Monday 3 April 2023
Monday in Holy Week
Isaiah 42:1-7. The Lord is my light and my salvation – Psalm 26(27):1-3, 13-14. John 12:1-11.
We remember our Jewish friends and neighbours
Today’s Gospel reading can be difficult to read when we think about the terrible ways the portrayals of those who plotted against Jesus have been used to justify antisemitism over the centuries. As Christians we have to recognise and work to overcome these prejudices, which continue to plague society even today.
Jesus was himself a Jew, as were those he counted among his closest friends and followers. The first reading, from Isaiah, shows us how Jewish beliefs and scriptures gave rise to Christianity. Jesus could be born and raised in a loving home with Mary and Joseph because of the close cultural relationship that the Jewish people already had with God. People such as Lazarus, Martha and Mary were drawn to him because his teachings about God resonated with what they understood as Jews.
As we begin Holy Week, may we remember our Jewish friends and neighbours, and give thanks for their faith and wisdom, which has so much to offer ourselves and our world today.
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