Easter is a time to be especially mindful of our Jewish friends

Last night I took part in a Seder dinner marking the beginning of Passover for Jews.

Earlier in the day, I read an opinion piece in the Louisville Courier-Journal by Rev. Joe Phelps of Highland Baptist Church. In his article Joe talks about how some Christian groups are trying to surreptitiously present a Seder meal replete with Christian symbols as an authentic Jewish Seder.

This is unfortunate and dangerous.

Here's what Joe has to say:

. . . Healing in the holidays

By Joe Phelps
Special to The Courier-Journal

My friend Mark sent me an article last week describing a newly published book on Passover, innocuously titled Passover Family Pack: Everything You Need To Enjoy a Passover Seder Dinner. Problem is: it's a Christian book that "Christianizes" the various Passover symbols (the wine represents the blood of Jesus; the matzo represents his body; the three matzot represent the Christian Holy Trinity ... you get the idea). Unsuspecting Jews, beware.

Mark, who is Jewish, sends articles like this occasionally as a way to assure me that he's not a paranoid wack job when he speaks of being fearful of Christians targeting his faith tradition for takeover or annihilation, or when he says that the Easter season is his most dreaded time of year because "we'll get blamed for killing Christ all over again."

Mark is my soul brother. Though we come from different faiths, we share a faith nonetheless.

So I feel compelled at the outset of Christians' Holy Week to state the obvious: Using the death of Jesus to fuel anti-Semitism is flat wrong, perhaps even evil. "The Jews," as John's gospel calls Jesus' adversaries, refers to a certain segment of the religious leadership more worried about control than they were the ways of God. "The Jews" are not all Jews. Besides, Jesus (a Jew) made it clear that the mission of His followers was to love, forgive, reconcile. So to stir up anger against Jewish people today or to scapegoat all Jews in history is a bastardization of the central message of Christianity's leader.

Here's a link to the full article by Rev. Phelps.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904080448

My Jewish friends from time to time remind me that Judaism and Christianity are two separate religions. There is really no such thing as "Judeo-Christian." Jews have their own theology, beliefs and practices. Christians may see the roots of their beliefs in Judaism, but Christians should respect and honor our Jewish brothers and sisters for who they are.

So I call on all of my Christian friends to have a blessed Easter, but to at the same time honor our Jewish friends as they observe the powerful Jewish observance of Passover.