Sunday Reflections: Getting Along

By the Rev. Susan Schwartz of St. John Lutheran in Swissvale

Even though Christians profess the importance of love, and as Americans we treasure freedom of religion, making those ideologies real has sometimes been difficult for us. I think that we have seen some of that in the past ten years in an upsurge of intolerance toward Muslims. And we know that anti-Semitism has often lurked in the shadows. Christians, and Jews, and Muslims have been living in proximity for centuries, but our history together has not always been pretty.

How can we get along better with other religions?

Remember that we are talking about people. We sometimes think of Christians, Muslims, and Jews as a category, but we are really talking about people (and all of us made by God). Mohammed is a person who also happens to be a Muslim. Aaron is a person, who also happens to be a Jew. Peter is a person who also happens to be a Christian. We are all people and if we think first of another’s humanity, we will see that there is more that unites us than divides us.

Those of us who profess to follow Jesus Christ need to remember that Jesus taught us to love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.”(Mark 12). Time and time again we see Jesus reacting out in love to those who are different: Samaritans, Canaanites, Gentiles, and women. Jesus models for us reverence for others, even those with whom he did not agree. He modeled for us a revolutionary response to those who are different, even our enemies “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5)

Learn about other religions. I work with seminary students at The Children’s Institute. Each school year students spend 10 hours a week learning about chaplaincy and working with children and their families. Not all children are Christian. Some are nothing, some are Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist. We have a responsibility to all our patients. Part of the student’s work is to learn about the different religions so they will be better prepared. Each one will spend hours, reading and watching instructional videos to learn about other faiths. We can all do that. It would be good to do that.

Be intentional about meeting people of different faith backgrounds. Attend services at a Jewish synagogue. Visit a Hindu temple. Each year the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh offers a Humanity Day interfaith celebration during Ramadan. This program is an educational opportunity for the broader community and includes an experience of prayer, a question and answer time, and a shared meal. Attend one. If you have the chance to personally meet someone of a different faith background, don’t be shy, go for it! You will enrich your life and the life of the other person.

If you know that you have some intolerance lurking around inside, deal with it. Be honest with yourself. Pray about it. Ask God to help you deal with your feelings. 

Speak up about the importance of respecting those who are different. This is tricky I know. We don’t want to be intolerant of those who are intolerant of others! But we can be clear with people about our values. I can say that, as a Christian, I believe that God wants us to love our neighbors and treat them fairly and with kindness. That is speaking up and is part of witnessing to our faith and God’s love.