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Three bridges for Christian-Jewish connection?
Spring 2001 Issue 211
It
is easy to see what the first bridge is. It is stated firmly in the aims of most
organisations working among Jewish people. It is the bridge of evangelism.
For example, the primary aim of the Church’s Ministry among Jewish People (CMJ)
is “to be workers with God in his continuing purpose for the Jewish people …
especially in seeking to lead them to faith in Jesus the Messiah as their only
Saviour.” The aim of Christian Witness to Israel (CWI) is “the advancement
of the Christian religion by the evangelisation of the Jewish people.” In both
cases there are other less controversial and more appealingly expressed aims
such as care for the poor and combating anti-Semitism. Evangelistic aims are
controversial, but it is not our purpose here to engage with this argument. Most
evangelical Christians will believe such an aim is right, even if they are not
personally involved in, or are supporters of, Jewish mission. Christians have
always seen the gospel as universal in its application and Jesus as the true
Messiah and herein lies the foundation of Messianic Judaism and its Alliance.
However, in passing speedily over this strong and well-used bridge, which from
the Christian perspective connects the Church and the Jewish people, we may
overlook other less direct, perhaps more difficult, but equally creative
journeys.
Two recently published books draw our attention to them. Neither could be
fully commended because of aspects of their underlying theology, but both
present challenges to current thinking in this area. The second bridge is that
of dialogue. Marcus Braybrooke is a
respected traveller on this difficult route. A former Executive Director of the
Council of Christians and Jews, he believes the Jewish people still have a place
in the purposes of God and has a lifelong commitment to Christian-Jewish
relations. In a new book he explores the present state of Christian-Jewish
dialogue,
arguing that there is need for theological rethinking of some of the issues that
concern both faiths. Part of the reason for this reassessment of the scene is
because the dialogue route has up to now been maintained by those he describes
as “progressive” Jews and “liberal” Christians. The force of these
particular groups is diminishing in each of the two faiths in the face of growth
in the conservative and orthodox
wings. We can see this in the present ascendancy of evangelicals in the Church
of England. There is therefore a corresponding diminishing of the use of
dialogue as traditionally understood.
Is this bridge in danger of collapse?
It would seem so, and Braybrooke is arguing strongly for its maintenance.
He draws attention to changes in aspects of Christian theology in recent years
which ease traditional barriers to dialogue; the recognition of the Jewishness
of Jesus, the understanding that Paul’s doctrine of grace does not deny the
value of the Mosaic law, that the four Gospels are set in particular pastoral
contexts and need to be interpreted more carefully in that light. There has been
theological change in a measure in certain areas and this is helpful in
Jewish-Christian relations.
However, continuing dialogue should not begin by abandoning any central
beliefs in the faith of either side. This is where dialogue has often lost its
way. As a self-confessed liberal, Braybrooke is prepared to enter dialogue with
a conception of the resurrection of Jesus as “an inner transformation in each
believer, not an external event” and though in places he makes statements that
assert the deity of Jesus in traditional terms, he is ready to see the
pre-existence of Christ and the virgin birth as being “the language of poetry
not of fact.”
He is tender to the feelings of Jews who find the concept of the deity of Christ
abhorrent. There is no need however to be so delicate, certainly it is less than
honest of us to try and smooth away the challenge of the Messiahship of Jesus
which is central to Christian belief.
Braybrooke's book contains a robust and refreshing response by Rabbi
Barry Field,
Chief Executive of the Reformed Synagogues of Great Britain. He calls forcefully
for recognition of the pain and anger of Jews over the treatment they have
received by the Church. He is aware
of the issues that cannot be set aside; the unique claim made by and for Jesus,
the challenge of the Old Testament seen as a Christian book and the fact that
both Christianity and Judaism are the result of the “moment of choice” in
the first century. Most interestingly of all, he shows that theological dialogue
is not an activity which Jews enter willingly. He prefers the concept of
co-operation on secular matters. Dialogue may be a less popular bridge and is by
no means an easy route to travel. Nevertheless, Christians need to maintain it
if we are to make any significant headway in Jewish-Christian relations. It is
not sufficient merely to evangelise, nor is it justifiable to enter dialogue as
a cover for evangelism. For those willing and able to do so, respectful and
mutually beneficial dialogue must still be a creative and godly activity, for
Jew or Christian.
