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Thursday, June 04, 1998 Page:
Clergy: Respect, religious tradition mark recent service
A letter to the editor contended that a Jewish observance doesn’t belong in
a
Christian church (May 27). While we were not looking for the writer’s
approval to celebrate this special religious service, his letter certainly
hits home the fact that many people- Christians and even members of other
religious traditions- do not seem to understand or appreciate the value of
interreligious dialogue and interactionSpecifically, the intention of the
special Jewish Sabbath Service held in St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, with
Roman Catholic clergy and clergy from local Protestant traditions, was a
wonderful, practical example of how interreligious dialogue can occur in an
atmosphere of respectful prayer and learning.
Such dialogue is not against the teaching of the Catholic Church, nor
against the teaching of sacred scripture. The goal of such dialogue is not the
conversion of anyone to another religion, but simply is the means to
understand better the different religious traditions which exist in our
community. Through interreligious dialogue, no religious community is meant to
compromise its values or teachings, but only to know each other better.
With regard to our relationship with the Jewish community, we Christians
must remember that our founder, Jesus Christ, was Jewish and practiced the
Judaism of his day. He was not Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox: He lived and
died as a faithful Jew. In fact, an enlightened reading of the Acts of the
Apostles even helps us see that the early apostles, who went to the temple
daily to pray, did not see themselves as a new religion, but as a group within
the Judaism of their day.
Unfortunately, as history shows us, a division occurred between the Jewish
community and the followers of the New Way. The result of this division is now
the distinctive existence of the Jewish community and the community which
became known as Christian. The dialogue with the Jewish community, even
through shared prayer experiences, means that we as Christians are getting in
touch with our spiritual roots.
The celebration of a Jewish Sabbath service in a Christian Church is meant
to dispel any misconceptions we have about each other. To those present at the
service, as I was, one immediately noticed some similarities in prayers that
both Jews and Christians have within their sacred liturgies. Remember, the
service that we were privileged to experience what would have been sacred
liturgy that Jesus himself would have shared in whenever he attended synagogue
or temple.
To be able to share in the richness of each other’s faith tradition and
even ritual practices not only helps us understand other religious traditions
better, it also gives us the opportunity to learn more about our own religious
tradition- especially to see where we as Christians come from, our spiritual
beginnings.
As Roman Catholics, our spiritual leader, His Holiness Pope John Paul II,
who has always had a very special place in his heart for the Jewish community,
strongly encouraged the Church to involve itself in interreligious dialogue,
especially with the Jewish community. He proved this when on April 13, 1986,
he became the first Pope to visit the Great Synagogue of Rome and participated
in a religious service held there, conducted by Chief Rabbi Professor Elio
Toaff.
On that occasion, Pope John Paul said: “Today’s visit is meant to make a
decisive contribution to the consolidation of good relations between our two
communities, in imitation of the example of so many men and women who have
worked and are working today, on both sides, to overcome old prejudices and to
secure an even wider and fuller recognition of that `bond’ and that `common
spiritual patrimony’ that exists between Jews and Christians.”
Our celebration of this Jewish Sabbath prayer service is a very powerful
way to continue this special work of interreligious dialogue in our own little
part of the world. This celebration in a Christian church does not diminish
our Christian belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior nor our understanding of his
teachings. But since his teachings command love for all people, such an
experience allows us to get to know our other religious friends better.
This knowledge of the other helps to dispel any prejudices, stereotypes and
misconceptions we have of other groups. This knowledge helps us understand
that we all speak to the same God, though we each may call u