Though anti-Semitism has...
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Though anti-Semitism has been on the wane in recent years in America, a 2011 poll by the anti-Defamation League found that there are still 15% of the public who are confirmed anti-Semites. The bigotry still appears in subtle ways. In the same poll it was found that 3 in 10 Americans think American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. This lesson makes clear that God is not about to give up on the Jews. They had the prophets and Jesus is descended from them. So much of Western society (including our legal-system-based-morality related to the Ten Commandments) is rooted in Judaism. Many Christian worship practices like our altars and ministry are rooted in Jewish precedents. For Christians to be anti-Semitic is like spitting on our mother.
In fact, the covenant with Abraham is still in place; Jews are still the chosen people. Of course this specialness is not one of privilege. Zvi Shapiro, a contemporary American Jewish rabbi, has claimed that when you understand the Jewish concept of choseness, "It's not such a good deal." It's a lot of extra work. For from a Jewish perspective, Jews are chosen only in the sense of being an example to humankind (Leo Trepp, Judaism, p. 7). And most of us will agree that on that score most have done a pretty good job. No, God has not abandoned the Jewish community.
This lesson then also speaks of the never-changing character of God, a testimony that he does not welch on his promises. Contemporary Finnish theologian and writer Mari-Anna Stalnacke provides a word of comfort on this matter: "One thing you can be certain of: God will never give up on you. Never. He will always keep his promises. No matter of what you do or have done God has not changed his offer for you. You can choose to leave but God will not go away and leave you."
A God who has not abandoned the Jewish community will never leave us either. When we believe that we can sing with the sixteenth-century Catholic nun Teresa of Avila: "Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All things pass; God never changes... he who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices."
In fact, the covenant with Abraham is still in place; Jews are still the chosen people. Of course this specialness is not one of privilege. Zvi Shapiro, a contemporary American Jewish rabbi, has claimed that when you understand the Jewish concept of choseness, "It's not such a good deal." It's a lot of extra work. For from a Jewish perspective, Jews are chosen only in the sense of being an example to humankind (Leo Trepp, Judaism, p. 7). And most of us will agree that on that score most have done a pretty good job. No, God has not abandoned the Jewish community.
This lesson then also speaks of the never-changing character of God, a testimony that he does not welch on his promises. Contemporary Finnish theologian and writer Mari-Anna Stalnacke provides a word of comfort on this matter: "One thing you can be certain of: God will never give up on you. Never. He will always keep his promises. No matter of what you do or have done God has not changed his offer for you. You can choose to leave but God will not go away and leave you."
A God who has not abandoned the Jewish community will never leave us either. When we believe that we can sing with the sixteenth-century Catholic nun Teresa of Avila: "Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All things pass; God never changes... he who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices."
