Office for prayer in connection with the Jewish people
Thursday, January, 5th, 2023
Meditation
Frédéric MANNS
The Jewish roots of Christianity
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…that we might receive adoption” (Galatians 4:4-5) For God to visit his people, they and all of humanity had to be ready to receive him. The incarnation would not have been possible at any random moment in time. The Bible rightly attaches great importance to the notion of time, of kairos, for the coming of the Saviour…
The Jews chose the Hebrew word Shekinah to evoke God’s presence in the Temple. The Gospel of John shows the fulfilment of this term in the Greek verb eskênosen (“he has pitched his tent among us”). The similarity between these two words is striking. When the Lord came into the world, he knew that he would suffer and die at the hands of men. The announcement of the Passion had been predicted by the prophets. But the coming of the Messiah was something new and surprising. The early liturgy situates this coming in terms of the memory of Israel and the continuity of God’s purpose. God is faithful to his promises. The announcement of salvation is first made to the people of the promise. God enters human history to communicate his own life to them.
The incarnation does not give God a son, but rather reveals the eternal Son to the world. It makes God seen as a life of relationship, a communication of life. God’s purpose is to offer believers the possibility of entering into his own mystery. At the same time as it manifests God’s love, the gift of the Son to the world brings us into the very heart of God’s life.
2006 – Page 37-38 – L’incarnation
Intercessions
(To be adapted according to each place)
R. Amen, amen, blessed be the God of Israel
Or another chorus.
1.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who mourned because of the violence between Cain and Abel,
–we pray to you for peace in the Holy Land, this land where you have chosen to come and join us in our humanity
2.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who made possible the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers,
-for any contempt for your people Israel, forgive us
(silence)
-we pray to you, Father, to make fraternity grow between the Jewish people and the nations.
3.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who brought Israel out of Egypt and made your people free,
-give your joy to the Jewish people, and keep them faithful to your covenant.
4.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who united the twelve tribes of Israel around the Torah,
-give peace to the Jews who believe in Jesus.
5.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you who sent your Son Jesus to save us,
-pour out your blessing on Christians who are of Jewish descent.
6.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Father of Jesus Christ,
–bring together in unity all Christian churches.
7.Loving Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
– you have given the Jewish people the promise of the coming of the Messiah,
– you have given the Church the expectation of the expectation of your son’s return.
– in the Holy Spirit we say with the whole Church: “Maranatha, come Lord”.