The Holy Martyr Aretas and those with him (523)
2 Corinthians 3:12-18; Luke 6:1-10
Read 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
The epistle today relates to an important concern for us as Christians: what is our relationship to the Jewish people? As Christians we continue to profess that the Jewish people are the chosen people of God; it was to them that God first made Himself known. It was also with them that God entered into not one but many covenants, in particular the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David. These covenants have never been broken or abolished; they are still binding on Jews. We often speak about how Gentile Christians have been grafted on to the tree of Israel. In this sense, we do not reject the Old Testament and only embrace the New Testament. No, it is the same Holy Trinity, one God acting in both.
Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all of these covenants and of the whole of God’s law (Torah) given to His chosen people. He is the fullness of God’s revelation now to both Jews and Gentiles. The fundamental difference between Christians and Jews is that as Christians we profess this fulfilment in that God became man in Jesus Christ to complete the work of salvation as it was always intended. So given this fullness of the faith, how should we relate to Jews? As the Holy Apostle Paul writes, “whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds.” In writing this St. Paul is indicating that the Jewish people do not understand the law in its fulfilled sense, in Christ. They do not view it through the lens of the Incarnation and Resurrection. This does not mean that we reject them, even though they do not confess Christ. Rather, we have a responsibility in our relationship with our Jewish neighbours to live as good Christians: to grow in friendship with them; to not be afraid to speak of Christ; and, to strive to live the life in Christ so that they might see Him in us.