National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer in the United States. I know because, as I was driving through Detroit, I tuned into WMUZ Radio and heard it from Bob Dutko, host of "The Bob Dutko Show". The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May and designated by the United States Congress: people are asked “to turn to God in prayer and meditation.”

I was intrigued to listen to Dutko’s show because he was about to ask listeners of the program what they were praying for today. Dutko began by reading President Obama’s proclamation, who honored the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces “we recognize that it is because of them that we continue to live in a Nation where people of all faiths can worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience…As we observe this day of prayer, we remember the one law that binds all great religions together: the Golden Rule, and its call to love one another; to understand one another; and to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth…Let us also use this day to come together in a moment of peace and goodwill…Our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted, to make peace where there is strife; and to life up those who have fallen on hard times.”

Dutko launched into a passionate invective of what constituted “appropriate prayer” and by whom. Dutko proclaimed that only prayers delivered to our One True God delivered by true Christians were appropriate and beautiful. He did not consider prayers by Muslims or Hindus appropriate for today (reserved for true Christians) nor did he consider them beautiful because they were prayers to a false god. In fact, he considered this act of prayer “ugly”.

“The One True God is a jealous God,” Dutko reminded us, invoking the first of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-3: thou shalt have no other gods before me.

After taking several calls from listeners, Dutko proceeded to give us his prayer for today, which ran along the same lines as his introduction: he prayed that so-called enlightened Christians would change their misguided false beliefs that included Darwinian evolution, unconditional love, respect and inclusion of marginal groups like homosexuals and different races. Duco advocated a revival of the old fundamentalist Christianity that invoked Jesus as the savior of our sins.

Not only is this very unsporting of Dutko; it lacks respect for the majority of humankind (who are NOT fundamentalist Christians or Creationists).

It saddens me to hear that this very closed-minded exclusionary sentiment continues to prevail in the world during a time when peoples and cultures need to communicate with one another respectfully and with compassion. Such exclusionary sentiment is predicated on fear and fear-mongering and a hubristic sense of righteousness. God is not exclusively your God or exclusively my God; God is all things to all people. God may come to one culture as the personification of a wise man and to another as the divine Universe of Intent. They do not exist in mutual exclusion. Because God is God. Like so much in the Bible, God’s commandment to Moses—do not worship other gods before me—is best read metaphorically.

What did God really mean by “false gods”? How many of us cherish our personal possessions? How many of us worship our material wealth? How many of us obsess over our outward image (“It’s all about optics, Nina,” my old boss used to tell me)? How many of us are ruled by lust and other desires? How many of us vigorously compete for status (often at the expense of others). So, Mr. Dutko, what are our real destructive false idols? Allah? Yahweh? Vishnu? Shiva? How about greed, power-mongering, lack of compassion, and obsession over physical beauty—to name a few.

When we judge someone else’s faith as ugly, or exclude another’s reverence in a divine presence as less worthy than our own, we are judging and excluding ourselves from our own divine nature. For they are us.

Dutko mocking Hinduism or the Muslim faith as false or Florida pastor Terry Jones publically burning a copy of the Quran are not just the immature antics of bullies; they represent the most insidious form of terrorism on world peace.

So, here’s my prayer…

I pray that humanity may be graced by the wisdom to love purely, to look beyond the surface and the literal and see that deep down at the metaphoric level we are the same and all deserve respect and compassion. ALL OF US: Muslim, Jew, Christian, woman, man, child, animal and plant, water and mineral.

Our beloved Earth and her home, the Universe, deserve better. We all do.

The Christmas Story

This 2004 post by the editors of the Vancouver Sun says it so well, I'd like to borrow it literally:

...The 2,000-year-old Christmas story...offers profound lessons in what is important in the proper conduct of one's affairs. Its messages have immediate applications in contemporary life whether one is Christian or Muslim, Jew or Buddhist or atheist.

