Antisemitism is on the rise again. And it’s from both ends of the ideological spectrum: from both the so-called “right” and “left”, from self-designated “progressives” and “conservatives”.
Recently the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in France issued a strong statement condemning antisemitism, urging “not only Catholics, but also all their fellow citizens to fight vigorously against all forms of political and religious antisemitism in and around them.”
Jesus was—is—a Jew. So is Mary, his mother, “Daughter of Sion”, “Mother of the Church”, “Mother of God”! And so are Saint Joseph, the Twelve Apostles, most if not all four of the Evangelists; and, of course, Saint Paul, the Pharisee, who once described himself as “far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors” (Galatians 1:14). The vast bulk of the early church was Jewish. Christian scripture, liturgy, doctrine and tradition are all deeply rooted in the faith and practice of Israel.
So, how could the church ever have succumbed to antisemitism?
The question is neither rhetorical nor answerable—certainly not in a short “blog”! It is not so much a “question” as (what the French call) a cri de cœur —“a cry of the heart”: How could we!?
But more importantly: What must we do to make sure it never happens again?
And, while the question is too big to answer adequately (much less fully) in a blog, it must be answered by each of us. And by all of us who bear the name of Christian. Otherwise we deserve the name not only of Hypocrite but of Traitor.
To ignore or sideline antisemitism and its re-emergence as a “fringe issue” is unthinkable for us as Christians, both as church and as individual believers. In the light of that horror, the Shoah (“holocaust”), and the shameful, painful, sinful history of the persecution of Jews by so-called “Christians”, this sin against God and crime against humanity must never be allowed to happen again among us. Nor must it ever be countenanced by us when anyone else—religious or secular, left or right, rich or poor, “friend” or “foe”—succumbs to its insidious evil.
To that end, inter-religious dialogue is one of the keys to combating the recent rise of antisemitism. Indeed, no genuine “ecumenism” is possible for the church of Christ if it is not predicated on our fostering reconciliation between Jews and Christians. Christian unity is not a “separate issue” from Jewish-Christian relations. It is distinct, but not separate—much as one’s relationship with one’s sister is distinct but not separate from one’s relationship with one’s brother.
If we are serious about the unity of the church as a servant of the unity of all peoples, then doing all that we can to repair the damage done by centuries of antisemitic violence done by so-called “Christians” and in the name of Christ is an unconditional must, a moral priority and a spiritual necessity.
God forgives in order to heal. We need God’s mercy and healing for the sin of antisemitism to give us the strength to fight against that sin wherever we see it rearing its diabolical head.
Detail from Madonna and Child with Saint Anne by Caravaggio (Wikimedia)
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