Be Wary

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’“ They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any  more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. (John 5:1-16)

This passage from John is an example of how the Jews as a people became condemned, persecuted, and killed by Christians.  That which happened to Jesus – his persecution, trial and execution – is blamed on all Jews, not just on the few collaborating with Roman authorities.  For a revealing and horrifying account of this history of Christian anti-Jewish behavior and its consequences, I suggest the book “Constantine’s Sword: The Church and Jews” by former priest John Carroll.  

As we get closer to Holy Week, we should be wary of Gospel readings portraying all Jews as Jesus’ persecutors.  The Gospel according to John is especially guilty of broad-brush treatment of Jews.   The Holocaust is just one consequence of scapegoating all Jews for what happened to Jesus.  We must not do the same.

Deacon David Pierce