I’ve been having some interesting conversations with #JTwitter lately. For those of you not on Twitter, #JTwitter is short for “Jewish Twitter” and is a loose community of folks who are Jewish according to the Law but who span a wide range of religious praxis. Some are atheists but who are “halakhic” Jews – halakhic meaning “according to the Law of Moses.” Others are very observant religiously and most are somewhere in between. It’s both a birthright and a faith tradition. This separates Judaism from Christianity as Christians have no birthright definition but rather a mystical definition of being “in Christ.” While I’ve had many Jewish friends and rabbis as clergy colleagues, I’ve gained an insight as to how difficult it is to be Jewish in a dominantly Christian culture here in America. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in our country and acts of violence, from vandalism of synagogues to the Tree of Life massacre, are tragically becoming common place; but there is also a more subtle and insidious form of anti-Semitism done when Christians appropriate Jewish symbols and rites for their own purposes. This is an act of supersessionism – the idea that what comes after supersedes what came before.
In the history of Christianity, there has always been a vein of supersessionist belief that Jesus came as the “new and improved” form of Judaism to supplant or supersede it. These ideas rise from our very own scriptures. Consider the way John’s gospel repeatedly speaks disparagingly of “the Jews” and how he sets up “the Jews” as those who killed Christ. In truth, when you read John with a discerning understanding of history and context, his use of “the Jews” (capital “J”) references only the religious authorities, it doesn’t mean the Jewish people as Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish. Misreading our texts has led to those who consider themselves Christians justifying pogroms, banishment and even the Holocaust. There is much of which we need to repent and repair.
That said, there is also some mutual misunderstanding regarding repentance and forgiveness. I had an interaction with a JTwitter member who said they studied with the Jesuits and came to an understanding that Christians “forgive by proxy.” Their understanding was that because we ask Jesus for forgiveness, he provides forgiveness and we Christians are let off the hook for making personal amends when we sin against another person. They offered how the Jewish faith differed because the Law commands personal moral accountability and that amends must be made directly not by proxy. I found this both a fascinating and deeply troubling insight! I shared how Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law, but I could see how there is a strain (especially in more Protestant corners of Christianity) to believe that asking God’s forgiveness is enough and we can ignore the moral precepts of Torah. I also offered that Jesus taught against ignoring the Law and gave us clear instruction about making personal amends. Today’s readings underscore this message.
In the Apocryphal book Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), we hear “If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.” This underscores the deep understanding of the Jewish tradition which comes to us through Jesus, that we are moral people with moral agency. We have choices to make. We can listen to God’s ways and choose them or not. As Christians, we do modify this somewhat in that we understand the power of Sin is a power outside our control which leads us away from God’s intentions. However, just because this is true does not utterly strip you and me of our moral agency and your obligation to make choices in keeping with God’s ways rather than follow human ways. We still maintain moral and ethical obligations to do God’s will and not our own.
Jesus even said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” We heard that sentence as the conclusion to last week’s Gospel reading but I think it really should be the opening to this week’s because it leads into Jesus’ teaching. Jesus constructs his teaching on the law with a contrast: “you have heard that it was said … but I say to you …” In each case he takes a point of the Law: murder, adultery, divorce, and swearing falsely. He quotes the conventional teaching but then pushes his hearers to go deeper. Let’s just consider one of these teachings: the one on murder. Jesus says we need to go deeper because it’s not just about overt, premeditated, bodily killing – it’s about carrying anger and resentments which murder relationships. He urges us to make direct, not proxy, amends with those with whom we are at odds. He flat out says we are not to approach the altar of God with our gift unless we’ve made peace with others. Consider this observation from author Michael Hardin, in “The Jesus Driven Life,” on this teaching:
…the way of the Kingdom of God means that the way we relate to everyone changes. Not just our friends, but also those we despise and those who can’t stand us. It is not easy to love the unlovely. When we are attacked, we attack back, when we are threatened, we threaten. Our natural posture is defensiveness. This is true not only on a personal level but also on a political one. Have you ever noticed that when someone attacks you it is always unjust but when you ‘attack’ another it is always just?... Jesus says that to be angry is the same as murder. When you get angry the first thing you do is to have this sort of inane conversation in your head. They said this, I will say that, they will respond thus, I will have that response, etc. Notice how you always win this battle!
Jesus says that the Christian life does not consist of these mental battles. Instead we are to make peace in every way for “Blessed are the peacemakers.” More than that, retaliation is not an aspect of Christian existence. When Christians (not people in general) are hassled or persecuted, it is not part of their calling to "get them back." Christianity is not a gang where if one member is suffering at the hands of rivals, it sends out its members to get the other gang. Instead we are called to "love our enemies." How different would the world be today, if so-called Christian America had, instead of announcing war after 9/11, offered forgiveness?
How different would it be? Jesus’ teaching reinforces our obligation to make hard, moral choices and live the Law at a whole new level. We dare not presume to shirk our responsibility to the Law by presuming God’s grace will automatically absolve us of wrongdoing. The twin cosmic powers of Sin and Death which doom us to annihilation have been broken through Christ’s saving work on the cross, but this does not give a Christian a “free pass” to do whatever they want and ignore the Law’s call to live reconciled lives. You and I are called to be more, to go deeper, and to do the hard work of laying aside our easily bruised egos and make peace with each other. This is our moral and ethical responsibility and call which comes to each of us through our baptism. Will we have the courage to “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being”?
