Last night I participated in a Yom Kippur service. About 100 people of Jewish, Christian, and other heritages packed into a quaint Episcopal church to pray on this most sacred of Jewish holidays.
I recall spending Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv twelve years ago. On this day in Israel, traffic stops, work comes to an end, people gather with friends or family and spend the day fasting. Honestly, by three o'clock in the afternoon I was so restless and hungry I walked to a local park a couple of miles away just to keep myself busy. Slowing down can be difficult for driven types like me. Yet reflection is a needed spiritual discipline in my life.
Last night's worship gathering impacted me. Among all the religious diversity, we came together in one Spirit. I shared on forgiveness and loving your enemies from the Christian and Buddhist traditions. My Episcopal priest friend shared on forgiveness from the Lakota tribe perspective. A Pentecostal minister friend expounded on Psalm 23 on how the L-rd is always with us. An inter-faith reverend wowed us with stirring comments on how G-d unites us when we relate from the heart. Rabbi Jenny led prayers in Hebrew and English.
I felt the Spirit there. Jenny said the angels were present. I think she was right. I felt one or two brush by when she chanted Kol Nidre.
As a follower of the way of Jesus, my faith compels me to gather with the spiritually dissimilar. More often than not, I find when we gather we have much more in common than what we thought separates us.
On this Day of Atonement, I'm reflecting on what unifies, more than what divides. We need more of that in the world. I need more of that in my life.
Yom tov.
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