TRINITY XX, Year C: October 21 2007

Preacher: Revd David Clark

Before I begin, I would like to thank Mark Caddick, who came from the parish of Oadby in Leicestershire where I was parish priest some years ago, for suggesting that I be invited to preach, and to Fr Andrew Greany for the invitation. I hope Mark won't be blamed for my shortcomings. I am sensible of the honour to be asked to preach here in what must be the principal Anglo-Catholic centre in Cambridge, perhaps. I had little chance to come here 50 years ago, since I was a Choral Exhibitioner at Caius and sat at the feet of the great Hugh Montefiore (may he rest in peace).

I want to speak this morning about our relations with people of other faiths. That is, I think, a field of exploration perhaps favoured rather more by Catholics than others – from Thomas Merton to Father Bede Griffiths and his successors at Shantivarnam.

My texts are from the Gospel and from St Paul:

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. And St Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: (1Thess 5:17) Pray without ceasing.

I expect you know the story about the Christian and Muslim school children. The Muslim said, 'We pray five times a day. How many times a day do you pray?' The Christian child, not having a clear grasp of how many times a day he should be praying, had a moment of inspiration and capped the Muslim child with, 'We are told to pray all the time.' He must have heard today's Gospel.

So Jesus expects us, his modern disciples, to pray always. You probably also know the Russian Orthodox story of the Pilgrim, as retold by L.M. French in The Way of a Pilgrim. The pilgrim searched out many holy people in order to find the secret of being able to pray continuously. He eventually found a Starets or holy man in the depths of a forest, who taught him the Jesus prayer. I shall not speak about that, for you can get that book, or Simon Barrington Ward's excellent little book on the subject. But it works, for the prayer, once learned, reappears on your lips, rather as a C major scale; once learned properly, is never forgotten by your fingers. It is a valuable part of the practice of the presence of God, which we all struggle with, especially in company, when a witty barb springs to mind, or you're trying to find the courage to speak your mind about some injustice. All the more necessary is it to practise praying continuously.

The parable Jesus told was told also so we would not lose heart. At a low point some years ago I received a postcard saying 'DO NOT DESPAIR: THESE ARE HARD TIMES FOR GOD TOO'. It cheered me up.

I suppose there is much to lose heart over, both in church and world. The Anglican Communion is in schism. The ecumenical movement seems to have run out of steam. Father Greany will know better than I do what has happened to the Anglo-Catholic movement. In England Eucharistic attendance is at an all time low. And so on.

But there may be more to lose heart over in the world. Some see in the apparent conflict between the largely Christian West and the Muslim East a clash of civilisations. I would prefer to see this apparent conflict not as something to lose heart over, but as a mighty opportunity – for peace-making. It was the great theologian Hans Küng, who wrote the aphorism, which became part of the 1991 Declaration of the Parliament of the World Religions:

NO SURVIVAL WITHOUT WORLD PEACE

NO PEACE WITHOUT PEACE BETWEEN AND WITHIN THE RELIGIONS

NO PEACE BETWEEN THE RELIGIONS WITHOUT DIALOGUE

 (Global Responsibility, Hans Küng, SCM 1991; and A Global Ethic – The Declaration of the Parliament of the World Religions, SCM 1993)

This affirmation can only be supported because the great world religions have at their heart a common purpose of helping people to live better and fulfil their vocations to grow in holiness. For the last five and a half years of my ministry in Leicester, I had an opportunity to work for understanding between the eight faiths which made up the Leicester Council of Faiths. I have brought with me copies of the colour brochure celebrating the first 20 years of the work of the Leicester Council of Faiths, which you are welcome to have and to see the nature and importance of this work (obtainable by emailing this address.)

Last Saturday I was telephoned by a member of the church I attend – St James the Greater in Leicester – he said, 'David, you must be excited by the open letter and call from Muslim Religious Leaders to all Leaders of Christian Churches everywhere, referred to in The Times yesterday. It's about our common love of God and our neighbour.' He then went on to say he had been quite sceptical about my rather isolated commitment and work for relations between the faiths, but that he was beginning to see how important and valuable it was. He had downloaded the complete letter for further study. Of course letters between important Muslim scholars and leaders of Christian churches are important, but if you're waiting for changes in Islamic countries in relation to their Christian minorities, or changes in the attitudes of hard-line Christians in relation to people of other faiths, don't hold your breath! However, the mere fact that some of us (from the Pope down) are publishing such expressions of love and neighbourliness is a small step in the right direction.

The fact is that we stand at a watershed. As you all know the history of the relations between Christians and people of other faiths has not been a happy one. Perhaps the lowest point was the period of the Crusades, when it was proclaimed far and wide how virtuous it was to kill infidels (both sides said this!) Then there is the implied superiority Christianity adopts in relation to other faiths. We now live with this legacy, which still poisons relations between Europe and Turkey, and fuels Islamophobia in this country. But today I believe the conditions are right for a global expansion of awareness of the true nature of other faiths, for a coming together of men and women of goodwill from the major faiths to create better conditions in their societies. The time for hostility is past. The time for understanding has come! Perhaps in Leicester we have more opportunities than in other parts of the country. I have Muslim families living either side of me, Buddhists opposite and so on. We also have around 40 mosques, 7 Sikh Gurdwaras, 13 or 14 Hindu temples, as well as two synagogues.

In the light of all this, I am asking Christians to consider these three things:

  • Consider your attitudes to people of other faiths: are your attitudes loving and supportive and encouraging? Or are they suspicious, closed off or even dismissive? Does there need to be a change of heart? I have been on a steep learning curve ever since I started my inter faith journey.
  • What about the people you know who belong to another faith? Have you learned anything about what they believe? Can you let their commitment help you in your faith journey? My dear friend Faiyaz Ahmad emailed me from Mecca this week rejoicing that he had completed the small pilgrimage. I was encouraged in mine.
  • Check both yourself and others from making anti-semitic, Islamophobic, racist or any prejudiced remarks. It is surprisingly easy to slip into old stereotypes.

Well, that will do for a start. And this entire endeavour depends wholly on praying continuously and not losing heart. Jesus was remarkably open in his encounters with a wide variety of people from Roman Centurion to the Syro-Phoenician woman. Perhaps our own imitation of Christ can bring the same openness to the inter-faith dimension as well. As the Pope said of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue: 'this is not an optional extra'.