Letters from the week of 3 - 9 December 2018
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Supersessionism and a Christmas classic
Your reflections on 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' were posted shortly after an extensive Facebook conversation on the question of whether the lyrics are so supersessionist as to be an ongoing part of rigid Christian rejection of God's loving work through the Jewish people which has been a tragic and sinful part of Christian history. This link to alternative lyrics with a commentary on them is worth reading.
One participant in this conversation made reference to an article which argued that the lyrics are profoundly Jewish in origin and who invited pondering about what the implications might be for Christian usage. The reference is: J Allen Cabaniss, 'A Jewish Provenience of the Advent Antiphons?', The Jewish Quarterly Review (1975) 66.1: 39-56. The article can be accessed in the Jewish Quarterly Review archives.
I can accept that Israel is waiting in mournful exile until the Son of God appears only insofar as I rejoice in the fact that all Gentiles have been grafted into the vine that is Israel and that we are all waiting in mournful exile from the fulness of the Reign of God. That allows me to sing this hymn with joy and thanksgiving. We reject Jesus' people to our shame, whether actually or whether we merely imply it through the lyrics of treasured hymns.
Sister Diana Doncaster
Convent of the Transfiguration
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
3 December 2018
We agree wholeheartedly with your last paragraph and only speak of being in exile if we include all of the people of God who have been 'grafted into' Israel. - Ed.
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