Friday, October 31, 2014

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: When Your Tour Guide Teaches Unexpected Things . . .

Before I retired I had to take a business trip to Morocco.  I did not speak any of the local languages, so I arranged for an English-speaking guide.  We traveled together to several cities ---- Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Marrakech.  He was the driver, but he also knew much about current events in Morocco and its history, so we had many interesting conversations.  I was glad I had some time to become well-acquainted with him and with that country.

On one of our long drives between cities, we found ourselves talking about religion.  He said he was a Muslim, an adherent of Islam.  I told him I was a Christian, and we started to compare notes.

It turned out that we had a number of things in common.  Both faiths value prayer, worship (humbling ourselves before God) and fasting.  Both faiths shun the worship of idols.  We both honor and remember Adam, Noah and Moses.  We both believe we are descendants of Abraham, the patriarch of both our faiths, as well as of the Jewish faith ---- for the Jewish people it is through the line of Isaac, and for Muslims through the line of Ishmel.

In fact, my Moroccan guide said, Christians and Jews are recognized within the Qur'an (Koran), the Muslim holy book, as "people of the Book."  Muslims even honor Jesus Christ as a great prophet, he continued, and we also believe that Jesus will return to earth.

I was surprised and pleased that there were so many commonalities between the Muslim and Christian faiths.  But now the conversation became a little more difficult.  Remembering my guide's reference to the Qur'an, I asked him what he believed about the Bible.

He paused a moment, and then said that for Muslims, God's revelation came in their holy book, the Qur'an, a code of laws, rules and regulations given by Allah to govern life and society.  I responded that Christians also submit ourselves to a holy book.  We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the word of God with the power to change lives.  However, I emphasized, Christians believe that God's full revelation came in Jesus Christ.  I said the Bible's purpose is to lead us into an intimate relationship with God.  Throughout the Bible, the God of the universe is portrayed as seeking relationship with us and longing for us to cultivate peace in our relationship with one another.

My Muslim friend wanted to respond with the Muslim view of man's relationship with God.  The Qur'an, he said, describes our relationship with God in terms of master and slave.  But, while Allah is distant in his relationship with mankind, the Qur'an also describes Allah as merciful and compassionate to mankind.  This latter point pleased me, because Christians also affirm this view of God ---- our Scriptures describe God as a merciful and compassionate, although more intimate, master.

Even though Jesus holds a high place in Islam as a great prophet, surprisingly, the Qur'an teaches that Jesus was never killed.  God is sovereign, the Qur'an teaches, and therefore God could not allow Jesus, the great prophet, to die such a violent death.  'Because Muslims don't share the Christian belief in original sin," said my Muslim friend, "Muslims wonder why Christians even need the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross."  I told him that from the Christian point of view, Jesus' pain and death on the cross provide us with the greatest gift in the world.  Jesus' humanity and suffering demonstrate the extraordinary lengths to which our Creator goes to lavish great love and forgiveness on us, in spite of our sinful ways.

"Well," my friend asked, "why don't you obey the teachings of our great prophet Muhammad?"  I had to be careful here.  I said Christians believe that Muhammad's teachings contain some truth, but they are not part of our Biblical tradition.  "Don't be offended," my friend said, "but Muslims believe that in his teachings Muhammad corrected corrupt texts in the Bible."

The prevailing view in Islam apparently is that everything Muhammad said and did was inspired by Allah (God), even though unlike Jesus, Mohammad was wholly human.  The Qur'an claims that Muhammad has God's seal of prophethood, Muhammad being the last and final messenger to humanity.  "But while Muslims venerate and imitate the prophet," my guide continued, "they stop short of worshiping him or regarding him as divine."

My Moroccan friend had one more great question: "If salvation is a gift of God's grace (the Christian view) why do we need to do good works?"  Muslims and Christians share a linear view of history, a belief that our destiny in heaven or hell depends on how we live our lives on earth. We both believe in individual death, judgment and the resurrection of the body.  My friend continued: "In Islam, those whose good deeds to others outweigh their bad deeds, will attain salvation. Those whose bad deeds to others outweigh their good deeds will abide in hell." 

 Apparently, it is love for Allah and a desire to please him that motivates the faithful Muslim to keep striving for good.  Paramount among the good behaviors to which Muslims aspire are the Five Pillars of Islam: confession of faith, prayer, tithing (giving to the poor and helping in other ways people who are in need), fasting and (for some Muslims) pilgrimage to Mecca.

