Shalom

Well, my sister Julie and I returned today from a family vacation in Bethany Beach, DE with family and friends. It was really a great time of fellowship, fun, and relaxation... oh, and some good sleep :) I also had the chance to read a good amount of the Pope's new book Jesus of Nazareth on the beach - though its pretty deep, but very good in that it leads you through a lot of Scripture.

Anyway one day at the beach, I had read a whole bunch of stuff about Jesus as the new Torah and all about the Jewish background of Jesus and such - and I walked into the lobby of the hotel we were staying in and there was a Jewish guy with a beard and all - I assume an orthodox Jew.

As I approached I felt a lot of love for him and I greeted him - and he responded "Shalom!" To which I responded "Yeah, I like that... Shalom!" Then he followed me a few steps as I was getting on an elevator and he asked "Are you Jewish?" I paused a second and responded without really knowing what I was saying "Yeah, sort of..." and then I just said "Jesus." And at that we parted ways... though I did end up seeing him later praying and we greeted one another again.

Ha! It was great encounter. I don't know what I was thinking when I said "I'm sort of [Jewish]!" It must have been the Pope's book... and/or the Holy Spirit! (side note: In one of the most inspired phrases of the 20th century, Pope Pius XI, in the course of condemning anti-Semitism, said that Christians are "spiritual Semites" - a little more eloquent than my "sort of Jewish" response). Anyway, I pray that the brief encounter would lead this man to fulfill his Judaism by recognizing the Messiah, Jesus. Two great articles ChristLife has on our Web site deals with both a personal testimony of a Jewish convert to Christianity (whom I know) and the theological differences & similarities between Judaism & Christianity by Peter Kreeft.