'Appropriate Attitude Toward the Jewish People'
FREE Catholic Classes
Father Cantalamessa Comments on Sunday's Gospel
ROME, OCT. 01, 2005 (Zenit) - In a commentary on this Sunday's Mass readings, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, urges Christians to imitate God's love for Israel.
* * *
Matthew 21:33-43
Isaiah 5:1-7
The kingdom will be taken away from you
The parable of the unfaithful vine growers, above all in its conclusion -- "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it" -- evokes the theme of the so-called rejection of Israel. A simplistic and triumphal interpretation of this and other similar passages of the Gospel has contributed to the condemnation of Jews, with the tragic consequences that we know.
We must not abandon the certainties of faith that come to us from the Gospel, but it does not take much to realize how much our attitude has often altered its genuine spirit.
Before anything else, one must see in those terrible words of Christ before Israel, the extraordinary love of God, not condemnation. Jesus weeps when he speaks of the future of Jerusalem! It is moreover a pedagogic rejection, not definitive.
God rejected Israel as well in the Old Testament. One of them is described by Isaiah in the first reading, with the same image of the "vineyard" -- "Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down" (5:5) -- but this did not impede God from continuing to love Israel and to watch over it.
St. Paul assures us that this last rejection, announced by Jesus, will not be definitive. More than that, it will allow the pagans to enter into the kingdom (cf. Romans 11:11-15). He goes further: Because of Abraham's faith, which is the first fruits and the root, Jews as a people are holy, although some branches were broken off (cf. Romans 11:16).
The Apostle to the Gentiles, unjustly considered in favor of the break between Israel and the Church, suggests to us the appropriate attitude toward the Jewish people. He did not advocate self-assertion and foolish pride -- "we are now the new Israel, we the chosen ones!" -- but fear and trembling before the unfathomable mystery of divine action -- "Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" -- and even more love for Israel, which is the root and trunk on which we have been grafted.
Paul says he is prepared to be separated from Christ if that would be useful to his brothers (cf. Romans 9:1-3). If Christians in the past had been concerned about having these sentiments when speaking about the Jews, history would have had a different course.
If Jews one day come (as Paul hopes) to a more positive judgment of Jesus, this must occur through an inner process, as the end of a search of their own (something that in part is occurring). We Christians cannot be the ones who seek to convert them. We have lost the right to do so by the way in which this was done in the past. First the wounds must be healed through dialogue and reconciliation.
I do not see how a Christian who really loves Israel cannot hope that the latter will one day come to the discovery of Jesus, whom the Gospel describes as "glory to the people Israel" (Luke 2:32). I do not think this is proselytism.
But now what is most important is to do away with the obstacles we have placed to this reconciliation, the "bad light" in which we have placed Jesus in their eyes. Also the obstacles present in language. How many times the word "Jew" is used in a pejorative or negative way in our way of speaking!
Since the Second Vatican Council, relations between Christians and Jews have improved. The decree on ecumenism has given Israel a separate status among religions. For us Christians, Judaism is not "another religion," but rather an integral part of our own religion. We worship the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who for us is also the God of Jesus Christ.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
[Italian original published in Famiglia Cristiana]
Contact
Catholic Online
https://www.catholic.org
CA, US
Catholic Online - Publisher, 661 869-1000
info@yourcatholicvoice.org
Keywords
Gospel, Cantalamessa, Matthew, Sunday, God, Love, Israel
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol