Faith in the Cracks – Allowing God to seep into the cracks in our lives.

Antisemitism is alive and well in our current time. Our Jewish siblings have heightened security at all of their gatherings. Rhetoric continues to come forth that makes that need even more palpable. And this year for Lent, churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary find themselves in the Gospel of John. There are many phrases and concepts in the 4th Gospel that are problematic and which if those of us who preach are not careful can add to the antisemitic issues. In the church we need to remember that Jesus was Jewish. He knew the Hebrew texts which have come to form what we call the Old Testament.

Jesus was teaching about God. A God of love. A God who created the world and all that is in it because God wanted to. Jesus wanted to draw people to that God. Jesus wanted to remind people of who God is.

So Christians, let us be careful with the Gospel of John. May it point us toward God and to mysteries we have yet to understand and not cause us to point fingers at anyone or add to rhetoric that would do further harm to our Jewish siblings.