The image of a scapegoat recalls a ritual performed by ancient Israel on their holiest day of the year—Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. A goat was chosen by means of casting lots. Actually there were two goats chosen, one was killed as a sin offering to make atonement for the holy place, the other was allowed to live to make atonement for the sins of the people.
Presider: God be with you. People: And also with you. Presider: Open your hearts. People: We open our hearts to God.
The Great Thanksgiving
It is right and a good and joyful thing to give thanks to you always, Creator God, because you have made the world in all its complexity.
The Year of Luke is the first in a series of commentaries on biblical scripture found in the three-year cycle of Christian liturgical