Should the Church change the Gospel reading for Good Friday?

[thephilosopher6]

I’ve seen some discussion that the Church should stop using the Gospel of John for the Gospel reading at the Good Friday service mainly because St. John repeatedly uses the phrase “the Jews” which apparently might appear antisemitic and promotes Jewish deicide. I think this argument is highly problematic due to various reasons and I think that the Gospel reading should be kept the same. What does CAF think?

 

[JulianN]

Where have you heard this discussion?

 

[Trickypixie]

From my experience, Jewish people call themselves Jews.

 

[guanophore]

St. John repeatedly uses the phrase “the Jews”

I think the parts the congregation reads ('crowd") are much more damning than the word “Jews”. The congregation takes the part of the Jews, and all those who contributed to Jesus bearing our sins to the cross.

 

[thephilosopher6]

I read an article on it some days ago, don’t remember where but I’ll try and find it.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

The people in Jerusalem were, in fact, Jews. Christ and His Apostles were themselves Jews, they were hardly anti-Semites.

 

[thephilosopher6]

Yes, this is most obvious.

 

[Arkansan]

No, the Church shout not change its liturgy (again) to be politically correct.

 

[evie]

The Thing I Never Want to Hear Again on Good Friday

This may be the article that was referred to. I don’t think eliminating the passage from Gospel of John is necessarily the answer, but understanding and translating the “Jews” to “the crowd”. We can’t deny the reality of historical persecution of Jewish people that has been incited by a willful misunderstanding of this part of the Gospels.