ABSTRACT:

Countering Prejudice

Real-people encounters are a great antidote to prejudices that sprout in isolation.  They stimulate genuine relationships where poisonous prejudices once festered. We can live similar religious experiences driving alongside each other in parallel lanes. When we meet each other and grow acquainted, new and deep friendships may happily surprise us.

Bringing Out What We Share

In a world torn by conflicts which are partially enabled by deep rooted prejudices, we are still encouraged by marvelous experiences of encounter with the real people around us. We discover they are reasonable. My prejudices are often revealed and require quite an adjustment.

Besides, we, 1.3 billion Catholics, are systematically on a 60+ year old explicit journey towards very different others based on major guidelines and new attitudes for growing in mutual understanding. Other Churches have formulated similar principles. Treading these paths for over six decades now also strengthens our hope to continue, no matter how intensely dark thunderous storms darken our horizons.

Last month’s Crossroads Article, Deeply Divided but Deeply Bonded, pondered this development. Now we consider further aspects. 

Bonds between believers, even with secular folks

Symbols are important but we need to enter reality. In our May and June Crossroads articles dealing with Magdala’s archaeology and Duc In Altum’s art, we focused on the value of their marvelous potential as places for encounter, where we discover each other. But they are just signs, eloquent as they may be, of that which deeply bonds us.

Magdala’s self-understanding is stated as “Crossroads of Jewish and Christian history”, which is physically anchored in our roman-period synagogue and expressed anew, ten years ago, in Duc In Altum’s art. However, both Jews and Christians discover that this is a happy understatement. The bonding is not just historical but actually current, present-day, and much more powerful than these mere ancient or recent signs. Please allow me to dwell substantially on this point in order to underscore our bonds while also noting the irony of our major historic tensions despite these very mutual ties.

As initial indicators, while guiding visitors here, we begin to ponder our shared vocabulary of Amen, Alleluia, Hosanna, Abba and many others. We rise beyond these words to consider our faith in the same Creator, Provident and Redeemer Lord.

Then, Jewish people are surprised to discover that we Christians dip into the Jewish prayer book to pray psalms, daily. In fact, many Christians and particularly all priests and religious-order members pray all the 150 Psalms every month, while even some contemplative communities like Benedictines, Cistercians, Carthusians, Brigidines, Trappists, etc. pray all the psalms, each week, just like some pious Jewish people do, to this very day.

We have been doing this for 2000 years because Jesus and the disciples also did so! This practice was never interrupted but thrives as a continual act of worship and a spiritual lifeline since then. We even pray the psalms in a structured form as was practiced during the Second Temple Period in Jerusalem, following the daily and ‘hourly’ patterns, there.  For instance, Morning “Lauds” and Evening “Vespers” mirror the major hinges of daily Temple prayer.  Midday prayers, Terce (9 AM), Sext (12 PM), and None (3 PM) are fixed-hour prayers in the Christian tradition of The Liturgy of the Hours, echoing the times of daily offerings and prayers in the Temple. These ‘breviary’ hours were influenced by the Jewish practice of praying at these specific times. Here are some clear hints from Ps. 119:164: "Seven times a day I praise you. “Evening, morning and noon, I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Ps 55:17. “I will pray to you, Lord, you will hear my voice in the morning; I will stand before you in the morning and gaze on you” (Psalm 5:4-5).

The Acts of the Apostles sketch the first community of Jesus’ disciples after Pentecost and the regularity of the prayer times stands out as a constant and in continuity with the Jewish practice. Here are some examples:

• Acts 2:46: "And day by day, attending the temple together …”
• Acts 3:1: "Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” This corresponds to about 3pm.
• Acts 10:3 An Angel speaks to Cornelius at 3 in the afternoon
• Acts 10:9: Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime
• Acts 16:25: About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened…

The Liturgy of the Hours is a constant in the prayer of the Church since the very beginning and is still the practice of the Eastern Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. It was never interrupted. It was always considered an essential priority. In two of the most recent and authoritative declarations, we read about its importance: Chapter 4 of the 1963 Document on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican II and summarized in #1174 of the 1993 Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

Not only do we Jews and Christians believe in the same Almighty One, but we nourish our piety from the same fountain which enlivens our soul. Without even realizing it or giving it importance, we Christians and prayerful Jewish people are so powerfully bonded.  We are tied together in our soul.

Still, we might even feel each other to be poles apart or quite antagonistically at odds, as could even occur in small European villages for centuries where the same psalms were being prayed in a synagogue and a few differing Christian Churches on adjoining streets within a fraction of a square kilometer.

All of us Christians who read the Gospel each Sunday in our Churches might experience similar division and mutual alienation. I will never forget the impression made on me in 1984, when I was invited to preach a mission appeal in the only Catholic Church in Ft Atkinson, Wisconsin, and learned it was one of 30+ different Christian Church buildings for as many different faith communities within a population of around 10,000. We not only share the psalms but the entire New Testament. Yet we have had the 30 Years war and more under our belt, a heritage not to be underestimated in its ongoing damaging effects, like the destructive radiation from Chernobyl, Nagasaki and Hiroshima long after the horrific explosions. 

