This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains."
As Saint Luke tells the story, Saint Paul insisted that his preaching should be welcomed by Jews throughout the world. He was absolutely convinced that Jesus had come not to change or annul the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it.
But the more he said that, the more opposition he met. At least part of the problem was his welcome of gentiles into Jewish history and beliefs. Had he only spoken of Jesus he might have fared better, but that would not be true to the Spirit he'd been given, nor to the Word of God.
For this apostle the transition from the "Old Covenant" to the "New" was seamless. He found abundant support for that belief in the stories of Abraham and the writings of the Hebrew prophets. It made no sense that the history of Israel's adventures, misadventures, suffering, blessings, and glory should not belong to the whole world. He knew the Jewish mission to the whole world would be fulfilled by his preaching the Good News of Jesus.
Zygmunt Bauman, in his sociological study, Modernity and the Holocaust, reported that, before the Second World War, most Germans had little concern about the Jews in their country, one way or the other. As "a nationality without a nation," German Jews were neither admired nor despised. Poland and other eastern European nations were far more antisemitic, and that eastern animosity periodically broke out in violence. Kristallnacht proved to be a disappointment and setback to the Nazis who spawned the pogram. Most Germans, like most people, disliked the violence; and many assisted their Jewish neighbors to clean up the broken glass and reopen the shops.
Many Americans today seem to have the same laissez faire attitude. They do not know Jews, have little feeling about them, and suppose antisemitic Americans are feeding themselves with hate for no apparent reason. Perhaps it gives certain kooks a thrill to claim a Nazi past with a pastiche of Christianity. And some find the support of equally weird Christian pastors.
Saint Paul knew that Christians were grafted onto the blessed tree whose roots are in Abraham. Should the Jews disappear from the Earth, as Hitler and his people intended, no one would know Jesus. He would be lost to us, as well Mary and the Apostolic Church. Without the Jews in the world today, Egypt might as well have annihilated the escaping Hebrews on the shores of the Red Sea; they might never have received the Ten Commandments, occupied the Promised Land, or built Jerusalem. Their history and all human history would be swept away, along with the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. God's word would have failed. Human history would be aimless and pointless. The Earth would again be a formless waste in abysmal darkness.
Saint Paul brought many of his own Jewish people through the narrow gate to faith in Jesus. Today Christians must also go through the narrow gate to honor their abiding presence in the world.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.