Hermeneutic of Compassion

One of the great things about being at the Catholic Theological Union and involved in the Bernardin Center is that I am often invited to great events.  This morning I was invited to attend an interfaith breakfast as part of "World Interfaith Harmony Week."  Organized by the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, the speakers addressed the following theme: "We are All Connected by Compassion."

I was struck by many things the speakers shared.  Perhaps the most useful, however, was from a Rabbi who spoke about reading the Scriptures through a "hermeneutic of compassion." Now, I am by no means a scripture scholar but as I have come to understand the term, a hermeneutic is the interpretive lens of framework through which we read the scriptures.  That part was not new to me.

What was new was the suggestion and invitation to read the scriptures through the lens of compassion.  Really, you could extend that beyond the sacred texts of our world religions to the whole world and all of life.

So today, and tomorrow, and the next day, I'm going to try it out.  Putting on the eyes of compassion, how might the world look differently?  What light might this throw on the violence in our streets and between and within countries? Might it not shed light on a path forward, a path toward peace?

Those are my deep thoughts this morning.  Before I delve into them too deeply, however, I am about to spend some extended time with my favorite 2 1/2 year old while my sister and her husband celebrate their anniversary.

Who knows, that might give me a whole new insight ... the "hermeneutic of the 2 year old."

Building Community Through Prayer - Round Two

Tonight I was lucky enough to be able to attend a prayer event at a local mosque.  It was part of the second series of interfaith visits sponsored by the peace and justice center where I work. (I wrote last fall about the first series). The event is called One God, Three Faiths: Building Community Through Prayer. The idea is that you visit Christian, Jewish and Muslim places of worship with people of all 3 faiths to pray together and learn about the traditions.

The members of the Muslim community tonight were such gracious hosts.  First of all ... the food!!  Hummus and stuffed grape leaves and fresh fruit and just general yumminess that kept coming around the table.  The Imam greeted us in prayer, then several younger men and women from the community led us through a series of informal talks, table sharing and a panel discussion.  We broke in the middle for their sunset prayer, which they invited us to join as we were able. It was very moving to follow the other women in their movements.  God felt very present, whatever name we choose for our loving God, and we were very present to God.

When we arrived at the mosque, we were invited to choose where we would sit by picking out a particular attribute shared by our faiths.  There was a place card on each table with the name of one of the attributes.  I was drawn to "trust," and so I sat at that table.  They had more table spots than people, so eventually I moved with the two other women who found themselves at the trust table to the "justice" table which had a few empty spots.  As we were joining in conversation about our personal and faith perspectives on trust and justice, it struck me that in a way they go hand in hand.

Trust is about God.  Ultimately, its up to God, not us.  These days in particular I've been feeling especially called to spend time in prayer, trusting in my loving God and my ongoing response to that love.  When we get out of the way, we can let God be God.

Justice, it seems to me, has to do with God but more so with us.  God desires justice and peace.  Humans tend to mess it up.  But humans also have the responsibility and the ability to participate in building Gods reign of justice and peace here, following in the footsteps of the Prophets, of Jesus, and leaders of other faith traditions.  It is no coincidence that all of the major faith traditions, at least to my knowledge, share the call to justice.

I was left with a feeling of community with our global family, and hope that we can grow together in the love of our creator to live more as one people with many faces.