Secularists’ surprising bonds with people of faith

For decades the impression has been that the religious sphere has been discounted for the business of the world and often blamed for causing most wars, despite the anti-religious drivers of the horrendous 20th century wars.

It is evident that people who professed religious faith have done much harm and that religious motives have been exploited and manipulated to further divide peoples. But however, religious people have also harnessed the immense potential for peace-making, as Northern Ireland’s ongoing reconciliation process testifies. The defining document was titled The Good Friday Agreement.

Now we see new ventures such as the University of Haifa is currently pioneering: The Haifa Laboratory for Religious Studies, HLRS. While being a strong academic reality, the HLRS actively works with religious leaders in various Israeli cities with mixed populations to advance developments in community relationships and ensure that the regional conflict will not spill over and damage the civic fabric and urban serenity.

Recently I tweeted a report of their work in Haifa, delighted over this collaboration between the secular and religious institutions. Some were surprised. But nonetheless, the Christian roots of secularism only strengthen the possibility for this collaboration. The culture of encounter allows us to move on from inherited mutual antagonisms to fruitful cooperation for the good of the entire society. 

At Magdala, we are blessed to encounter people of different faiths, daily, even during these difficult months. We discover the deep ancient bonds which powerfully unite us. We enjoy mutually beneficial conversation. Many people remark how prejudice seems to dissolve here. This is not merely a human effort, nor at all limited to Magdala. It is a grace, a heavenly gift working everywhere in our time. Let’s keep our sleeves rolled up and fulfill our part in these challenging times for the unity of the human family and the resolution of bitter conflicts, presently rife and lethal across the globe. Our task is urgent, but best accomplished with serenity and persevering determination.

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Fiesta Mexicana - a little act of love goes a long way!

Pau, Coordinator of the Volunteers House, launched the crazy proposal. She had been touched by the smiles, stories and culture of the displaced northern border Kibbutz members, residing with us since October. It just seemed right that her fellow volunteers, many Mexican, would help host a Fiesta Mexicana to share their food and culture. Rosario, coordinator of the volunteer program was a little nervous at first for the lack of authentic mexican ingredients for so many people and fearing that not everyone might relish this unfamiliar food. In fact Andrea commented that they got some fearfilled inquiries if chile would be an ingredient. But a driving motive was the desire to do something to let them feel they were not alone.  

They invaded the industrial kitchen and took over responsibility for the entire dinner preparation and table service on Tuesday, August 27. Tarek Dahle, the Head Chef, & all the catering staff, mostly Arab Israeli Muslims, Christians and Druze, were great advisors and quite curious about the mexican cuisine procedures.  

The immense volume required for 120 people tested the volunteers’ capacity for practical tangible love. “It was gratifying to see all the volunteers preparing typical mexican food so fondly and proudly”, Rosario commented. “We developed great bonds with the kitchen staff and the Kibbutz members. We wanted to express our gratitude to be able to spend time in their country during this painful conflict”.  

Ronit, who teaches some volunteers basic Hebrew, loved the colorful mexican decorations, balloons and the huge sombrero hats. “The background Mariachi music transported us to Mexico. We got to know types of foods, unfamiliar to us Israelis and delicious drinks. Everything around tables with friends. It seemed for a moment that there was no war in the region, and we were celebrating. Thank you for the love and joy you have brought us”.  

Rosario was tasked with serving the quesadillas. A long line was quickly formed as the invitees inquired about the ingredients of these delicious bites which were unknown to many of them. “We were one big family, beyond any other national or cultural considerations, loving each other”.  

A few days later, Dov, a Vietnam Veteran from Pensylvania, invited all the volunteers to ice cream in order to say thanks. Esther, who is eyeing her 100th birthday in the coming years, wrote an appreciation letter, maybe even poetic, in Hebrew. She provided an English translation which she personally handed with her winsome smile to each volunteer: “a magical evening, a feast to the eyes and mood! The volunteers hands, spirit and social involvement brought us closer. The smile and joy embraced us with a lot of love and acceptance. The order and organization were exemplary. The volunteer who prepared the special sandwiches with their fine taste, (Rosario’s quesadillas) danced and sang the smile that never left her. We were introduced to types of foods that were unknown to us, Israelis, (possibly the meat tostadas and chicken tacos with green sauce). The various drinks were delicious to the palate. You feel the victory of spirit over matter, the human victory. With you for giving, receiving, inclusion and love of mankind! Thank you!”  

Pam, a volunteer, grasped the intent to add a little joy to life in these challenging circumstances since October. “The party was a significant parenthesis in the conflict environment. We were able to transcend all the tensions and truly meet festively.” For Andrea, who joyfully MC’d the evening and directed the mexican games, it was a futher experience of Magdala as a bridge between cultures, a place of encounter.