The Word … come alive!

This summer, you know I have been pretty passionate about a book, ­The Faith Club, written by three very intelligent, honest and spiritually blessed women of three faiths: Christian, Jew and Moslem.   I think that our society (and world in general) needs such a model of open conversation to help build bridges over the misunderstandings, fear and the violence-as-an-answer of our age.  I was so impressed with this book that I bought several copies.  Members have loaned them out to take a read and invariably, they have gone and purchased one of their own.   I thank God for that!

Pastor Phil Price of the 1st Presbyterian Church here in Twin Falls, and an avid reader, heard me sharing with our Magic Valley Interfaith Association of my deep desire that we try to create an open forum where a panel of persons could respond to some of the hot button questions of our time.  Are the Moslems out to kill Americans?  Do Moslems worship the same God as Christians (is Allah the same as God)?  Do the Jews have a right to be supported in their taking over of the land in Palestine?  Are certain members of the “Christian Right” right in thinking that these wars are to be anticipated and indeed part of the signs of the “end of times?” (Armageddon)  And so forth!  But Pastor Phil had a surprise for me.  He said he had read a book about an amazing person, Elias Chacour called We Belong to the Land.   Pastor Phil brought me that book and I was amazed to find this man practically doing what these women were discussing! 

Patiently and with a great sense of humor, dedication and love, Elias, a priest of the Melkite Community (an Eastern Orthodox church officially tied with Rome),  was assigned to serve a small community in Ibillin, a small town about half-way between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea in Israel.  Though the people did not receive him warmly and were divided by many fears and deeply seated distrust, he patiently got to know them and drew them to the love of Christ.  His spirit can be summed up in a paragraph which I quote from page 44 of this most amazing little book.

“Just like the sheep was precious to the shepherd and the coin was precious to the woman, each person is precious to God and of inestimable worth and value.  God teaches us to love our fellow human beings not out of charity or pity, nor even to please God, but because every person is lovable and deserves to be loved.  Why?  Because every human being – every Christian, Muslim, Jew, Palestinian, American, or Russian – is in the image and likeness of God.”

From this Spirit has come an elementary school, high school and now a university whose faculty and student bodies are made up of, yes … Jews, Muslims and Christians!  It’s happening.  Oh, how my heart yearns for the news to report THIS kind of news.  Did you know such a community existed?
            I think that the barrage of negative thoughts and the weight of a war that continues to take precious lives on all sides, tend to make us think that there is nothing we can do or even get excited about.  These two books, I believe, will change your mind about that!  I encourage you to read The Faith Club and also We Belong to the Land for a refreshed, renewed, encouraged spirit within.  With the love of God … that love so wonderfully shared and lived by Jesus our Lord … we have God’s grace to share with all … and hope.  What a commodity!

En-Joy your summer with Good!   Pr. Dan J