While Islam calls men and women to submit to God's law, Christianity understands that Jesus has already fulfilled God's law on behalf of the world.  Muslims submit to God's law with the passionate belief that their actions are working to bring in the reign of God.  Christians believe that God's kingdom has already come. Christ already accomplished the ultimate reign of God, and therefore we strive as hopeful heirs of the promised kingdom.

"The Christian emphasis on God's grace could be seen as an easy pretext for personal and societal lawlessness," continued my Moroccan friend.  He certainly had a good point.  History provides many examples of people who claimed to follow Jesus and yet were perpetrators of evil. On the other hand, the Islamic emphasis on absolute submission to God's law could be interpreted as unforgiving legalism, from a Christian's perspective. 

These conversations left me with some hope for reconciliation between our two faiths, or at least some mutual tolerance.  Perhaps what it would take would be the movement of our Muslim friends toward grace and some forgiveness, and greater obedience shown by Christians.

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this fall at CPC.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Do We Show Enough Gratitude For God's Creatures?

A recent newspaper story was entitled:  "Service This Sunday to Bless Pets."  This aroused my Presbyterian curiosity.  The story went on to say that a local Episcopal church would hold their annual "St. Francis Blessing of the Animals" at the 9 a.m. service on Sunday, September 28. Community members were encouraged to bring their pets, and a reception would follow, with treats for both humans and animals.

The newspaper story told nothing more to help me understand the purpose and meaning of this annual event.  But, I have a sweet little dog at home, and I wondered if she would miss out on something important if we did not attend that service.  So, I did a little research.

I learned that this church service, celebrated by Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, is really in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi's famed love for all creatures.  There are many stories of how St. Francis of Assisi (1182 - 1226) could communicate with animals and felt at one with all Creation.

But perhaps the ultimate source for this annual rite is the Creation Story (Genesis 1:1 - 34).  This Scripture passage recites, day by day, God's creational work. On the fifth day, it says, God brought forth swarms of living creatures in the air, in the water, and on the land, and God bid them to be fruitful and multiply.  On the sixth day, God created humankind in God's image, giving them dominion over the animals.

Some sources note how God directed Noah to build an ark, and to fill it with male and female members of each animal species to preserve their breed during the Flood.  And, other sources note that the "animals" must be highly favored by God because they do not plant crops or otherwise produce their food, but nevertheless they thrive.  Further, that God gives them streams to drink, and mountains and valleys for their refuge, and high trees upon which to make their nests.

The Episcopal Church version of this service includes a lengthy prayer, thanking God for his many gifts, and then:
          ".  .  .  .
           We thank you, Lord
           For all creatures that breathe, and move, and have life;
           For the songs of the birds and the loveliness of flowers and trees;
           For the trust you have shown in giving into our care these our pets;
           That each pet here may be treasured with care;
           That we may love and honor all of your works, O God.
            .  .  .  .
            Amen

Then, animal by animal, the Episcopal priest circulates through the congregation saying a few words of blessing to the animals individually and sprinkling a few drops of holy water on the animal and on the owner.

There is a closing prayer:
            "Almighty God, our great Creator, yours are the praise, the glory, the
             honor and all blessings!  To you alone do all things belong.  Be praised
             for giving us the animals, birds and fish which fill your world.  May we
             think of you and thank you when we play with and care for our pets.  Be
             praised for making us so happy to have our pets and to have them to
             play with.  We ask you, Lord, that we may be good to our pets always,
             so that they may be happy also.  Help us always to take care of them so
             that they will be healthy  .  .  .  ."

The emphasis of the Episcopal Church liturgy seems to be:  1.) to thank God for giving us the animals, birds and fish which fill our world; and 2.) for the often loving relationships we have with our pets.  The Roman Catholic Church liturgy is similar, but adds the request that Fatherly care and healing power be provided to our animal companions to take away any suffering they may have.  Then,  "Give us, their human friends, new understanding of our responsibilities to those creatures of yours."  The liturgy of the Franciscan Order ends with the words:  "Grant our petitions through the intercession of good St. Francis of Assisi, who honored You through all your creatures."

