Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. It’s the most important day on the Jewish calendar. The traditional greeting for Yom Kippur is “may you be sealed in the book of life.” Jews believe that on Yom Kippur, God forgives (or erases) any sins committed against God, but not those committed against another human being. They believe that to come out of Yom Kippur in a sanctified state, you must also make amends or seek forgiveness from anyone you have wronged over the past year.

Interestingly, Jesus seems to echo this thinking in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Matt 5:23, NRSV

In effect, Jesus says you need to get right with your neighbor before you can get right with God. That’s the same spirit reflected today in Yom Kippur.

Grace and Intentional Forgiveness

There’s a lesson here for modern Christianity. We have a laser focus on the grace of God covering all of our sins, which is at the core of Christianity. But has this single-minded focus led us to think we get a “free-pass” on making amends with those we have wronged, either intentionally or unintentionally? God forbid! We need to remember that grace may be an “unmerited gift,” but that gift comes with obligations. God, as the giver of that gift, demands our covenant loyalty. The most obvious sign of that loyalty is that we love our neighbors as ourselves—including forgiving them and seeking their forgiveness.

It is not enough to claim that God has forgiven us, and that’s all that matters. Jesus doesn’t teach that. A little bit later in the same passage, he instructs his disciples on how they should pray. Within that model prayer is the following phrase, along with an explanation:

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Matt 6:12, 14–15

In this prayer, Jesus focuses on the personal obligation to forgive others. Not only must Jesus’s disciples seek out forgiveness for wrongs they have committed against others, but they must freely offer forgiveness when someone wrongs them. Not surprisingly, Jesus’ teachings are pretty well-aligned with Jewish beliefs and practices around this aspect of Yom Kippur.

The more I think about it, Jesus has A LOT to say about forgiveness. In Luke 6:37, he says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” A chapter later, he drops the proverbial hammer on Simon, a devoutly religious man, when Simon reacts to a “sinful” woman who anoints Jesus’ feet. Jesus tells Simon, “whoever has been forgiven little, loves little.” Core within Jesus’ reply is the counterpoint: whoever has been forgiven much loves much.

I’m not a big fan of Christians co-opting Jewish practices. But I think Christianity can learn something from Judaism and Yom Kippur. We need a reminder that by God’s grace, we “may be sealed in the book of life,” but it is not without obligation on our part. We could use the reminder that we must seek forgiveness from our neighbors for the wrongs we have done them and forgive those who have wronged us. Setting aside a day each year for this purpose would be a good start. Maybe that day should be Yom Kippur.