Imagine a narrative flash mob...
The story of Abraham and his extended family, set to music
Regular readers of this Substack know I’m a bit obsessed with supersessionism:
Supersessionism, also called replacement theology, is a Christian theological opinion that describes the idea that the Christian Church has superseded the nation of Israel assuming their role as God’s covenanted people, thus asserting that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ has superseded or replaced the Mosaic covenant. Supersessionism also holds that the universal Christian Church has replaced ancient Israel as God’s true Israel and that Christians (whether Jewish or gentile) have replaced the biological bloodline of ancient Israelites as the people of God.
The case for Christianity is extraordinarily compelling to me. There’s so much beauty and truth that emerges from the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Yet the supersessionist claim — the Jewish story is over and done, or, if you prefer, “fulfilled in Christ”; the Church will take it from here — never felt right to me. It negates the last 2,000 years of Jewish history. It suggests that Jews have been running down a dead-end street for two millennia. It means that everything that’s happened since Calvary is simply commentary.
Perhaps most important to me, supersessionism means my Mom and Dad and brother and my Grandma Rose and Grandpa Ben all lived their Jewish lives in vain. And that I do not believe.
What goes around…
My fear of supersessionism is also related to my fascination with Islam, because many Muslims do to Christians what (supersessionist) Christians do to Jews: Yes, Muslims say, Jesus was G*d’s way of stepping into human history and correcting the errors introduced by the Jews — but the Story didn’t end there! G*d intervened a third time. Mohammed and his followers, who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham and Hagar’s son Ishmael, corrected the errors introduced by the Christians (e.g., incarnation, the Trinity). Muslims are the authentic messengers of G*d’s final revelation. So, while you Christians think Jews are deaf to the Living G*d, we think you stopped listening too.
And so the three of us — Jew, Christian, Muslim — are in a narrative standoff:
“That’s my Story and I’m sticking to it”
Whenever I talk to even the most liberal and ecumenical religious leader — rabbi, priest, minister, imam — the specter of supersessionism is still there, hovering in the background. Why else would this cleric have devoted his or her life to telling one particular Story?
How, then, can you tell the Story of Abraham and his extended family in a way that enables each religious community to know they play a critical yet separate role? How can you say to Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Your particular narrative is essential to the plot and has not been superseded BUT it’s still only one piece of the Story.
Each life is instrumental
If the adventures of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and their descendants were a symphony, what would it sound like? How might the music progress and build and cohere to create a whole that’s bigger than its parts, with each musician bringing something different yet essential to the performance?
It might begin with an upright bass… a cello… then a violin… a man, his wife, their maidservant… then: oboe & bassoon… two sons, Isaac and Ishmael… Jacob… 12 sons and a daughter… enter: clarinets & flutes… Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, Mohammed… trombones & trumpets… St. Francis of Assisi… Deitrich Bonhoeffer… Abraham Joshua Heschel… French horns, timpani & a chorus… and slowly, note by note, instrument by instrument, stanza by stanza, plot point by plot point, character by character, the Story and the symphony would build as one.
I hear you gagging…
Isn’t this just a saccharine and cliche way to suggest that we are all essentially the same?
No, quite the opposite. We’re different, but when we come together to create the good and the beautiful, we can be a blessing because each of us — as individuals and as communities of faith — carries a vital piece of a bigger narrative puzzle that none of us can solve on our own.
I know flash mobs are no longer a thing. But as you watch and listen to this musical performance from 2012, remember: No one wants the cellist to play the French horn, or vice versa… or for the trombone to supersede the oboe. When gathered together with wisdom, vision, and grace, differences can be transcendent… but it’s not guaranteed.
Amen