For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.
Leviticus 16:30
Dear members and friends,
At the end of each year, some of us might wish to begin the coming year entirely new, leaving all the mistakes of the past and the consequential burdens behind. That is perhaps why people in the world formed a variety of rituals to wash away darkness from the past and welcome a brand-new year. As a teenager, I was informed by some adult Koreans of just such a ritual. At midnight on December 31st, I should walk through the darkness of the night and climb a mountain near the city to a specific spot where I could embrace the light from the rising sun. Supposedly, the touch of the light from the rising sun on the first day of the new year might wash or melt away all the darkness from my past. Somehow, I believed this and tried it for three consecutive years. Well, the reality was not in my favor. The refreshed feeling was certainly real, but only lasted for a week or so. After that, all things were back to normal or at times, even worse.
There is a belief in traditional Christianity hangs over all of humanity like a dark cloud. According to this belief, the darkness came from the sin of Adam, damning the entire humanity to hell. This darkness is called the Original Sin. Interestingly, yet with a degree of confusion, this darkness can only be removed by faith in the birth and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The fundamental problem of this belief comes from one simple question: what happened to the people before Jesus came? This belief in Original Sin is not mentioned in the entire Bible. Further, an enlightening teaching in Leviticus is that through Moses, God assured humans complete and total atonement by saying, “For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.” This verse emphasizes that all sins shall be clean before the Lord! The Hebrew word translated of “all” is kol, meaning “all, every, whole, entire or total,” thus it is clear that God provided a way to be clean from all sins since the very beginning.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment of prayer and reflection. What is done is done, and what is gone is gone. Let us take a mindful moment to consider what is in our hands right now. May the loving and wise God be present with you, and guide you toward your destination.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee