Interfaith Journeys

The family were all looking forward to the wedding.  Family members on both sides travelled from various places to be there.  We all know of course that there are different ways of getting from point A to point B.  People have different preferences of routes, some preferring the motorways while others opting for the less busy roads, even if it takes a little longer.  The groom's mother and brother travelled up from the south by coach while his aunt and cousin travelled from the same place but by car.  Others travelled by various means from equally various places.  It didn't matter how they travelled or which route they took.  The important thing was to get there and enjoy the festivities of the wedding. 

In case any reader is unaware, this is the time of year that Muslims fast for Ramadan.  A few months ago there was a movement during the Christian time of Lent when a number of Muslims joined Christians in fasting for Lent.  The group called themselves Muslims4Lent and now in mutual solidarity there is a group called Christians4Ramadan.  I have been following a blog hosted by a distant relative who converted to Islam a few years ago.  Having come from a Christian background, she has a passion for Interfaith dialogue, not just between Christian and Muslim but also among those of other faiths and none.  During Ramadan, she has guests to post something of their experiences on her blog every day.  So far we have had articles written by a Christian vicar married to a Hindu, a Christian married to a Muslim, a Sikkh woman, a Buddhist experience in Myanmar (Burma), a Wiccan, a Heathen and an ex-Muslim.  
I have found all of the articles very interesting and eye-opening.  You can check for yourself here, A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy. 
I can almost see many Christian hands going up in horror at the thought.  Surely I've now clearly lost the plot altogether!  Actually reading some of these blog posts has made me realise that the many different faiths are each trying to live good lives, aware of the deep spiritual dimension within themselves.  Each one is obviously influenced by their culture and life experiences.  But I have been aware that we are all on a similar journey to the same end goal except that we are travelling from different starting points and going different routes and preferring different methods of getting there.  Jesus showed his love for all with interactions with the Phoenician woman (the immigrant), the Samaritan woman at the well (the one who left the true Jewish religion), the centurion whose servant was ill (the enemy, invader, part of an occupying army) and so on.  He didn't tell them to leave their way of life but still had time for them, showing compassion and helping them.  The Old Testament also has examples of interfaith living.  We are familiar with the story of Naaman the leper, an important official in the country where the Israelites were taken captive.  Moses' father-in-law Jethro was not Hebrew and Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as a holy man.  Contrary to what many Christians think, God doesn't actually belong to us or our religion.  It's the other way around.  We as his creation belong to Him - and that includes all of humanity.  


What has challenged me this week has been words of the Heathen on the above mentioned blog.  He helps friends find their own faith even if they disagree with him and end up believing something completely different.  Would I do that?  So often we make friends with someone of a different faith really in order to convert them to ours, if we're truly honest.  We think we are right and we have the only true way and we remain friends only as long as there seems to be some glimmer of hope  that they will convert to our way of thinking and come to our place of worship.  That's the main problem in the world, that there is upheaval and wars between those of different faiths, fighting it out as if that would prove who is right.  It's not about watering-down our own faith but it is about really accepting that maybe there is more than one way; that we all belong to God; that we are all on our own different journey of faith; that God loves us all.  Acceptance, not just tolerance.  Very difficult at times but much better than killing each other to try to prove a theological argument.  As Richard Rohr says in one of his meditations this week,  'If you really believe in the values you say you believe in, then put them into practice.  Don't waste any time trying to prove someone else is wrong or evil.  Just live what you believe.'  Amen!  We are all on our own faith path of discovery and I am sure that as God guides and directs me, so he is more than capable of doing the same in the lives of others, whatever faith they seek to follow.  Having listened to the horrors on the news yesterday, I am even more certain that interfaith dialogue is a need for our time so that we can have discernment and be able to know the difference between those who truly seek to live out their faith, cultivate that spiritual inner being and seek to help others and not confuse them with those who twist and misuse the name of a religion and words of Sacred writings in order to inflict terror and killing any who don't see things the way they do.  Such people are not true to the religion they profess.  Tit-for-tat killing gets us nowhere except deeper into the horrors of war.  So, those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, maybe it's time to put into practice the way he showed us, really follow him in actions as well as words and have a little more interfaith dialogue and understanding.  Love not hate.

RAK Lent

This week in the Christian calendar has seen the beginning of Lent.  Many people practise the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday but not all those who recognise Pancake Day commit to the 40 days of Lent.  I have to admit that I haven't always participated in the giving up of something for Lent.  It seemed to me to be a practice that had become almost a dogma among Christians, a sort of formula that had to be adhered to in order to be considered a committed Christian.  So being the rebel and non-conformist that I am, I stopped doing it.  Many of course find the self denial and discipline good for their spiritual lives and that's to be applauded.  Many make a conscious effort to pray and read the Bible more which is not a bad thing.


The 40 days of Lent, although a recognised part of the Christian calendar, was not something that Jesus himself practiced on a regular basis.  It is really in remembrance of his 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted before beginning his ministry so in partaking of the practice of some form of fasting in Lent is not something Jesus particularly expected his disciples to do or his followers to take on board as some obligatory annual ritual.  For Jesus it was a very personal time in his journey on earth. So different people approach this time in different ways.  One very tongue-in-cheek look at Lent I saw this week was on twitter called 101 things to give up for Lent.  It included things like certain luxury food and drink as you might expect but also things like giving up non-Christian TV and books and also mid-air drumming and all shoes except sandals, saying at the end that if you do all the things on the list then you are a very godly person indeed!


The time that is remembered as I said is the 40 days before the start of Jesus' ministry and not the 40 days before what we now call Easter.  It was a time when Jesus wrestled with the concerns of his ministry, how he should go about it and what was the main thrust of his message.  It was not about him but about God and his love and forgiveness.  It was about making a change in the lives of many who were living on the margins of society.  It was 'good news to the poor'.  He quoted from the book of the prophet Isaiah when he began his ministry and we are reminded that in Isaiah God says to his people 

'Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yolk, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?   ( Isaiah 58:6.7) 


In my musings and browsing along these lines, I have been challenged myself to live a different Lent this year - a Random Act of Kindness (RAK) Lent.  The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu suggests something on similar lines when he endorses Love Life Live Lent, saying that such acts of kindness to others could change our world.  I discovered that Pope Francis has also been saying something similar.  He suggests fasting on the indifference we have towards the problems of others.  So the RAK Lent is not just about giving up something but trying to make a difference.  Like the 40 days for Jesus was a preparation for his future life, I'm praying that this Lent might be a preparation for a year ahead that makes a difference in the every day living of just where I am.  For more ideas on what acts you could carry out check out Do Lent Generously an idea from the Christian charity Stewardship.  It has some excellent suggestions that are easy to follow.  It's not about giving in terms of money but also time, thought, being not so me-focused on what I'm giving up but more deliberately focused on the needs of others and how I can help to make a difference, making the world a better place for them. 

(Click on the red print to go to the links quoted.)