by Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski

The penitential season of Lent is a traditional time for Christians to fast. This fasting need not only be from food or drink during this time. It can also be a time for discerning what sort of attitudes, dispositions, or habits from which one could benefit by refraining from or avoiding. This expanded view of fasting allows Christians to perceive what deeper habits or vices they ought to repent of and make an amendment of life to address and advance virtues in their stead.

 For Christians committed to the work of reconciliation with Jews, Lent is an opportune time to take stock of that work and their relationship to it. It is worth pondering if there are ways in which Christians have engaged in the work of Jewish-Christian relations that are distorted. This is not a question of repenting from explicit or implicit forms of antisemitism or supersessionism. Christians engaged in this work tend to have a well-developed sense of these issues and usually have already begun this necessary work of unravelling implicit bias against Jews and Judaism that they might encounter from the Christian tradition or society at large.

Instead, I propose to reflect on other ways in which Christians might bring distorting perspectives to the work of Jewish-Christian relations. In particular, it is worth pondering the dangers of Christians foregrounding their own concerns and preoccupations in this work. A hazard for Christians is to do this work to create a relief of a burdened conscience and to reassure themselves that they are in a morally superior position to other Christians. This is the threat of seeking to justify oneself as righteous that the Christian tradition, from Paul to Augustine to Luther, has warned against.

In light of this hazard, a practice this Lent for Christians would be to de-center themselves and their concerns. This would involve refraining from using Christian categories to frame issues or highlighting issues that animate Christians more than Jews. In its place, Christians could take a position of listening deeply to the needs of Jews and their concerns. What emerges when Christians come to the work of reconciliation with Jews with no preconceived notions of what ought to happen but rather with the attitude of deep attentiveness to the concerns voiced by Jews?

In doing this work during Lent, Christians might find themselves surprised or uncomfortable with what they discover. Assumptions might be challenged or issues they would rather not deal with might be voiced. Such responses and feelings are opportunities for Christians to continue the work of decentering their own concerns. They can take the time to explore the implications of what emerges and have the space to reflect on what a meaningful response might be. Moreover, such a process can allow for true mutuality to emerge between Jews and Christians and to ensure that this work is not merely transactional.

Dr. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski is the Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College.