So, what kind of animals are likely to be blessed at the annual St. Francis Day blessing of the animals?  In an internet story about the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in upper Manhattan, a camel is pictured, walking with a human handler down the center aisle.  Other internet stories tell of alpacas, tortoises, foxes, hamsters and many pet dogs and cats, processing up the main aisle, attended by their human friends.  Last year, the Madison Eagle newspaper printed a photo of a chicken (in a cage) belonging to a Madison Grace Episcopal Church choir member, receiving a blessing.  Sometimes there is an animal-themed fair outside on the church grounds after the service.

To a Presbyterian observer, it may be tempting to focus on the drama of animals large and small being presented at the church service.  However, the main idea really is to celebrate God's Creation and to remember how St.Francis called our attention to this gift of God.

In fact, while Presbyterians may not celebrate saints, as do Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, we celebrate God's Creation in our own ways.  Our hands-on concern for protecting the environment (God's Creation) and our church-member involvement in "green" causes, goes on all
year round.  For us the spot-light is not on a one-day, late September, event.

While we Presbyterians may not specifically thank God for our pets and other animals, we do remember to continually thank God for the enriching presence these animals have in our lives ---- and many of us work continuously to maintain the Creation God has given us.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this fall at CPC.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Has the Pursuit of Social Justice Become the New Evangelism?

In the twentieth century, American Christians seemed divided between the liberal mainline that stressed social justice, and the fundamentalist churches that emphasized personal salvation.  The issue was enlarged by increased concern about poverty and social injustice.  Should the Christian follow traditional evangelism, which took pains to save people's souls even if it did nothing about the systems locking them into debilitating poverty?  To some, the price of "doing" social justice was thought to be the weakening of sound Scriptural grounding and knowledge, and the lessening of one's zeal for saving souls.  On the other hand, in the world then and now we see so much poverty and pained need, all around us.  Can we really turn a blind eye?  But, how can we possibly go in both directions at once?

Some have argued that Christians should only do social justice as a means to the end of evangelism.  That is, we should do mercy and social justice only because it helps us bring people to faith in Christ.  But, this does not seem to fit in with Jesus' charge not to give to needy people only to get something in return (Luke 6:32 - 35).  "Doing" social justice can indeed lead people to listen to the message of the gospel, but to consider that deeds of mercy and justice are identical to gospel proclamation is not correct. 

So, perhaps there is more than one technique for "evangelizing."  Traditionally, it was done by "preaching" Scripture, paraphrasing Bible stories and otherwise teaching Scripture by word of mouth.

But, sometimes people's ears are "closed" to such words.  Either they do not believe the words or they can't muster the desire to live by them.  Sometimes instead, what really moves and excites people is real-life examples that exemplify the Scripture teachings ---- actions taken in everyday life that are selfless efforts to help other human beings.  Think about the Good Samaritan parable!  We quote that story to this day, even though not a word of Scripture was reported to have been said!

Let's look for a link between evangelism and the example we project as practicing Christians, as mirrored in our actions toward others.  Imagine an eloquent Christian preacher who every Sunday delivers compelling sermons.  But one of his parishioners learns that the minister verbally abuses and browbeats his wife daily.  After the parishioner discovers this, for him the sermons are completely unpersuasive.  Are you surprised?  The preacher's deeds contradict his words, and so the preacher's words have no power.

Imagine instead a new minister whose public oratory is quite mediocre.  However, as time goes on, the parishioners come to see that he is a man of sterling character, wisdom, humility and love. Soon, because of the quality of his life, his church members find that they are hanging on every word of his preaching..  His deeds and behavior support his words.

Deeds of mercy and justice should be done out of love, not simply as a means to the end of evangelism.  And yet, there is no better way for Christians to lay a foundation for evangelism than by "doing " social justice.  Evangelism at its best is done through relationship, visitation and friendship.  Similarly, the elements of doing social justice effectively are:  repeated approaches by the same person, going repeatedly to the same recipient, and doing it regularly.  Thus we become one's friend for Jesus' sake.  "Word" and "deed" are seamlessly integrated in this ministry.  For example, helping neighbors with their children's educational needs, or with finding jobs, or learning English as a second language.  These all go hand-in-hand with verbally sharing our faith.

Furthermore, simply doing "acts of charity" without suggesting by word and action that others could also do selfless, everyday things for others, wastes a good opportunity to bring bits of Christ's message to a broader audience.

If we wish to share our faith with needy people, and we do nothing about the painful conditions in which they live, we will fail to show Christ's beauty.  But, we must neither confuse evangelism with "doing" social justice, nor separate these two things from one another.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this fall at CPC.
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