Reflection
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
John 14:23-39
This is a time to pray for peace. And it is especially a time to pray for peace within the household of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar. As Jews, Christians and Muslims, we are painfully divided, even though we share a single descent. And our divisions are at the center of much of the world’s most serious places of conflict and war today…When we open our hearts to one another and share the rich perspective of our distinct traditions, it is not simply new or foreign insights that we exchange, sometimes it is ancient and intimate insights that we uncover in the other’s tradition. In other words, we need each other if we are to be well. We will be whole not in separation but in relationship.
J. Philip Newell
Prayer
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Action
Reflect on how our spiritual traditions should unite rather than divide us. Where do you find the same threads in their teachings? Separate the distortions that guide radical groups in all the traditions from the sincere beliefs of most people. See through divisive political rhetoric.
Suggested Readings
God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Psalm 103:8
Forgive not seven times but seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:22
Return evil with good and your enemy will become your friend.
Quran
Sincere and respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims insisted is a duty for us who wish to obey God’s will.
Pope Francis
We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Pope Leo XIV
All of God’s children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God.
Desmond Tutu
I don’t think the President of the United States should extoll Christianity if he happens to be a Christian at the expense of Judaism, Islam or other faiths.
Jimmy Carter
The more we can do to support and promulgate the intellectual traditions of the Abrahamic faiths – of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – the better armed we will be to fight fundamentalism.
Jon Meacham
It is impossible to deny that Christians and Muslims have a common agenda here: both faiths have at their heart the living image of a community raised up by God’s call to reveal to the world what God’s purpose is for humanity.
Rowan Williams
Spirituality is deeply personal. Yet, society has to face the fact that certain faiths celebrate spirituality through an overt expression of inner convictions.
Randa Abdel-Fattah
Abraham is the shared ancestor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He stands at the heart of these three faiths. And yet you know almost nothing about him.
Bruce Feiler
Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.
Walt Disney
Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.
Robert Kennedy