Transcript
FRITSCH: Our Old Testament lesson is from the sixteenth chapter of the book of Leviticus. This chapter describes the liturgy for the Day of Atonement, several portions from this chapter. "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood within the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before
the mercy seat. Thus, he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so we shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. There shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself,
for his house, and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go after the alter which is before the Lord and make atonement for it and shall take some of the blood of the bull and the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar roundabout. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood upon it with his fingers seven times and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meaning and the altar, he shall present a live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put upon them upon the head of the goat and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their
iniquities upon him to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness. It shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For in this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. From all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.
It's a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves for it is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the sanctuary. He shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be
an everlasting statute for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him." Then a few verses from the epistle of the Hebrews, the ninth chapter, beginning at the eleventh verse. "And when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect
not made with hands, that is not of His creation, He entered once for all into the holy place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ
who, through the eternal spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God? Purify your conscience from dead words to serve the living God." May the Lord follow with his blessing these readings from His holy Word, and to His name be the glory. First of all, again, I'd like to thank those who are
participating in this service this morning. Mr. Graham Ogden, a graduate student in the biblical department, the Old Testament. Also, Donald Oliver and James [Pohlhammer?], both seniors who are helping us this morning. We appreciate all that they are doing for us. Now just a word about the significance of this day in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur,
as we read, falls on the 10th day of Tishri, that's the seventh month, which begins actually this evening at sundown. It is the most sacred day of the Jewish calendar, often called the Great Day. It is a day of solemn rest and worship, a day of fasting and penitence
the whole household of Israel. Just as a liturgy of Rosh Hashanah emphasizes personal confession of sin, repentance, so the liturgy of Yom Kippur emphasizes the confession of national sin and the need of God's redeeming grace for the whole nation. This is clearly brought out in Leviticus 16,
which we have read this morning, or parts of it. After Aaron had made atonement for his own sins -- and this is significant, the high priest has to make atonement for his own sins first. After that, Aaron killed one of the two goats chosen by Lot for the day's ceremony, and he enters the veil, manipulating the blood on and around the mercy seat, the kippuret. Same word practically, the same
root as the word "kippur." He manipulates the blood on and around the kippuret, the mercy seat, to make atonement for the people. And then secondly, he took the live goat and laid his hands upon it, confessing over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, iniquities of the whole nation.
And he sent it out into the wilderness, bearing away the sins of the nation. This, it seems to me, is one of the great surpluses of the Old Testament which we Christians have utterly ignored or completely forgotten. Would it not be well for us as a nation, in the light of our moral
bankruptcy at home and abroad, to set aside one day in the year to confess our corporate sins before Almighty God and implore his mercy and forgiveness before it is too late. In the words of Joel, "'Yet even now,' says the Lord, 'Return to me with all your heart with fasting,
with weeping, with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.'" Then the significant question from the book of Jonah: "Who knows? Who knows? God may yet repent
and turn from his fierce anger so that we perish not."
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 1: From the Union Prayer Book of Jewish Worship, let us bow in prayer. "O God and Father, I come into Thy benign presence to lift my voice in penitent prayer. This day of atonement is a messenger from on high, calling me in love to return to Thee. May it be Thy Will,
O Master of the Universe, that I may hear and heed Thy voice. Thou hast given me the understanding to distinguish between good and evil and hast bestowed upon me freedom of will to choose between them. Often have I disregarded Thy words and strayed from Thy path. But in Thy mercy dost Thou give me the means of turning from my evil ways and coming back
unto the path on which Thou desirest me to go. Give me strength, O my God, to cast out the complacency and the self-righteousness that have blinded my eyes and led me to my failings and misconduct. Forgive my sins, O merciful Father. May I find tranquility for my troubled soul. Help me to look into my own heart and thus come to know myself. Let me seek
and find reconciliation with those of my fellow men whom I have grieved. May I be worthy of their renewed affection and confidence. Remove malice and hatred from my heart against those who wish me ill. May I seek to be reconciled, O Lord, with my fellow men and with Thee. O Thou who art the loving Father of all, hear my prayer, and in thy mercy answer me. Amen.