“Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves.” Corinthians

September often feels like a season of transition. Summer begins to fade, familiar routines return, and many of us look at the remaining months of the year with new plans and renewed purpose. In the Jewish tradition, this season also brings Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, followed ten days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Together, these sacred observances invite reflection, repentance, and reconciliation with God and with one another.

Through my work and relationships with the Jewish community, I have encountered a practice that I find deeply moving. During this season, many Jewish people examine not only their relationship with God but also their relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Before asking God for forgiveness, they may first approach those they have hurt, intentionally or unintentionally, and offer a sincere apology.

Learning about this practice led me to ask myself a simple but challenging question: How many people have passed through my life without ever receiving an apology they may have deserved?

I think about former workplaces, shared projects, friendships, and chapters of life that have already ended. We can spend years working alongside others, celebrating accomplishments and facing difficulties together, yet never take time to acknowledge the moments when our words, decisions, or actions caused pain. Sometimes we leave conversations unfinished because of pride or discomfort. Sometimes we convince ourselves that too much time has passed. Yet this season reminds us that it is rarely too late to say, “I am sorry,” or to begin repairing what was broken.

As a Christian, I find this invitation deeply connected to Jesus’s call to repentance and reconciliation. Jesus begins his public ministry by proclaiming, “Change your hearts and lives!

Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” (Matthew 4:17, CEB). Repentance is more than feeling guilty. It means turning around, changing direction, and choosing a way of life grounded in God’s love.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur belong to the Jewish tradition and should be honored in their own sacred context. Still, they can help Christian neighbors reflect more deeply on values our traditions share: humility, accountability, mercy, and the restoration of relationships. God’s grace does not erase our responsibility to those we have hurt. Instead, grace gives us the courage to tell the truth, seek forgiveness, make amends, and grow.

Perhaps this is the invitation September offers all of us: to pause and examine our hearts. Is there someone we need to call? Is there an apology we have postponed? Is there a person we need to forgive or a burden we need to release? Reconciliation cannot change the past, but it can transform what becomes possible in the future.

This September, I want to thank those who have walked beside me, acknowledge my mistakes with honesty, and gently revisit chapters that may still need healing. Asking forgiveness is not a sign of weakness; it is an act of courage, humility, and love.

May this season remind us that, through God’s grace, there is always an opportunity to heal, reconcile, and begin again.

Humberto Cruz Guadarrama

Board of Directors

Humberto@ResurrectionMCC.org

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