PREJUDICE

 For me an ordinary day but for others a day of sadness and loss.

It was a day when a dear soul was set free from earthly suffering to be welcomed into a heavenly garden to be with loved ones.

For me it was facing a more earthly problem of an infestation of flies.  You would have to see it to believe it.  I caught as many as I could and tried to shoo some out the door only to wonder if they would come back in.  Finally I moved the washer and drier, where there had been a big group of them in the morning and washed the floor with disinfectant.  That seemed to solve the problem and I am so relieved.

Dad helped put up one of the curtains and by doing so he realized the problem that I was having in the strange way the brackets where put up.

Dad was procrastinating phoning the doctor so I phoned and he is getting a complete check-up today.  He was not to happy he wanted to put it off for a while, but I am relieved.  We diagnose ourselves but sometimes we did expert opinion

I can relate to his reluctance.
I was thinking of prejudices as I was walking.  Walkers are mush more friendly than those standing waiting for the bus.  I know this is understandable but I feel oddly out of place as I walk past there cold withdrawn faces.  They are each in a world of their own.

Walkers usually have a friendly smile and often will stop and talk.  I know the dogs by sight and I enjoy seeing them.  On this morning one lady stopped to say she was on a fake walk to fool her dog because she did not have time to do a longer walk as usual.  We laughed.  Another older man stopped to tell me he had a jacket just like mine and he had a huge smile.

Then there are the prejudices that we have about the people who live in our neighborhood who are of different ethnic origins and different faiths.

.I am thankful that much is changing in our prejudices about other races and religions.  I have found myself drawn to those of a different faith.  Is it the ultraconservative religious leaders of All faiths who have spewed up hate and mistrust among those trying to be faithful to their own beliefs.

Quoting scripture is not the answer.

I am reading the story of Issac from the view of a Muslim.  For her the story of Muhammad's night flight and ascension was most important and she believed the prophet Muhammad had emphasized Islam's positive connection to Judaism and Christianity,.  He meets the ancient people like Adam, Moses and John thee Baptist and Jesus in this vision of his night journey.

I have never heard of this before.

I have seen many images of Christ on the cross and I find them upsetting.  There is no denying that this story of the fury and hatred that ends in the death of Jesus is a gory and disturbing story.  And yes we do have to remember that the gospels were written more than thirty years after the crucifixion and its authors had political as well as religious purposes.

I am reading in the same book about a group of people who live in a very poor neighborhood who are impoverished, elderly and mentally disabled.  They meet in a small apartment.  It was a story of hospitality but also a story that beings the beauty of communion out of death.
I think the message of the cross is one that reminds us that love never  dies,

This mass fulfills Jesus' version of radical social justice. 
"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.


Muhammad was given the command of daily prayers which even today begins and ends with a salutation of peace to the entire family of Abraham's   They also claim Jerusalem as a holy site where one day humanity will assemble and arise to heaven to be judged.  We believe in the same God just from a different cultural perspective/

We live in a community where there are a lot of East Indians.  I wonder how they feel about living among us.  Do they feel welcomed or excluded and strange?

Can we learn to be theologically hospitable?    I believe that we can be deeply grounded in our own faith and be open to befriending others with their different beliefs and practices.  I believe we are doing this more and more.