At sunset tonight Yom Kippur will come to a conclusion. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, one of the two Jewish high holy days. The purpose behind Yom Kippur is reconciliation between God and humanity, between persons, and with oneself. It is a good day for as Christians to remind ourselves that we our ancestors are the Jews.
Here’s how Paul looks at this concept of peace between Jews and Christians in the early days of the church: For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. - Ephesians 2:14-18
Here are the passages for this week:
Psalm • Psalm 37
Old Testament • Habakkuk 1:1-2:4
Gospel • Luke 17:1-10
What are your idols? Ordinarily we think that idols are made of bad or even silly stuff. What comes to my mind is the golden calf that the Israelites worshiped which seems quite odd to our modern point of view. There are also those idols that are created within alternative religions. These too seem odd and, to some, evil.