So where is the third bridge? It has been there for a long time, less
used, but there are signs that both Jews and Christians are making journeys on
it together. It is the bridge of worship-
liturgy and ceremony to be more precise. Another recent book illustrates some of
the possibilities in this area. A group of women rabbis from the Reformed and
liberal wing of Judaism have published a book to help Jewish women express
prayer and worship in liturgies and ceremonies related to a variety of life
experiences.
Such a collection not only meets a need within Judaism, Such a collection not
only meets a need in Judaism but also reflects a movement in western society,
both secular and religious. Christians-evangelicals in particular- have also
begun to experience a mood of openness to new ways of prayer and worship. New
liturgies and ceremonies have emerged, the use of the visual arts has increased
and there is renewed understanding of the power of symbol, poetry and metaphor.
Such an approach has always been part of Jewish worship in both synagogue and
home and is finding new energy. Rothschild says these rituals are “not just
for women... nor are they just for Jews. Though couched in traditional words and
using specifically Jewish symbols, the experience of prayer and the use of
ritual is a universal one.”
This is an illuminating statement. There are aspects of personal prayer and
worship that are common currency and there is exchange in both directions. We
have Christian versions of home liturgies and rituals, and thinking in this area
by Michele Guinness for example.
Two aspects are of particular interest. Firstly, the ceremonies are
written by women, are located in the home and deal with the believer and God as
creator rather than redeemer. This makes transfer to a Christian home setting
possible, in some cases without change. Christian corporate worship, quite
correctly centred on Christ as Saviour and Lord, may without intention diminish
the worship of God as creator and fail to celebrate and acknowledge fully his
presence and work in our natural lives. In particular, the emphasis on the
saving triumph of Christ can ignore pain, loss and suffering. The liturgies in
this book avoid none of these things, they are natural, glad in creation,
honest, angry, moving and healing. The Psalms teach us to pray in painful times
of life and Christians need to find more adequate ways to include such praying
in worship. Perhaps we can learn from Judaism here.
Secondly the use of the literal to express and illuminate the eternal and
spiritual is fundamental to all worship. Rothschild writes helpfully,
"Jewish prayer almost always operates along a spectrum of two states - for
example the universal with the particular, the immanent with the transcendent,
the creation with the revelation"
Here is the most interesting factor about the existence of a third bridge. The
Christian revelation at its heart is precisely what Rothschild defines; the
eternal becoming flesh, the universal Lord coming as a particular man, final
revelation in the matter of creation. Worship, as a common practice of Judaism
and Christianity, and with more of symbol, liturgy and ceremony than we have
been used to, may provide a context for that spectrum of two states to be
understood and experienced more fully. Many Christians have had their own
understanding illuminated by participation in Jewish liturgy, such as a Passover
seder. A recent account from a
Messianic Fellowship finds non-believing Jewish people attending their festivals
in preference to the synagogue, finding consolation, the nearness of God and,
finally, faith in Jesus within the context of Christian worship.
However, we must not see all three bridges as subtle versions of the
first. In the first we have a gospel to bring to Israel, in the second we come
to learn from each other, in the third perhaps it is we who receive from Israel.
Recall the vision of Zechariah
where, as the people of all nations eagerly seek the Lord to pray, ten people
will pull the sleeve of one Jew and plead. “Let us go with you, for the Lord
is with you”. We all have much yet to learn and should be ready for the
traffic to be in both directions.
Chris
Voke
(Tutor
in Pastoral Studies and Mission, Spurgeon’s College, London.)
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