Friday of
the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Leviticus 23:1.4-11.15-16.27.34b-37; Matthew
13:54-58)
Jews celebrate two feast days in September or early October
that often escape our attention. On the
first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar they celebrate Rosh Hashanah, their New Year. On this day the shofar or ram’s horn is blown, literally as a wake up call to the
people. The wild sound reminds everyone
that the Day of Judgment is coming when all have to give account for the good
and evil we have done. It is as festive
a day as Christmas with different kinds of special foods – fruits, honey, and
the round loaf of bread symbolizing the beginning of another year.
Ten days afterward is the holiest day of the Jewish year Yom Kippur, which the reading from
Leviticus refers to as the Day of Atonement.
Traditionally it is thought of as the day Moses finished his forty day conference
with God and brought the second set of the Commandments to the people. Seeing the golden calf, he destroyed the idol
and had the people repent. Granted
forgiveness, Jews to this day remember the event with this day of repentance for
sins. It is also a day of heightened
fasting and prayer. Most every Jew attends a synagogue service on Yom Kippur.
Christians will please Jewish acquaintances by wishing them
a happy New Year on Rosh Hashanah and
a blessed Yom Kippur. But these days should have more meaning for
us than improving our relationships with modern Jews. We should recall how Jesus was a Jew as the
gospel today makes evident. Jews are
also God’s chosen people whom we have to thank for bringing us a Savior.
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