Every year at this time I, along with many others, feel compelled to write about the sin of antisemitism which has soiled our Christian faith for far too long. The season of Lent is meant to be a time of self-examination and repentance. Yet it has too often been used by some Christians as an occasion to renew prejudice and persecution against their Jewish neighbors.
The Gospel according to John will serve as the principal text in Sunday worship as Christians begin their six-week observance of Lent in preparation for Easter. It presents a difficult problem for Christians and their Jewish brothers and sisters. John’s Gospel uses the term “the Jews” somewhere between sixty and seventy times, depending on the translation. In the context of the narrative, it often leaves the undeniable impression “the Jews” are implacable adversaries of what God seeks to make known through Jesus Christ as the way of salvation for all humanity.
Biblical scholars and theologians have taken great pains to explain the historical context in which the Gospel was written influenced its language. They argue, rightly, the words were never intended to condemn Jews or Judaism as a whole. In some instances, the phrase refers to particular religious authorities; in others, to a small and specific group. It was never a blanket condemnation of an entire people. Scholars and theologians may make this argument persuasively, but worshipers hear the words as they are read aloud. They hear them in their plain, contemporary meaning, and the effect can be unmistakable.
Over the centuries, this language has contributed to profound suffering. Christians have cited these texts to justify persecuting their Jewish neighbors, especially during the Lenten season, often with deadly consequences. Such actions have been an abomination before the Lord, made worse by being carried out in the name of Jesus Christ, who came not to condemn the world, but to redeem it.
The pogroms of earlier centuries have largely given way to more subtle forms of prejudice. Church leaders across many traditions have worked diligently to root out antisemitism wherever it persists in belief, attitude, or behavior. Yet the problem has not disappeared. Each year the lectionary returns to John’s Gospel, and clergy once again face the difficult task of teaching against interpretations the text has historically been used to support.
Stripped of its persistent use of the phrase “the Jews,” John’s Gospel stands as one of the most profound testimonies to the boundless love of God. It proclaims God’s desire not to condemn, but to renew and redeem humanity—and indeed all creation—calling us toward a new life grounded in love for one another.
It is this love we are called to live into. It is our sins of prejudice we are called to confess, repenting and turning anew toward the way of healing, reconciliation, and peace.
In this unique year, when Christian Lent and Muslim Ramadan are observed at the same time—each calling the faithful to self-examination, repentance, and renewal—we face an added challenge: not to replace the sin of antisemitism with the sin of Islamophobia. The closing words of the Holy Eucharist send us forth “to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” They do not send us forth to serve our fears or justify our prejudices.