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Romans 11:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Romans 11:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 For if their rejection leads to the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 The Gentiles’ Salvation.[a] If the firstfruits are holy, then so is the whole lump of dough. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in their place to share in the rich root of the olive tree,
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- Romans 11:16 As for the Gentile converts who may be tempted to look down on their Jewish brothers, the Apostle recalls their own spiritual origins: the Church was born from the Jewish people; she is the fulfillment of the Remnant of Israel. The Gentiles were grafted like a wild olive shoot onto this olive tree. Each one of them must remember that God has called them out of love and mercy. Even in their rejection of Jesus, the Jews do not lose their quality of belonging to the chosen people.
The lesson is always valid: no one can boast about being saved. Anti-Semitism can be nothing but a scandal in the Christian world: “We are spiritual Semites” (Pope Pius XI). The originality of the Church of Jesus consists in bringing about the unity of humankind, and first of all of the two opposed groups that are the Jews and the Gentiles (Eph 2:14-16).
