a time for repentance and release
hostages no more!
There are numerous calendars used around the world. The most familiar one is the Gregorian, running from January to December. Then there is the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the months in the Bible. We are now in the month of Elul, which began on Tuesday the 3rd at sunset. (The days run from sunset to sunset. Elul can be spotted on the calendar near the bottom of the page.)
The name “Elul” (אֶלוֺל) is an acronym for the first four Hebrew words of the Song of Solomon 6:3. “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Elul emphasizes the passionate love (the madly passionate love) Yahweh has for the people.
That crazy mad love conjures up a powerful image. It is that of a king deigning to set aside the rituals of approaching his majesty, of coming into the royal presence. Indeed, Elul celebrates “the king in the field.” The king goes out to the people, wherever they are. The “field” can be a literal field, where crop and animal are tended. The field can be any nature of work.
The field can be any nature of life: marriage, home, family, influence. The field can be dreams. The air is charged with holiness. The king par excellence, the King of kings, Jesus the Messiah is royalty incarnate. Jesus traverses into the field, meeting us where we are.
Counting from the first day of Elul are forty days until Yom Kippur in Tishrei. (Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.) Jewish tradition holds that these are known as the 40 Days of Favor. This is a time of reflection and repentance, moving toward the month of Tishrei. It begins on Elul 1 because that day is remembered as the worship of the Golden Calf. Forty days was envisioned as the time necessary for Israel’s repentance.
This year’s observance of the 40 Days is especially poignant. It is the first since the horror of October 7 last year. On Saturday, the bodies of six hostages murdered by Hamas terrorists were discovered by the Israel Defense Force. Among the multitude of mourners is Rachel Goldberg-Polin, speaking on behalf of her son, Hersh. She has addressed various audiences, including the Democratic National Convention in August. She has touched so many lives.
This is indeed a penitential season. Yet it is also a time of mercy and forgiveness. Each day Psalm 27 is read. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (v. 1). The first half of the psalm is a joyous affirmation of assurance. The second half is a desperate plea. At the end there is the summation, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (v. 14). How befitting it is for a thoroughgoing journey of renewal.
Is there someone we hold as hostage? To what or to whom are we hostage? It is time for pardon, for absolution. “And the chains fell off his wrists” (Acts 12:7). It is time for the chains to fall.
Jesus sets the captives free.
