Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. – Leviticus 25:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 9, 2015): Leviticus 25

Guilt seems to be such a wasted emotion. I understand the purpose of it. Our own essence convicts us of the things that we have done wrong. Once we have “felt guilty” about something, we get a chance to “put things right.” If we decide not to “put things right,” our guilt grows until our spirit finally hardens over it and the guilt feeling begins to slowly dissipate. Once that happens, our chance to “put things right” is often lost. The Bible often refers to this process as the “hardening of the heart.” But even a hardened heart can be broken – and when it is the overwhelming guilt returns.

All of this describes what we might call the healthy side of guilt. The unhealthy side  of guilt is that these feelings often seem to run out control even after things have been put right, and a number of us feel guilty over things for which there is no reason to feel guilty. The guilt system inside of our brains has run amok – and the overwhelming sense of false guilt begins to destroy us from within. Unfortunately, religion often seems to tap into this unhealthy guilt. Some religious institutions are built around this kind of guilt, continually asking whether or not the guilty one has done enough to pay for their wrongdoing. And it is precisely this guilt that seems to be such a waste.

It is interesting that the year of Jubilee, a year in which Israel is to “proclaim liberty throughout the land to all of its inhabitants” (Leviticus 25:10) begins with the Day of Atonement (Yom Kipper) and not with the beginning of the Jewish Civil year (Rosh Hashanah) which takes place ten days earlier. And the principal that seems to be at work is that forgiveness must be given before freedom can be proclaimed, because our guilt is one of our biggest barriers to experiencing true freedom. The Day of Atonement accomplishes the task, proclaiming forgiveness on a national basis.

In our culture, the Christian Church should be one of the loudest voices proclaiming the coming of freedom – after all, atonement has been accomplished and freedom delivered to the entire world through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Every Christian needs to hear these next words very clearly – guilt has been taken care of once and for all. What seems to run rampant in the Christian church is not healthy guilt, but rather guilt run amok. And as long as that is true, we are unable to proclaim the message of freedom that the world needs to hear. Our atonement has been accomplished once and for all. And at the foot of the cross, the place where our atonement was accomplished, freedom must begin. It is time to declare the year of Jubilee, because for the Christian, every year is a Jubilee Year.

(Special Note – Pope Francis has declared that 2016 to be a year of Jubilee in the Christian Church emphasizing God’s mercy. The last year of Jubilee was declared in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.)

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 26