The Holy Venerable-Martyr Febronia
Romans 11:13-24; Matthew 11:27-30
Apostles’ Fast.
Read Romans 11:13-24
The Apostle Paul is using the analogy of grafting a tree in order to teach us Gentiles our relationship to the wellspring of salvation. What does it mean to graft a tree? It is basically to take a branch from one tree and attach it to another tree where it continues to grow like usual. It is possible to have a tree bearing different fruits by doing this.
In Paul’s analogy, the Hebrew people, God’s chosen race, are the host tree. Some of the branches have been broken off because of their lack of faith, however, the Jewish people are part of that tree of life by their birthright. The gentiles, on the other hand—all of us non-Jews—have been attached to the tree of life by faith. For those of us who are not Jewish, it is not our birthright to be a part of the tree, however, we benefit from its strength and grace.
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul wanted to emphasize this point in order to quell the pride and boasting that may have been going on among the Gentiles. There were tensions in the Church of Rome in Paul’s time between the Jews and Gentiles, and Paul took this opportunity to remind the Gentiles that salvation truly does come from the Jews, as Our Lord had said.
What does this mean for us? There are, after all, far fewer Jews proportionally in the Church today than there were in the first century. While there must be at least some more, I am personally aware of two Jewish persons in my entire Eparchy. There is a very small chance for this kind of Jew vs Gentile tension to exist in the Church today.
Paul’s words remain important for us because we need to understand where our faith comes from. Salvation comes from the Jews. As Christians, our father in faith is the Patriarch Abraham, whose grandson Jacob would become the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel. The great Prophet and Godseer Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea—an event which is a type of Baptism in the Old Testament. Our Lord Jesus Christ was a Jew, and everything he accomplished fulfilled the Law, rather than do away with it.
The Jewish people and their faith are the rich, cultivated olive tree to which we Gentiles have been grafted. We continue to draw nourishment from the faith of the Hebrews as a grafted branch draws nourishment from the host tree. May we never forget our roots. And may we always strive to learn and appreciate where we come from.