Msgr. Paul V. Garrity
In 1928, Governor Al Smith of New York ran for the presidency of the United States. He lost in a landslide election to Herbert Hoover. Smith’s Catholicism contributed to his defeat. Anti-Catholicism reared its ugly head when Senator John Kennedy ran for the presidency in 1960. Since then, Catholics have continued to play significant roles in American civic life at the level of the Vice-presidency, the Supreme Court, Cabinet Secretaries and a host of other positions that would have been closed to Catholics before 1960.
Muslims and Jews are making slow headway into American political life with pollsters asking the question whether a Muslim or a Jewish candidate could be elected president. Sadly, we know that anti-Semitism is on the rise, equaled only by anti-Muslim sentiment that received a boost in the wake of 9/11.
While these three faith traditions have very different dogmas, holy days and rituals, they share a common moral theology that should not be missed at this special time of the year. The holy month of Ramadan has just been completed. Commemorating the Quarn’s revelation to the prophet Muhammad, it is a time of fasting, prayer, reflection and community building.
Passover, also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is celebrated this year from April 12th to April 20th. It commemorates the Exodus from Egypt when Moss led the Israelites into the desert, from slavery into freedom. Seder suppers recount, in sensory fashion, the pain and joy that are intimately connected to the Exodus story.
For Christians, the season of Lent comes to an end in Holy Week, the time that recalls the Last Supper of Jesus, his crucifixion and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The forty days of Lent recall both the forty days of fasting by Jesus before he began his public ministry and the forty days that the Israelites wandered in the desert before coming to the promised land. This is why some people speak of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
While there are divergent theologies and rituals among these three great faiths, all three focus on how Yahweh, Jesus and Allah invite us to live our lives. Tikkum Olam has its roots in the Book of Genesis when God creates the world and remarks that it is good. Tikkum Olam recognizes the way in which the world has become broken through the reality of evil. Repairing the world is what all Jews are called to be about.
Throughout his public ministry, Jesus preached a message of love, peace and justice. Followers of Jesus are commanded to be peacemakers, celebrate human dignity, care for the disadvantaged, welcome strangers and always be hopeful about the future. Faith without actions that create a community of love is an empty drum.
The Koran has numerous references to harmony, toleration and coexistence. But like the Bible, there are passages that can be very challenging. These are dwarfed by the passages that urge good Muslims to practice justice, forgiveness and compassion. As faithful Imans tell us, Jihad is less about holy war and more about striving to do the best that one can do.
Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant observed that all people are driven by an irrepressible desire to reach the “unconditioned”, his synonym for God. When knowledge matures into understanding, reason brings us to the unconditioned which we identify in different ways. The result is a code of conduct that can bring peace and harmony to life and to our world.
Instead of focusing on what separates Jews, Muslims and Christians, our divided world needs to focus on the moral standards that undergird these great faith traditions. Building bridges, not walls, is what we should all be about. Recognizing the humanity of all people and treating everyone with human dignity and respect should be a common goal. Repairing the world, seeing the image of God in one another, and treating everyone with forgives and compassion is what Yahweh, Allah and Jesus command us all to embrace.
Msgr. Garrity is a Senior Priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and former pastor of St. Mary’s Parish and School in Lynn.
