8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. – Ephesians 2

God’s covenant is by faith. Always has been, always will be. Even with the Blessed Virgin, her response to the Almighty’s servant-messenger, the angel Gabriel, was “be it unto me according to thy word.”

It was a acceptance based upon faith.

And who can forget Hebrews chapter 11 – the so-called “heroes of faith” chapter?

For me, it has been instructive to know that the earliest Jewish Christians were considered to be a sect within the larger umbrella of Judaism, and that after time the Jewish authorities sought to have the believers in Jesus expelled from participation in the synagogues and temples. This act emphasized the discontinuity between Judaism and Xianity, a discontinuity that was further emphasized by Paul’s missionary work among gentile cultures, which raised questions regarding what was essential to become a follower of Jesus.

In reading Wright’s work, however, what seemed to be lost historically, as Xianity went out into the world and developed in response to the new cultures it encountered, was the basic Jewish framework by which the full significance of Jesus life was unpacked. Certainly Paul had a strong universalizing emphasis in his theological articulations, however, as one of my theology professor’s once said, “many people stumble upon the scandal of particularity.” By this he meant that what is universal in the Xian faith is predicated on what is particular. In other words, though God is the God of all humanity, he has chosen to make himself known through his relationship with Israel, a relationship that Xians believe culminated in the person of Jesus the Messiah. Xianity is a universal religion because all are welcome into the story of God’s relationship with Israel, all are welcome to acknowledge that Israel’s God is God and that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah. Moreover, according to Wright, the significance of Israel is that they were from the beginning meant to be God’s people for the world. Their very existence was about God’s plan to redeem the entire creation.

In summing this all up, the coming of Jesus the Messiah, what can be referred to as the Christ event, can be seen as both the inauguration of a new covenant, as well as the fulfillment of one of the most ancient covenants between God and humanity, and both of these covenants, the Abrahamic and Messianic, are united in their common purpose: the redemption and blessing of all people.

I am interested in the “Jewish question” in particular, because it seems that some Christians just dismiss their “Judaism” because they have the new covenant, convenient because I for one don’t feel like explaining some of the rules laid out in Leviticus. But if not them – and some of them AREN’T “crazy” – then what of the 10 Commandments, e.g.?

Sorry, just rambling. Hope to be back.