If I had Jewish ancestry, I would certainly celebrate it. I am in awe of the contribution that Jews have made in just about every field. I celebrate my Australian birth and citizenship but more my citizenship in heaven through the accomplishment of Jesus Christ in reconciling Jews and non-Jews alike to God in one body through his death for both on the Cross (Ephesians 2:16).
“For through him we both [Jew and non-Jew] have access by one Spirit to the Father.” The “Israel of God” is composed of both Jews and other peoples who have become “one new humanity” in Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:16). The idea that to God Gentiles are acceptable but that Jews are persona non grata is totally wrong. There is no Jew or non-Jew “in Christ” — just one new humanity!
Outside of Christ, all are lost in sin and doomed. As Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no one comes to the Father except through me.” Like it or not, it’s the truth. The names of churches identify great heroes and historic movements and their doctrinal beliefs (for which many died while reintroduciung them after they were lost in the Dark Ages).
The Church is composed of believers from all nations. Ancestry is one thing but a new identity in Jesus Christ is another altogether. Jesus was a Jew. So were Peter and the other apostles. The Apostle Paul was, too. The Church began to lose its Jewish identity when it crossed over into what is now Europe, and the overwhelming numbers of its converts were non-Jewish.
An early glimpse of this is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 10, where the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, took place outside the annual calendar feast of Pentecost. Peter the apostle was called to Jerusalem to account for this astonishing departure (Acts 11). Non-Jews who identify as Pentecostals because they have had the same experience as those first followers of Jesus (Acts chapter 2:4) but whose experience was Jewish calendar free, might well identify as Cornelians.
In what turned out to be a major turning point in church history, the emperors of Rome accepted Christianity as a religion, and in doing so changed what had begun as “The Way” from a lifestyle to a religion. When the Roman Empire fell, it was succeeded by the Roman Church. The Pope sat in the emperors’ seat and solemnly assumed their title. Rome’s political prerogatives became those of the Church. Make no mistake, the early Catholic monks were totally committed to the cause of Christ and readily gave their lives for the faith — especially in the Dark Forest of Germania.
What now? Great conflict, I think. I do hope that those leaders who are so into music and performance are also into preparing the new generation for what’s ahead. The Good News is that God knows what the future holds because He knows the future. Jesus Christ is Lord of all (even if most people don’t yet know it).
“Fear not” is repeated often in the New Testament to encourage all those who are Christians. It’s the best treatment for anxiety, which so many people live with every day. “Be anxious for nothing” is nowadays better translated: “Don’t let anything get you down.” Not politics, not people, not worsening world affairs — nothing!