Atonement

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, by Maurycy Gottlieb (1878)

 

This evening marks the beginning of the Jewish Day of Atonement known as Yom Kippur. It is a solemn and holy day of repentance, which includes fasting and prayer. Atonement has a number of definitions, and is different in Judaism and Christianity.

 

Atonement

            reparation for a wrong or injury.(eg "

she wanted to make atonement for her husband's behaviour")

• (in religious contexts) reparation or expiation for sin.

  "an annual ceremony of confession and atonement for sin"
• Christian Theology

  the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ.

From my understanding, atonement is an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, and a willingness to choose a new path. As a Christian I do this in the grace of Christ.

 

There is acknowledgement in some Jewish circles that the contrition of this day might include awareness of our human destructiveness of the world God has created. In the Tikkun workbook for the High Holidays the question is asked:

 

 

 

Which of our society’s political, economic, or social institutions have destructive consequences to the environment, social justice, or our capacity to be loving and compassionate human beings? Have you challenged any of them in the public arena?

 

This week I have been sorrowful about the news that in the past forty years half of the wild creatures of the planet have disappeared from the land, and sky, and sea. To put that differently, since I was about twenty years old, 50% of the wild things have faded out of the glorious mural of planetary life. This makes me heartsick. How can this be?

 

I know I can do better. I want to do better. Canadians have one of the largest ecological footprints amongst nations, so that includes me. I won't walk around in sackcloth and ashes, even though I do want to repent of my foolish ways. Instead, I will consider how to live more simply, to walk more lightly, and with a deeper commitment to caring for the Earth. My Christian faith teaches me that God loved humans and the whole wide and wild world so deeply that God chose to be a human, a groundling, in the person of Jesus.

 

If I am truly a Christ-person, I will repent and atone and do my best to create a hopeful world.

 

Thoughts?