Dear Good Samaritans,

As the last of my “Inclusive Language” posts during Lent, I want to draw attention to something that has nothing at all to do with gendered language, but still everything to do with harm.

Between Palm Sunday and Good Friday we will be hearing a lot about how Jesus began to upset the authorities of the empire with his increasingly antagonistic teachings and actions. This struggle comes to a head when Jesus is crucified on Good Friday.

The problem we have in our translations is that it is repeatedly said that it is “the Jews” that have conspired to kill Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the term about a half dozen times—but, John’s gospel, read for Good Friday, very negatively and prolifically uses the term (over 71 times!).

The Jews, however, did not kill Jesus—the blame for that is clearly and squarely placed on the heads of the Roman Empire. Jesus’ teachings presented a new empire, one built on love, freedom, and equity that was in direct opposition to Rome, which sought to exploit and control.

The Rev. Mary Luti wrote a short and wonderful piece that was published on HuffPost that I want to share with you:

As Christians, we live under the burden of a sad and violent history of anti-Semitism, in the sobering shadow of the Shoah (Holocaust). It is critical for us to be clear about what our sacred texts mean when they make reference to “the Jews,” especially during Holy Week, when we contemplate Jesus’ death. When the crucifixion narratives speak of “the chief priests and leaders of the people,” they are referring to officials who collaborated closely with the Roman systems of oppression, and were viewed with contempt by much of the Jewish community in their time. They should not be identified with the Jewish people of the past as a whole, and certainly not with Jews in the present. It may be helpful to recall the cultural context of our Christian scriptures, emerging as they did from a small, originally Jewish community of believers in Jesus as the Messiah. All of the Gospels originated from Jewish communities. Jesus himself was born, lived, and was crucified, a Jew. Any criticism of Jews from Gospel writers should be understood as the expression of differences of opinion among or about their fellow Jews. The gospels’ use of the term “the Jews” therefore, should not be read as a criticism of the Jewish religion, and especially not as a condemnation of an entire people, either then, or now. It is one of the bitter ironies of history that our sacred texts have been used to justify the persecution of the covenant people, from whom our Savior came, and who are created, as we all are, in the precious image of God.

In an effort to right this historical wrong, and bring our readings in line with modern scholarship, you will not hear the term “The Jews” mentioned during Holy Week as this implies an entire people. Instead you will hear terms like the “Jewish Authorities” and “the Judeans” both creating a firmer link to a small group of people at a particular point in time.

Blessings to you in these final and important days before Easter.

Peace and Shalom,

Fr. Chris