As we witness the great tragedy of human making that is now unfolding, it seems humanity has forgotten how to be neighbour, how to live in right relationship with each other, writes Congregational Leader Sister Catherine McCahill.
“How’s your day been?” I asked my taxi driver late one evening recently. Somewhat to my surprise, his answer took me to another space: “It’s the holy month of Ramadan.” Given the late hour, I was concerned; had he been able to break his fast? Yes, he assured me, he had gone home for his iftar, the meal taken to break the fast from water and food during sunlight hours during Ramadan.
My surprise was not that it was the holy month of Ramadan. I knew that, although I did not know that my driver was Muslim. For me, this was the time of Lent. It would not have occurred to me to answer a greeting with such a statement. For some reason, my driver chose to witness to his faith in this way.
I have returned to this conversation several times in the intervening weeks. Since then, Muslims have celebrated Eid Al-Fitr (20 March) and for Christians Lent has ended with the celebration of Easter (5 April: Western Christians, 12 April: Eastern Christians). While the faith feasts for these two religions are very different, Ramadan and Lent have many similarities.
Prayer, fasting and charity are central for both. God invites, impels, commands (depending on one’s interpretation) the believer to greater commitment, to review their spiritual quest, to make God more central, and to greater acts of charity. Fundamentally, relationship with God and with one’s neighbour are inseparable.
Our Jewish neighbours have also celebrated one of their major feasts, Passover, this month (1-9 April). Within their religious teachings, we find the earliest list of “commands” that connect worship of God with ethical practices towards one’s neighbour.
Some scholars see this as the great evolutionary breakthrough for humanity. The God of the Hebrews demands that believers practise right relationships with their fellow human beings as well as worshipping God and giving God priority.
Unfortunately, some might argue that this Law of God only applies to Jews in relation to other Jews, but the writings are clear: “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)
Three world religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – three Abrahamic faiths with so much to teach our world. And yet?
While we moved through these days of prayer, fasting and alms giving, while we celebrated Eid Al-Fitr, Easter and Passover, a great tragedy of human making was unfolding in the very lands that gave birth to these religious traditions. It seems humanity has forgotten how to be neighbour, how to live in right relationship with each other.
Such have been my musings as I celebrated the great Christian feast of Easter – the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. I cannot reflect as a Jew or a Muslim. My reflections come from my understanding of this God, whom all three acknowledge as creator and with whom we all seek to live in relationship.
The mystery that Christians celebrate at Easter is not simply an historical fact. Yes, Jesus died “once and for all” and we, Christians, believe he is risen. However, the crucifixion is not yet complete.
I witness crucifixion in the cries of children, women and men bombed in their own homes, the unending images of neighbourhoods torn apart like wastepaper. I witness crucifixion in the heartbreak and anguish of the survivors of many forms of abuse, especially when it perpetrated within Church settings. I witness crucifixion in the pain of grief and distress caused by illness and untimely death.
How will I bear witness? Can I, in this place, whatever this place of crucifixion is now, bear witness to hope, to resurrection?
My imagination and thoughts are drawn to the “resurrection” narratives in the Christian Scriptures. No one witnesses the resurrection of Jesus. We only have reports of an empty tomb, disbanded burial cloths, and random sightings or appearances of the “risen” Jesus.
In each Gospel, women are the first to witness the “risen” Jesus and announce this new reality. I think back to my article in last month’s edition of The Good Oil, where I lamented the lack of women’s voice in so many places. Yes, here in this foundational text, the women’s voice is clear.
They announce the resurrection. Various responses from their male counterparts are given – disbelief, dismissal as idle gossip, checking the facts for themselves. Whatever the response, history is on the women’s side. Christianity emerges from their witness.
For me, it seems that their credibility comes from their witness. They are present when Jesus dies the scandalous death on a cross. They are present when he is buried. They return to the tomb to grieve, to do what they can.
In fact, the earliest Gospel, the account attributed to Mark, tells of a “young man” inviting them to look at the place where Jesus had been laid. Yes, they must witness the emptiness, the devastating consequences of the crucifixion before they are transformed into fearful, yet intentional witnesses to the hope of resurrection.
They must tell the disciples to go to Galilee where they will see him. In other words, they and all the disciples of Jesus down through history will need to live his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, from life and death to new life.
Along the way, the way of journeying with Jesus, Christians, me included, will witness many crucifixions, we may also have glimpses of the “risen” Jesus. Whatever the experience, we hope our journey will lead us together to God.
Maybe, just maybe, we can learn to be neighbours.
