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Overcoming
Global Hatred:
Nurturing
Respect and
Understanding
Among Different
Faiths
by Thomas Ryan,
C.S.P.
The religious
perspective of
Christian faith
on this topic
can be
summarized in
two words: love
and forgiveness.
The challenge to
make these two
words--so trite
in their
expression--mean
something for
us, is only
surpassed by the
challenge to
live that
meaning.
Where does the
high teaching on
forgiveness and
love find
expression in
Christianity?
The keynote
theme of the
mission of Jesus
of Nazareth was
the coming of
God's reign. The
notion of God's
reign was not
invented by
Jesus or the
early church; it
has deep roots
within the
theology and
history of
Israel. Jesus
words and
actions indicate
that forgiveness
and love
characterize
God's reign.
This is the
teaching we have
from Jesus:
You have
heard that it
was said: 'You
shall love your
neighbor and
hate your
enemy'. But I
say to you: Love
your enemies and
pray for those
who persecute
you so that you
may be children
of your Father
in heaven, for
he makes his sun
rise on the evil
and on the good,
and sends rain
on the righteous
and on the
unrighteous. For
if you love
those who love
you, what reward
do you have? And
if you greet
only your
brothers and
sisters, what
more are you
doing than
others? (Mt
5: 43-47)
In several of
Jesus stories
(e.g. the
Pharisee and the
publican, Lk
18:9-14; the
prodigal son, LK
15:11-32)
another point is
made: that in
order to please
God, besides
being faithful
and good, we
must also be
merciful and
wish to forgive,
to forgive
"seventy times
seven times" (Mt
18:22), that is,
without limit.
For if you
forgive others
their
trespasses, your
heavenly Father
will also
forgive you. But
if you do not
forgive others,
neither will
your Father
forgive your
trespasses.
(Mt 6: 14,15)
God's own
compassion and
gracious
forgiveness
become the model
for love of
enemies and
reconciliation
within the
community. The
founders and
most outstanding
representatives
of all our
spiritual
traditions are
called
"masters."
Masters do more
than teach-they
live what they
teach. Their
lives witness to
their ideas. We
find such
coherence
between what
Jesus said and
what he lived;
even in the
throes of agony
upon the cross,
his prayer was:
"Father, forgive
them for they do
not know what
they are doing."
Not
surprisingly, we
who follow such
masters fall
short of such
heroic
integrity. Yet
the ideal is set
before us: as a
community of
Christian
believers,
gifted with
Jesus' own
Spirit, we are
called to be
ministers of
reconciliation
(2 Cor 5:19-20),
a people who
make the peace
of God visible
through lives
characterized by
forgiveness and
love.
How is this to
be lived out in
concrete terms?
For a Christian,
love implies the
absolute demand
for justice,
that is, the
recognition of
the dignity and
the rights of
one's neighbor.
In Christian
faith, every
person reflects
something of the
visible image of
the invisible
God, so whoever
loves God and
neighbor must
commit to
liberating
people from
injustice-economic,
social, and
political.
In his
preaching, Jesus
proclaimed the
intervention of
God's justice on
behalf of the
needy and
oppressed.
Further, Jesus
identified
himself with
those who were
least:
Truly I tell
you, just as you
did it to one of
the least of
these, you did
it to me
(Mt. 25:40)
There is no
separating Jesus
teaching on love
from the work
for justice that
promotes the
good of the
whole person, of
every human
being and
society as a
whole. In
practical terms,
this work seeks
to eliminate
excessive
economic,
social, and
cultural
iniquities,
thereby
providing a
solid foundation
upon which we
can construct a
true peace.
So as Christians
our religious
perspective is
shaped by Jesus'
teaching on the
Reign of God,
characterized by
forgiveness and
reconciliation,
by justice and
peace. We
recognize that
there is a
tension between
our vision of
this reign as he
proclaimed it
and its concrete
realization in
history. Short
of the fullness
of the kingdom,
we believe that
peace is
possible, but
that it will not
be permanent or
total in a world
marred by the
presence of sin
within the human
heart. To
establish that
reign means the
transformation
not only of the
human heart but
also of the
oppressive
social
structures that
dehumanize and
exclude the poor
and the
defenseless.
The proclamation
of Jesus reveals
that God is a
saving God whose
coming will
effect personal
and social
transformation,
a God whose
coming calls for
a decisive
response and
whose appearance
will provoke
judgment for
those whose way
of life is not
in accord with
the reality of
that reign.
What kinds of
things can we
then do to be
active
collaborators in
the preparation
for this Reign
of God? How can
we nurture
respect and
understanding,
forgiveness and
love among all
God's children?
Most of all,
through
education: in
family
activities, in
our local
temples,
parishes,
synagogues, and
mosques.
Education, at
all levels of
formal learning,
is a key and
practical
ingredient to
changing hearts
and opening
minds.
Family life
provides crucial
opportunities to
impart values
which foster
respect and
understanding.
Parents can
offset the
violence in
today's world
through the
development of
nonviolent,
cooperative
attitudes and
skills in
children in a
home environment
that supports
affirmation,
cooperative
chores and
games.
Similarly,
creating time
for family
prayer and
family meetings
to resolve
domestic
conflicts.
Parental example
is crucial since
a husband and
wife who work
for marital
harmony provide
irreplaceable
role models.
In our religious
communities,
perhaps our
greatest
challenge is to
encourage the
assembly to
think of local
work for
justice, the
foundation of
true peace, as a
necessary
dimension of our
efforts to
overcome hatred.
Work for justice
is not some
marginal cause,
relevant to only
a few "activitist"
members within
our communities.
We must also in
our communities
learn how to be
good hosts, such
as you are doing
today, and good
guests. How can
we come to love
one another and
to appreciate
each other's
spiritual wisdom
and public
witness unless
we come to know
one another?
That means being
ready to both
invite others
into our space,
and to go visit
them in theirs.
Formal education
about other
religious
communities
remains
indispensable.
In the past year
in our parish we
recently offered
an adult
education course
on Islam and
initiated a
Jewish-Christian
dialogue group
with members
from a local
synagogue.
At every level,
grade school,
high school, and
university, we
need to
cultivate
awareness of our
interdependence
as citizens of
this city and as
people of faith,
and to present
the challenge of
developing
imaginative
solutions to our
conflicts.
Nurturing
respect and
understanding is
a task of the
spiritual life.
The economy of
spiritual goods
is different
from the economy
of material
goods. The more
you give away
material
goods-money,
land, houses,
clothing and
food-the less
you have and the
poorer you are.
The economy of
spiritual goods
is quite the
reverse. The
more we give,
the more we
receive; the
more we
surrender, the
more we have.
The more we
love, show
solidarity,
spread good will
and practice
forgiveness, the
more we feel
humanized and go
away enriched.
One of the most
surprising and
even scandalous
dimensions of
the message of
Jesus is the
proclamation
that God is a
God of
unconditional
love and
unlimited mercy.
He offers his
love and
forgiveness to
all, even when
that love is not
returned. This
is the
challenging
religious
perspective that
must shape a
Christian
response to the
events of our
times.
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