It is the story of the greatness of little people--a carpenter and an unwed mother--and their ability to change the course of the world despite the oppressions of tyrants and the arrogant plans of mighty powers. A reminder of the importance of striving for humility and not being too quick to judge others on the basis or their apparent condition.

It's the story of the homeless and of the refugee--for Joseph and Mary have more in common with those who visit shelters for the homeless or afflicted and those who flee political persecution than they do with we who are so comfortable. A reminder to look with mercy and compassion upon those who come seeking refuge.

It's the story of the importance of resisting orthodoxy and holding true to one's beliefs--as did the wise men who persisted in following their own star and witnessed the birth of a new world. A reminder that the most important path is the one we set for ourselves by our own moral compass, not the path dictated by the established view or urged by popular fashion.

It's the story of the frailty and folly of certainties in military might--as Herod discovered when he sought to save himself by slaughtering the innocents and instead was defeated by the Prince of Peace and a spiritual force that came to outlast his dynasty. A reminder that those who seem humblest among us are as worthy of our respect and compassion as are kings and emperors.

It's the story of the importance of wonder and of its acceptance--as the shepherds acknowledged when they gathered in the fields to listen to the singing of angels, not yet grasping that God was giving them his only son to redeem their sins. A reminder that it's never a good idea to be too quick to dismiss what at first we can't comprehend.

Finally, when we rise on Christmas Day to open our presents, whatever our own faith might or might not be, we should pause for a moment in our merriment to think of the other central message in the Christmas story, which is not the presents themselves, but what they represent--which is someone else's expression of love, generosity and selflessness on our behalf.

Our true wealth, the Christmas story tells all of us, resides not in presents, but in people. Not in what we receive but in what we give. And our most precious gift should be love and compassion for those among us who are poor and persecuted, homeless and harried.

These universal truths are inherent in the Christmas story and are meant for everyone, which is why the celebration has secular effects beyond its spiritual core.

Indeed, I could not have said it better... So, with those thoughts to ponder, I wish you a joyous Christmas!

Christmas Eve and “Mother’s Night”

I find it interesting that so many of our traditional Christian celebrations not only coincide with already existing pagan traditions and other secular or religious beliefs and philosophies, but in some cases resonate in tone and intent. I feel that all faiths and beliefs serendipitously, if not intentionally, align on some greater, Gestalt-like scale. Let’s look at Christmas and the pagan Yule for example.

According to Wikipedia, “Yule [Jol] is a winter festival associated with the winter solstice celebrated in northern Europe since ancient times and which fell on December 25 upon establishment of the Julian Calendar in 45 BC. Its Christianized form is called Christmas, which is essentially the symbolism and traditions of Yule with the Christian story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth superimposed upon it. Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree, burning a Yule log, the hanging of mistletoe and holly, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment.

In pre-Christian times, Germanic tribes celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by a lunar calendar. When Christianity was just beginning Christmas was set on the dates of Yule. During Christianization Yule was suppressed by the Christian Church, with many of the traditions being adapted to the new holiday.[2] Thus, the terms Yule and Christmas are often used interchangeably[3], especially in Christmas carols.”

Yule celebrations at the winter solstice predate the conversion to Christianity. The custom of ritually slaughtering a boar on Yule survives in the modern tradition of the Christmas ham and the Boar's Head Carol. Other symbols and motifs associated with the modern holiday of Christmas are derived from traditional pagan northern European Yule celebrations. The burning of the Yule log, the decorating of Christmas trees, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe, etc. are all historically practices associated with Yule. Another widespread Yule tradition, and one that persists in our Christmas festivities today, was the decoration of the house with greenery.

“According to the medieval English writer the Venerable Bede, Christian missionaries sent to proselytize among the Germanic peoples of northern Europe were instructed to superimpose Christian themes upon existing pagan holidays of the area, to ease the conversion of the people to Christianity by allowing them to retain their traditional celebrations. Thus, Christmas was created by associating stories of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity, with the existing pagan Yule celebrations, similar to the formation of Halloween and All Saint's Day via Christianization of existing pagan traditions” (Wikipedia).

