A time for repentance | Update 4 October
A weekly reflection on current global affairs concerning Israel and
the Jewish people from a Biblical perspective.
NEWS
We are in the middle of the Jewish high holidays. The Jewish people have just celebrated Rosh Hashana (New Year) and are now in the Days of Repentance. Coming Tuesday 8th – Wednesday 9th October is Yom Kippur - the Jewish day of Atonement. Many Jews will fast and pray for 25 hours. It is about returning to God.
As Christians, this is a good time for us to recall our own sins - especially our role in the persecution of the Jewish people - and to repent for Christian hatred of the Jews over the centuries.
It’s a good moment to reflect on how we are acting towards the Jews today. When we do so, we see alarming signs of growing anti-Semitism throughout the world.
This coming week, let’s get down on our knees and ask God to forgive what the Church has done to the Jews over the centuries. Trusting in our High Priest, let us ask forgiveness for the ignorance of the church today. Let us pray that the eyes of the church may be opened, and that the Lord will continue to make atonement for the sins of the Jewish people, and protect them, and fulfil His purposes of mercy and grace in them.
“I am here to ask you for forgiveness”
Read this remarkable article by C4I’s Anemone Rüger about the mass murder of Jews in Ukraine – a story of repentance, forgiveness, and how it is possible to make a new start.
>> Read article
Is reconciliation possible?
In this article, Marie Louise Weissenböck describes how in June 2019, a group of five Austrians, three Germans and six participants from the Netherlands visited Koen Carlier and his team of Christians for Israel Ukraine, to take part in an act of repentance and reconciliation.
>> Read article
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