Friday, April 15, 2016
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 135.
(Youcat
answer) Jews are the “older brethren” of Christians, because God loved them
first and spoke to them first. Jesus Christ as man is a Jew, and this fact
unites us. The Church recognizes in him the Son of the living God, and this
fact separates us. In awaiting the final coming of the Messiah we are one.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 839) "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are
related to the People of God in various ways" (LG 16). The relationship of the Church with the
Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People
of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People (Cf. NA
4), "the first to hear the Word of God" (Roman Missal, Good Friday 13: General Intercessions, VI). The
Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to
God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the
glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to
them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the
Christ" (Rom 9:4-5), "for the
gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rom 11:29).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment)
The Jewish faith is the
root of our faith. The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, which we call the Old
Testament, is the first part of our Sacred Scripture. The Judeo-Christian
concept of man and morality, which is informed by the Ten Commandments, is the
foundation of Western democracies. It is shameful that for hundreds of years
Christians were unwilling to admit this close relation to Judaism and for
pseudo-theological reasons helped foment an anti-Semitism that all too often
had lethal effects. During the Holy Year 2000, Pope John Paul II expressly
asked forgiveness for this. The Second Vatican Council clearly states that the
Jews as a people cannot be charged with any collective guilt for the
crucifixion of Christ.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 840) And when one considers the future, God's People of the
Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation
of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the
Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of
God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden
till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not
knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.
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