This week is Yom Kippur. For our Jewish neighbors it is the holiest day of the year. Many will spend the day in fasting, repentance and prayer. They are forced to think about their sins. To confess them to God, and to each other. It is an ancient and powerful day; it goes all the way back to their temple in Jerusalem, and even before that to their tabernacle in the wilderness, which was basically a temple in a tent. The name means “Day of Atonement”.
It comes from the book of Leviticus, where this yearly event is described in detail. Each year, on this day, two goats were selected. One was sacrificed and one was released. The blood of the first goat was brought into “the Holy of Holies”, where it was sprinkled on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. (Yes, that box that Indiana Jones found in the movie) This was the only time of the year that a human could enter this sacred space behind the veil; to make atonement for the nation. The high priest would take the second goat and, laying his hands on its head, he would confess the sins of the people onto the animal. That goat would then be led out into the wilderness, far away from the camp, and released. This is where we get the term “scapegoat”.
This 3500-year-old ritual seems so strange to our modern minds. An offense to our “enlightened” sensibilities. Blood? Of a goat? It is barbaric. It is ugly. It is offensive. But that is precisely the point. Our sins are barbaric, offensive and ugly. Our resentfulness, our ingratitude, our secret lusts. No amount of post-modern pseudo rationalism can change that. No amount of psychological expertise can fix that. with all our advancement in technology, government and civilization, can anyone seriously make the case that human nature is any different than it was 3500 years ago? Could it be that these ancient priests and Levites may have something to teach us?
Many of us feel we have outgrown atonement; that we have no need of forgiveness. There is nothing wrong with me, there is something wrong with society. If there are such things as “sin” or guilt, it is others, not mine. All guilt is collective. All crimes are systemic. I do not have to change, the world does. Why would I ever examine my own heart when I can just sit back and piously condemn “the system”? This is a recipe for social disaster. How can I look in the mirror and call myself fine? How can you? Consider the things we do to each other, the things we say about each other, the things we think about each other. When I sin against the image of God, (which is you), I am sinning against God, and I need forgiveness from both; the ancient Hebrews understood this. We dare not scoff at them.
Atonement has been lost. Forgiveness is rarely asked for, and almost never offered. I seem able to stumble through each day convincing myself that I am good with God and with all men. I believe I have no need of forgiveness, of repentance, of repair, of cleansing. Surely these are the thoughts of a madman, disconnected from the reality we all share. We have tossed aside atonement, like a child does with a gift it does not understand. We have traded away the beauty of forgiveness and atonement for a mess of pottage. In their place we have received record levels of depression and despair, of suicide and opioid addiction, of alcoholism, and divorce. Who needs a high priest when you can have fentanyl?
The New Testament writers present the crucifixion of Jesus as the ultimate Yom Kippur. Yes my Jewish friends, I confess, we totally highjacked your holiday. But I cannot apologize for it, because what was happening on that cross two thousand years ago cannot be overstated. What if we could truly send our sins away? Not just out of the camp, but out of existence. The word atone means “to cover”. It is as if year after year God had been covering our sins, like on a divine credit card. The debt is still there, and real, and must be paid someday. We believe, that in Jesus, God came down and paid off the credit card at his own expense. In fact the payment was so extravagant that it also paid off all future debts. When referring to this the bible repeatedly says that what Jesus did he did “once for all”. It never has to be repeated. He has finally and truly “carried away” our sins.
Atonement is the foundation of all forgiveness. Forgiveness means freedom. It means no condemnation. It brings fresh winds from heaven to blow through our dusty hearts. It is the smile of God on broken sinners like me. Jesus was no martyr; he came here on a rescue mission. He was God paying a debt he did not owe, because we had a debt we could not pay. It is the wealthiest ruler ever to walk the earth giving away all that he has, so that rebels and ingrates could be forgiven. It baffles the angels.
So next week, when the Day of Atonement comes, remember those you have wronged and seek forgiveness; and if any have wronged you, forgive them. Start over with a clean slate. And remember the Israelites, those who revealed to us the glory and grace of the God of Abraham. And consider your own guilt as you stand before that eternal burning holiness. Then look to the man who the Roman soldiers sneeringly, but correctly, named the last “king of the Jews”. The one who God used as giant planet-sized Scapegoat. The one who carried away our sins, only to drown them in an ocean of mercy. Now every day is a reset; every day is new; every day is holy; every day is Yom Kippur.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”