I once had to mediate in a school issue after a teacher was assused of racism. I asked the parent to state her complaint and then asked the teacher to respond, but the parent kept interjecting. Despite my appeals she kept on arguing, until I asked her, "How do you define racism?" She replied, "It is prejudice", to which I retorted, "Well then, by that same definition you are racist, for you are prejudging the teacher and affording her no opportunity to defend herself". The parent yielded and so became a loyal friend of the school. I grew up in a racist context that distorted our thinking, so I understand how dreadful it is. However, now I see the reverse side of it. Those now in power are as racist, for anything they don't understand or perceive as unfair is automatically racist or attributable to the past. That is no recipe for reconciliation.
Against that backdrop I was recently invited into a forum that is resisting missionism and assimilation of Jews. I fully understand why. Throughout history, Christendom did terrible things to manipulate the convictions of others and it was so unfair towards the Jew. Having had mercy extended to us, we then also presumed to corner and own what was never ours to own. G-d showed mercy to Jews and Gentiles, but His salvation came through the Jews. The roots and foundations of our faith trace back to Abraham. Jesus was also a Jew, a product of a people who stewarded G-d's witness through history to bring concepts of sin, atonement, righteousness, constititionalism, salvation, mercy and grace to the modern world.
So let me say this ... conversion is not a biblical concept, it is a presumptuous throw back to Catholocism. Reconciliation and salvation is G-d's way. Besides imposed assimilation or subjective resistenance thereto, cannot never subsititute for common ground. The Jew walked a different road to the logical conclusion of atonement and salvation. If I, a gentile, should arrive at the same conclusion, despite having walked another road, will we not find common ground. Indeed, in one act, G-d made both one, so that there should be neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, bond or free. G-d extended salvation to all, albeit through the Jews, and like Ruth I am humbled to have been "assimilated" into such mercy.
But none of matters if we hold to alienating differences and perceptions of prejudice that are only there because we cannot see beyond the debate, to the heart of the one, redemptive G-d who is above us all ... and thankfully, as they said in Narnia, He is not a tame lion - no one will ever "own" Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment