The Cornerstones of All Three Abrahamic Faiths — Love God and Neighbour — Spill Into Practical Action

By Kathy Coffey
Jun 26, 2018
Nothing in my Uber-Catholic background
(weekly Mass and confession, memorizing the Baltimore Catechism, strict nun
teachers) could have prepared me to participate in a zikr at which Muslim,
Jewish and Christian people chanted the name of God, while the imam sang a
melodic line over the chant.
Some of the women draped in scarves swayed
back and forth, we all felt held by the chanting, and I began to understand why
it is a component of much of the world's worship. The dictionary definition of
zikr is a form of remembrance "associated chiefly with Sufism, when the
worshiper is absorbed in the rhythmic repetition of God's name or
attributes."
Much of the imam's initial talk resonated
with what I already believed. "See the Beloved everywhere," he
encouraged. "Be so crazily in love you're like the besotted 13-year-old
who, asked about ice cream, sighs, 'My favourite flavour is chocolate.' "
His words about God's spark within being
the source of human dignity touched a familiar chord — as a Catholic, I'd heard
that message, named Divine indwelling, often. Muhammad said, "Wherever you
turn, there is the face of God." In the Jewish Kabbalah or mystical
teaching, God hurled forth the holy in countless sparks at the beginning of
time; it whispers to us from all created people and things. When we descend to
the deepest underground stream, all religions echo similar truths.
I've learned this firsthand from my
interfaith group of five Muslim, five Jewish and five Christian women who meet
monthly, taking turns in their homes.
A typical gathering starts with a potluck
of snacks and informal conversation. Then after prayer, a facilitator (a
rotating role) lays groundwork for the theme of the evening. We've discussed
threads common to all traditions, like various religious holidays, the
importance of pilgrimages, communal and individual prayer, action for justice,
and environmental protection. There's strong consensus that we must, in
whatever small ways we can, offset the current government's antipathy to Islam
and hostility to refugees. After both January Women's Marches, we shared our
experiences and chortled at our favourite signs.
The cornerstones of all three Abrahamic
faiths — love God and neighbour — spill into practical action. When a
Presbyterian and her family, sponsored by Catholic Charities, began to foster
two Muslim teenaged refugees who escaped Myanmar and Somalia, Muslims helped
with advice about diet, local mosques, and what hairpins best hold the hijab in
place. When one young refugee encountered anti-Muslim graffiti at her high
school, another member's daughter, a senior at the same school, organized a
welcome campaign to counter the hatred.
We all asked Congress to halt U.S. funding
of the Burmese army engaged in the genocide of Rohingya Muslims.
Our "purse project" furnished
hundreds of bags filled with donated toiletries and goodies to homeless women
in the East Bay area.
We've learned not to minimize our
differences, but also to celebrate our commonalities. We are all seekers,
yearning to see with the eye of the soul and to find the face of God through
our own faiths. We are keenly interested in the wisdom of the world's perennial
traditions, especially what we never learned during more narrow youths. We care
deeply about our planet, the next generation, offsetting ignorance and fear
through education, our sacred texts, and favourite poets like Rumi and Mary
Oliver.
Jewish members of our group have explained
how it's vital to their tradition to wrestle with God, not accepting easy
answers. Muslim members have taken a break from the meeting and adjourned to
another room when it's time to pray. Those of us from more hierarchical
traditions with ordained clergy marvel at how easily one of the women in our
group assumes the leadership role, transforming any living room into sacred
space. Most of us attended Muslim-Christian retreats at San Damiano, a
Franciscan friary, and the local mosque.
Once a year, we lead an Advent service at a
Presbyterian church. As always, we're impressed by the Muslim reverence for
Mary (who is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the Gospel) and Jesus,
whose name is always followed by the phrase, "Peace be upon him."
Although Advent didn't hold great meaning
for Jews, they contributed the Tu B'Shvat prayer for creation and the Talmud
teaching on repairing our own small pieces of the world. The service concluded
with the prayer of an interfaith council that sponsors five circles like ours:
"The task is not ours alone to complete. Neither are we free to walk away.
O God of blessing, strengthens our hands and our hearts to do Your work."
After more than two years of membership in
this circle, I'm grateful to the women who've corrected the self-righteousness
of my youth, when I was taught that only my religion possessed truth. What
arrogance or insecurity implied that there wasn't enough abundance in God to overflow
onto all the world's peoples? I've appreciated their revealing themselves not
only as Muslim, Jewish or Christian, but as women with similar basic concerns:
about a daughter going to college, a racist on the local school board, a father
after a stroke, a divorce, a project to grow healthy food for children in
"food deserts." And thanks for that recipe of persimmons with goat
cheese!
One of the most treasured ornaments on my
Christmas tree is a tiny crèche made in Bethlehem that my Muslim friend Maram
brought from her native country. Somehow she knew its profound meaning for
Christians; somehow she tapped that deep underground stream that bathes us all.
Kathy Coffey lives in the Bay area in California and authored Hidden
Women of the Gospels.
Source:
ncronline.org/news/spirituality/soul-seeing/jew-christian-muslim-see-beloved-everywhere
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/kathy-coffey/the-cornerstones-of-all-three-abrahamic-faiths-—-love-god-and-neighbour-—-spill-into-practical-action/d/115681