doing, basically telling us that if we don’t adopt their views (which, therefor, must be the views of God Almighty) then we are in direct conflict with the Lord. Politics have so infiltrated our lives that it seems there is little room for anything else. I drift into the realm of politics myself, occasionally, usually to connect with what I am writing Spiritually. But I have noticed that the more political I get, the more this blog is read. And this is why ‘faith leaders’ have taken it upon themselves to be political leaders. Everyone wants to be listened to, right?

          So, if you are just itching for something with a political twist, click out of here and go to www.foxnews.com. But right now, right here, we are going to delve into the Spiritual.

          I want to get this written and posted before sundown on Thursday, September 16, 2021. From sundown on Wednesday to sundown on Thursday is the one day celebration of Yom Kippur. To a lot of Christians, it is some obscure Jewish holiday and has no meaning for them. For some people of a certain age, it triggers a thought of the Yom Kippur War. This war was launched in 1973 by Egypt and Syria against Israel during both Yom Kippur and Ramadan, believing the Jews would never imagine an attack coming during Holy Days of both the Jews and the Muslims. It threatened to destabilize the Middle East and was a concern here because it interfered with the flow of oil. But that is about all. I would guess most Christians, and certainly most Americans, have very little knowledge of what Yom Kippur is to both the Jewish and Christian people.

          However, Yom Kippur is the holiest of days to the Jews and the very central point of the Christian faith. Nothing else is more important.

           In English, Yom Kippur is The Day of Atonement. For the Jews, it is the holiest day of the year. This goes back to Leviticus 23. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sacrifice a lamb on the alter in the Temple. Then, he would drain the blood of the lamb into a bowl. Next, he would immerse his hands in the blood and enter through the veil into the Holy of Holies, where there was a place called the Mercy Seat. With his eyes averted from the Mercy Seat, he would sprinkle the blood from his hands on the Seat and the glory of God would fill the Temple as the sacrifice was accepted for the nation Israel for another year. Then, the High Priest would exit the Holy of Holies and step out on a balcony and face the people. With the blood of the sacrifice still on his hands, he would lift his hands wide to either side of his body and shout, “It is finished!” This signified atonement for another year. All of this was very ceremonial and represented atonement for the people. When the observance of the Day of Atonement first began, the people understood that it represented the coming Messiah and His coming sacrifice. In time, they began to believe that they were actually receiving atonement by this act. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman general Titus, the ceremony of the Day of Atonement ceased. For the Jews now, Yom Kippur represents great sadness, but also great hope that one day the Temple will be rebuilt and the ceremony reinstituted. It is remembered now with fasting and sorrow.

          For Christians, Yom Kippur is the fulfillment of all that is holy. Old Testament prophecy indicated that the Promised One, the Messiah, would be both the Sacrificial Lamb and the High Priest. In the Messiah’s life and death, all would see how this impossible thing could be fulfilled. In His life, Jesus, bit by bit, established that He was the High Priest. His cleansing of the Temple was not the act of one who was straightening out his church, but instead it was the act of One Who was preparing His House for the Great Day of Atonement, the culmination of prophecy and sacrifice. When they seized Him, tortured Him, tried Him and then murdered Him on the Cross, He became the sacrificial Lamb. While on the Cross, with His hands held wide to either side of His body, with the very blood of His own body covering His own hands, He called out, “It is finished,” thus fulfilling the final function of the High Priest. With this, He died. At that moment, the veil within the Temple tore open, signifying to all that the true last sacrifice had been completed and now all had access to God, if they so choose.

          On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Jewish people are filled with sorrow that their most holy of days has been brought to a halt. On the same day, Christians, who should be filled with joy and blessing because their atonement has been covered by the Lamb, are mostly unknowing that the day is even upon us. Ah, but wait, Pastor! We celebrate this all on Resurrection Day! And this is true. We break out the Easter colors and the rabbits and the chicks and the eggs and we turn our great holy days into pagan observances.

          My Hebrew professor in school was amazing in his lack of humor. He wasn’t humorless. He was just one of those people who, when he said something humorous, it took a day or two for it to sink in. He took the history and the passions and the languages of the Hebrew people very seriously. On the subject of Yom Kippur, he told us the common blessing given from one Jew to the other is ‘G’mar chatima tova.’ It means, ‘May you be sealed in the Book of Life.’ For them, it was meant for the year. For us, it is a blessing for all time.

May the joy of this Day of Atonement fill your Spirit even on the darkest of days. And, as Larry Ray usually ends his e-mails to me, ‘Shalom.’