"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery... that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved... Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Rom 11:25-29)
Articles on the relationship between Israel and the Church, and role of Israel in God's plan of salvation.
The words "Israel" and "Israelite" occur 77 times in the New Testament. Is "Israel" ever used as a synonym for the Church? How many times does the NT use the expression "new Israel" or "true Israel" to refer to the Church?
Many today are unaware of the tumultuous history of the Declaration Nostra Aetate and how it was initially intended to exclusively address the relationship of the Church with the Jewish people. This paper examines the origins and development of the Declaration on the Jews and how it eventually became the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.
Since the inception of the Toward Jerusalem Council II initiative, the involvement of Catholics has been a stumbling block for many – both Evangelical Christians with no love for Rome and Messianic Jews who are very conscious of the sufferings of the Jewish people at the hands of the Catholic Church. Fr. Peter Hocken explains why it is essential for Catholics to be involved in TJCII.
Read more: Confronting Past Injustice: The Catholic Church and Toward Jerusalem Council II
The People of God of the flesh stand surety for the People of God in the spirit, not only as witnesses to scriptural promise but as the living root of the Church. As Christians see it, God taught the idea of a People of God through the Jews, and the Jews' continuing existence is both a perpetual reminder of that lesson and a guarantee that God keeps his promises.
The New Temple will be erected when Judaism and Catholicism will be united to proclaim the only Word of God and the only one Messiah, to sing the only Glory of God that shines in all works performed in both Judaism and Catholicism, in the great works of mercy and in the great works of judgment for the sins of men. So the Nations will know that the true living God is among His people, living in His Temple, which is the Church of Jesus Christ.
Faced with the "already here" of the Church, Israel is the witness of the "not yet". The Jewish people and the Christian people are thus in a situation of mutual imitation. Christians rejoice in the "already here", while the Jews remember the "not yet".
The history of relations between Christians and Jews represents a very complex history which alternates between proximity and distance, between fraternity and estrangement, between love and hate. On the one hand, Jesus cannot be understood without Judaism; on the other hand, the schism between synagogue and church forms the first split in the history of the church,
Read more: Theological Questions and Perspectives in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
Ariel Ben Ami's and Mark Kinzer's reactions to my study regarding the different ways of understanding Israel have been important and I have appreciated the richness of their contents, albeit correcting some opinions I had expressed.
Read more: For a More Profound Knowledge of the Mystery of Israel, of the Church, of the World
In this article, I examine three questions: First, the question "who is Israel?" - using as point of reference Fr. Carlo Colonna's five ways of understanding the term "Israel." Second, I discuss the idea of God's blessing that comes "from" Israel and is intended "for" Israel. Third, I attempt to clarify our own identity and mission as Catholics for Israel in light of Fr. Carlo's five ways of understanding Israel.
If we wish to grasp the meaning of God's Plan in history with regard to Israel, we must go far beyond the issues relating to the present political Israel or any other temporal vision regarding Israel. We must grasp the role Israel has in God's Plan in the last days of history, wherein we have entered with the end of the time of the nations and the beginning of the time of Israel as God’s nation called in the end times to accept Messiah.
Read more: On the Diverse Realities that go under the name "Israel"
Every time that I am asked to speak about Israel - and this happens often - I feel at first overwhelmed by the greatness and complexity of the subject. And so I simply try with my listeners to look at Israel, the Israel of yesterday, of today, and that of the hope of tomorrow.