Yom Kippur

"Yom Kippur." It's a funny sounding phrase that literally means in Hebrew "Day of Atonement."

In the Hebrew Bible it is a day in which the sins of Israel are atoned for through animal sacrifice and the breaching of the Most Holy Place by the High Priest. This past Sunday I preached from Hebrews and how the author of that epistle must have reflected on where Christ fit in the grand priestly machinery of a religious society dominated my temple practices; I also reflected on how we fit into a religious system not that much unlike the temple system of the first and second centuries. I thought it was a fair effort (but what does my opinion matter?).

Today, on Yom Kippur, I stop again to reflect on the words of the author of Hebrews, and I stop to ask myself "Where DO I fit in this thing called religion?" After all, religion is a horribly awkward creature that attempts to occupy our lives in a way that binds us to habitual practice rather than relate us to a loving, ever-present God. Of course, this is a dangerous question to ask, because it has the potential to lead down a "slippery slope" towards the question I truly want to ask--"Did God ever intend for us to relate to Him through a systematized religion?" Well, if that's the question I want to ask, then I ought to just ask it!

Religion has truly become a word I like less and less (even though it was the area of study for my B.A.). I feel like our every attempt to relate to God, to Christ, through "religion" is an attempt to shove God into our own, specially made, box. After all, I was never given a list of rules, regulations, limitations, conditions, requirements, etc. when it came to loving my parents, my wife, or anyone else with whom I share an intimate relationship. So why do we force these sorts of things into our relationship with God?

If a Christian reflection on Yom Kippur is anything it ought to be a reflection of the words recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised." Christ's death served to annihilate the systematic restrictions of religion. The atonement achieved by his death was liberating in that we are now given direct access to the God we kept in a box for so long. Jesus broke the seal and destroyed the box! So why do we want the systematic enslavement that came with our pre-packaged Diety?

Perhaps the ritual of religion gives us something to cling to; perhaps it gives us somethign tangible, a handle on the unseen; perhaps it makes God easier to understand; perhaps it makes Hom easier to control (so you think!). There's no fault in desiring to relate to God through ritual, through religion, etc. But when it moves from the method of relation to the method of control, religion becomes more than a system, it becomes a golden calf, an idol--not of a false god--but of the One who refuses to be identified in an image (or even a system).

I write all of these rackous ramblings to say this: on this Yom Kippur, should we not reflect on the ways in which Christ has freed us, not only from our sins, but our own, vain attempts at correcting our iniquities? That is not to say that we ought not to take responsibility for our sins, but isn't it worth rejoicing to know that God has granted us pardon in the blood of Christ that we may continue in relationship with Him, each and every day, living each day as Yom Kippur.

CPT