According to the 8th Century monk, the Venerable Bede, Christmas Eve coincided with the ancient pagan “Mother’s Night” (also known as Helya’s Night):

"And the very night that is sacrosanct to us, these people call modranect, that is, the mothers' night, a name bestowed, I suspect, on account of the ceremonies which they performed while watching this night through."

The “mother” connection and the “watching” ceremonies of Mother’s Night consisted of the commitment of children to the protection of a goddess, ancestor, or the female deities known as the Disir. The ceremony became Christianized and the “mother” was naturally equated with the Virgin Mary, Christ’s mother. It is through no accident (despite the explanation I provide above) that the pagan winter solstice celebration of “Mother’s Night” should coincide with Christmas Eve, which belonged to Mother Mary, who was about to give birth to our savior. The Winter Solstice was considered a time for new beginnings, the birthing of the coming spring from the dead of winter, a time of light after dark, of hope and renewal. During the medieval Winter Solstice, houses in various parts of northern Europe were decked with fir and evergreens to welcome the coming of Hertha, goddess of light, domesticity and the home or the winter mother goddess, Rozhnitsa. How fitting that this pagan celebration was adopted by the Christian celebration of Jesus’s birth through Mother Mary.

This brings me to a simple point I wish to make about faiths and beliefs on this planet Earth… First off, I am a Christian. I believe in God and I personally believe that not only did Jesus walk this sacred Earth but that he was the son of God. This belief forms and underlies my actions daily as I interact with peoples of many faiths, beliefs and philosophies. The more I interact, the more I feel we are the same. And although it is important to celebrate our differences and the diversity that keeps us vital and alive, it is critical that we acknowledge how similar we are.

In an article by Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun, a Muslim academic, a Roman Catholic archbishop, a Jewish scholar and rabbi, and a Protestant minister provide four views of Jesus, God, and ultimately of their tolerance and inclusion of others’ beliefs:

“Jesus is one in a lineage of five prophets that began with the first human being, Adam, Moses and Abraham”—Seemi Ghazi, UBC Muslim academic.

“The first sound of the son of God on Earth was the cry of a child. The eternal son of God who became flesh is truly God and truly man. It is a mystery we cannot plumb.”—Michael Miller, Roman Catholic archbishop.

“Jews find fulfillment with God not through Jesus but though the Torah, or Jewish scriptures.”—Robert Daum, Vancouver scholar and rabbi.

“When he is called the lamb of God, the son of God, we need to take that metaphorically. Jesus is the lens through which God is illuminated for Christians.”—Gary Patterson, Minister at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.

Here are some other interesting notions:

Did you know, for instance, that virtually all of the more than 70,000 Muslims in British Columbia (where I live) and elsewhere believe in Mary’s virgin conception? The Koran, however has the angel Gabriel involved in the birth of Jesus and focuses on how Mary felt alone and terrified while in labor.

Despite the different status that Jews and Christians give to Jesus, there are distinct similarities between the teachings of Jesus and other Jewish sages.

The traditional Christian claim that Jesus is the only begotten “incarnate” son of God, providing the exclusive route to salvation, remains a key theological sticking point for the Muslim, Jew and liberal Protestant. The archbishop said that the Christmas story is about how “the all-powerful God became humbled like us” through the birth of divine Jesus. The others, however, do not view Jesus as the only son of the Supreme Being, whose visitation on Earth and resurrection were necessary for all to attain eternal life. The Protestant joined the Muslim and Jew in not accepting the traditional concept of humanity’s “original sin”, which had to be atoned by Jesus’ sacrificial death. Instead, writes Todd, they seek “ongoing redemption in a mystical sense through developing a deeper relationship with God.”

So, despite differences, Muslim scholar, rabbi, minister and archbishop agreed that people can grow in their own faith through inter-spiritual and respectful dialogue (I emphasized respectful).

No religion is an island—Abraham Joshua Heschel (20th Century Jewish teacher)

Have a Wonderful Christmas!

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.