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The righteous man will be at rest - One god, one hope - The Heritage left by Father Rijk
Johannes Willebrands

In Rome on October 15, 1979, a solemn con-celebration in memory of the recently deceased Professor Rijk was held in the Basilica of Saint Mark, presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Willebrands, Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism. During this ceremony Cardinal Willebrands preached a homily in which he spoke of Professor Rijk and the work he had done in the field of Jewish-Christian relationships.

Vocation of Israel

Speaking of Professor Rijk's deep bond with Holy Scripture, the Cardinal said: "His whole heart was in it." He then stressed that Professor Rijk understood the relationship between Christians and Jews under two aspects: "searching into the mystery of the Church, whose beginnings rise form Abraham's faith, from the Covenant of Mount Sinai"; then going on to affirm that, "for all men salvation comes through the people of Israel (cf. John 4:22). In this sense, continued the Cardinal, "the Christ of the Covenant brings us the true freedom and vocation of the people of Israel, which are the root of the bond between Christians and Jews, because we are grafted on to the good olive tree to bring forth fruits of salvation." This, said the Cardinal, "was the thought and inspiration of Professor Rijk . . . he carried this work forward whole-heartedly and with all his strength."

Indeed, Professor Rijk -discovered in his priestly vocation this specific mission and wanted to dedicate himself to it with all his strength and his gifts which were numerous. And all this, he had wanted to put at the service of the Church.- In this way his work inthe Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity developed, as collaborator of Cardinal Bea, precisely because, in the context of this secretariat, he could and should "busy himself with the Jewish people, though with a different plan and orientation" than the one concerning relationships between Christians. When he left the secretariat, added the Cardinal, "he did so in order to develop his work more freely, to give every latitude to his spiritual qualities" by creating spiritual, human and social contacts between Christians and Jews in the organized and firm structure of SIDIC.

His Heritage

Thus Prof. Rijk has left us a heritage: the work he began must "continue in future, with the same zeal, inspiration and perseverance; we need in fact, patience and spiritual strength that will overcome the obstacles of our time."
At the end of his discourse, the Cardinal referred to the wider background of Jewish-Christian relationships: "One God, one Hope without which there will be no true peace on earth." If all men should recognize each other as sons of God, how much more so should Jews and Christians.- In this, too, Professor Rijk mapped out for us a road: "Called to the heavenly Church, his work goes on and he is still most certainly fulfilling his vocation.- His death may seem premature, but in reality it is like the "grain of wheat that bears fruit only if it dies" (cf. John 12:24). Hence, concluded the Cardinal: "We should entrust our friend to divine providence and continue the witness of his word, his work and his life", to bring about full reconciliation between the two peoples, Jews and Christians, "so that, like the grain of wheat, it may bear much fruit."