Today's Marists 2024 Volume 8, Issue 2

Top (L & R): World Interfaith Harmony Week 2024
Bottom: Interreligious Sharing of Faith Experience
during World Interfaith Harmony Week 2024
son of mine was dead, and has come to life
again; he was lost and has been found.” (Lk.
15:23b – 24c) Jesus in the parable of the good
Samaritan presents what it means to be a
good neighbor to another. At the end of this
parable, Jesus asked his listener who the
neighbor was to the victim of the robbers.
(Lk. 10:36b) The listener replied, “The one
who treated him with mercy.” Then, Jesus
said to the listener, “Go and do likewise” (Lk.
10:37). Both parables speak of bridging and
building relationships amid differences in
cultures and religious traditions.
To be a Christian is to follow the ways and
lifestyle of Jesus. In John 15:12 the Lord Jesus
says: “This is my commandment: love one
another as I love you.” For us Christians,
reconciliation is no longer an option, but
rather it is our identity as disciples of Christ.
To put it succinctly, the way Jesus loves us
is the benchmark for our love for others.
Jesus also, said, “Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your heavenly Father, for
he makes his sun rise on the bad and the
good and causes rain to fall on the just and
the unjust.” (Mt. 5:44 – 45) If we are truly
faithful to who we are as followers of Christ,
reconciliation is the only option, and love
is the only way. Putting it into practice is
more difficult than simply expounding this
conviction verbally.
In the realm of interreligious dialogue
ministry, staying true to our identity is a
significant challenge. Almost all major
religions emphasize the importance of
promoting good relationships with others,
and the golden rule ‘Do to others as you
would have them do to you’ (Mt. 7:12)
embodies it clearly. Many other major
religions worldwide including Islam,
Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism, share
this golden rule. However, dialogue with
others needs to go deeper into spirituality
before a genuine reconciliation occurs. The
Christian tradition holds that spirituality
is a way of life that is guided by and in
accordance with the spirit. It is a challenge to
reconcile in a human way, especially when
the other person has suffered a profound
wound and numerous lives have been lost.
For several years, I have been involved
with the IRICD ministry in the Philippines
(Mindanao) and most recently in Thailand.
It is difficult to talk about peace when people
are not reconciled.
It is crucial to comprehend that
reconciliation is not an automatic process
in interreligious dialogue. The Marist
IRICD program in Thailand is centered
on promoting and sustaining the gradual
development of mutual trust, understanding
and friendship. We hope that this process
will lead us to a deeper level of spirituality.
When dialogue is infused with spirituality,
it is possible to achieve reconciliation and
peace. The spirit freely reconciles and
enriches diversity, just like the wind blows
where it wills. (Jn. 3:8a)
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