Israel’s rebirth and conversion herald the end

– the Letter of Saint Paul to the romans, 9: 3- 5

tHe Sunday Mass readings affirming Jesus as the Messiah promised to the Chosen People of Israel, including the above epistle verses, thematically match the saint commemorated on August 9, her day of martyrdom.

edith Stein ( 1891- 1942) was a German Jew and, for a time, an atheist renowned for her brilliance in philosophy, mentored by the great edmund Husserl, principal founder of phenomenology and one of the 20th century’s leading thinkers.

In 1922, inspired by the writings of St. teresa of Avila, who co-founded the Order of Discalced Carmelites with St. John of the Cross, Stein converted to Catholicism. She later joined the congregation, taking the name Sister teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Her conversion, however, did not save her from the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews. the Catholic Church declared as martyrdom her death in a gas chamber in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. One of the six patron saints of europe, St. teresa Benedicta is also patroness of Jews converted to Christianity.

Israel, the fig tree

Israel’s conversion, espoused by St. Paul to the romans, is now gaining much anticipation in the growing preaching about the end times before Christ’s Second Coming as prophesied in the Bible and Christian doctrine.

Indeed, two chapters after romans 9, Paul declared that “all Israel will be saved” ( rom 11.26). that line has prompted many Biblical scholars to see the Jews’ conversion to Christianity as a prophesied precursor to the Second Coming.

Buttressing this view of future events in Israel is Paul’s own heartfelt wish, as quoted above, “that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.”

for the apostle to accept what for him is the worst-ever fate of separation from Christ — a tragedy God would never wish — it must be because it is our Lord’s sure wish that Israel be redeemed. And the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph CCC 674, states: “the glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by ‘all Israel.’”

thus, Jewish conversion is an end- times expectation, even though many theologians, preachers and Scripture scholars, including Catholics, argue that God can show mercy even to non- Christians.

Indeed, Pope Francis has discouraged the faithful from converting non- Catholics, despite Jesus’ command before he ascended to heaven “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” ( The Gospel of St. Matthew, 28: 19).

Hence, despite disputes about its end- times or eschatological imperative, a number of theologians and preachers see the conversion of Israel as an event prophesied to happen before Christ’s Second Coming.

Add to that Israel’s rebirth as a state in its ancient Biblical territory. That revival in 1948 was nearly 19 centuries after the Jewish nation’s destruction by the Roman Empire in the year 70 — a restoration that never happened to any other dissolved nation in history. Israel was recognized by the United Nations, with the Philippines casting the deciding affirmative vote in the UN.

Jesus himself is thought to have prophesied Israel’s destruction and rebirth. In the Gospel of St. Luke, 21: 24, he warned: “Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles [ nonJews], until the times of the

Gentiles are fulfilled.” And that time of fulfillment is deemed to be the modern era, hence Israel’s rebirth 72 years ago.

A further prophecy seen by scholars is Jesus’ parable several verses later, right after he prophesied about his Second Coming. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees,” our Lord said, “as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So, also when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31).

Many interpreters see the fig tree symbolizing Israel, which

God Himself likened to figs both good and bad in the Book of Jeremiah (24:5-8), and of which Jesus told another fig tree parable in St. Luke’s Gospel (13:6-9).

‘You are the Son of God’

Will the Israelites really turn to Christianity after several millennia of holding fast to their ancient faith, the very core of their identity as a nation, despite endless persecution and execution by the most powerful empires in history?

Today’s Mass readings may point to how salvation, if not conversion, may come to Israel, as God surely wishes for all humanity, most especially His Chosen People, gifted with “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises … the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ.”

The first reading from the First Book of Kings (19:9, 11-13) recounts how the Prophet Elijah divined God’s presence in His holy mountain of Horeb. Elijah discounted strong wind, earthquake and fire — fearsome manifestations one might associate with Yahweh of the Old Testament — and finally sensed Him in a whisper.

The Responsorial Psalm 85 calls on God to grant His salvation, not from on the lofty heavens, but treading the earth: “The Lord himself will give his benefits … Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps.”

And after St. Paul’s Epistle bared his deep longing for Israel to come to Christ, St. Peter, the Church’s other great apostle, exclaimed what Jews would hopefully declare after Jesus saves him from sinking in the stormy sea: “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

What monumental event might bring Israel to conversion? That’s for next Sunday.