Msgr. Paul V. Garrity

When Archie Bunker of “All in the Family” fame insisted that Jesus was a Christian, not everyone laughed at Archie’s ignorance. Some people thought that Archie was right. His son-in-law Michael, aka the “meathead,” tried unsuccessfully to set his father-in-law straight. Archie, however, has what theologians call invincible ignorance. Sadly, ignorance is not confined to old sitcoms. It is alive and well in the rising antisemitism of today.

There is no better time than Holy Week to reflect on the origins of antisemitism and to understand why Christians, not Jews, have a special responsibility to help stamp out this pernicious evil. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday is described in the Christian scriptures of the Bible. While the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke recount the same details leading up to the death of Jesus, Matthew’s Gospel has the unfortunate detail that has fueled antisemitism for ages. When Pontius Pilate tries to distance himself from the condemnation of Jesus by washing his hands, claiming that “… he is innocent of this man’s blood,” “the people answered, his blood be on us and on our children.”

This unfortunate line has been highlighted down through the ages. Until quite recently, the famous Oberammergau Passion Play was unquestionably antisemitic. With its origins in 17th-century Germany, it is emblematic of how hatred for Jews was cultivated over centuries to where it is today. Staged every 10 years since 1634, the play ignored the facts that Jesus was executed by the Roman authorities, that the disciples of Jesus were all Jews, and that the earliest followers of Jesus were all Jews. Jesus unquestionably challenged the religious establishment of his day who saw him as a threat to their authority. These same individuals most certainly manipulated the Roman governor and were complicit in his execution. By no means, however, were they representative of the greater Jewish population of the day, many of whom were followers of Jesus.

Today’s Oberammergau Passion Play has made many changes to reflect the actual history of the passion and death of Christ. It has removed the offensive language about Christ’s blood being on future generations of Jews. Jesus is now referred to as Rabbi Yeshua and the play makes clear that the high priest Caiaphas does not speak for all Jews. These and many other changes reflect the work of Jews and Christians working together to rid the play of lingering anti-Jewish tropes.

While the Oberammergau Passion Play is emblematic of both historic antisemitism and current efforts to make significant changes, the war between Israel and Hamas has stirred up embers of antisemitism that have never been fully extinguished. The horrendous acts of Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza have claimed thousands of innocent victims and continues with no real solutions in sight. Meanwhile, antisemitism is fed by the ignorance of conflating all Jews with the nation-state of Israel and widespread condemnation of the deaths of innocent Palestinian children, women, and men.

As we pray for a cease-fire and a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Hamas war, it behooves Christians to educate one another about the evil that is antisemitism. It is also up to Christians to take seriously the need to eradicate this evil in our time. The Catholic Church made an unprecedented step in this direction with the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions in 1965. Known by its Latin name, Nostra Aetate, this document eviscerates the age-old trope that all Jews are somehow guilty of the death of Christ. Nor should Jews ever be spoken of as accursed as if this follows from holy scripture. It further recognizes that Christians and Jews share a common spiritual heritage.

All “isms” are rooted in ignorance and their only antidote is education. Antisemitism, racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and xenophobia are all, sadly, still extant in our world and in our country today. The rise of Christian nationalism feeds things like antisemitism. Moreover, social media can be a dangerous swamp that replicates infectious ideas and instills fear about invasions by people who are somehow different.

The franchise to vote is a sacred contract that all citizens have with our history and our Constitution. Being educated about the threats to other citizens is a low bar everyone has to cross. Filtering political discourse through this simple standard is one way of finding our way through the thicket of partisan rhetoric that surrounds us.

For Christians especially, Holy Week should be a time for reflecting on the Christian values that have no room for bigotry, name-calling, and hate!

Msgr. Paul V. Garrity is a senior priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and former pastor of St. Mary’s Parish and School in Lynn.