Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Hagar bore Abram a son,

and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. (Genesis 5:28ff)

Jewish and Arab traditions agree that Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, was the ancestor of the Arabs and, therefore, of Muhammad. For that reason I find hope in Ishmael’s appearance in Genesis 25:9. He and Isaac buried their father next to Sarah, who despised Ishmael.

The present conflict in which America is caught with Islam has ancient roots but, given God’s everlasting mercy, it cannot last forever. Even a conflict like this is not irresolvable. In fact through most of history and in many places the children of Isaac and Ishmael (Jews and Muslims) lived peaceably together. Sometimes – as in 15^th century Spain – they suffered together in fear of the Catholic Inquisition.

The United States offers the best opportunity yet to prove the three religions of Abraham can live in peace together. Our “atheistic” constitution in which God is not mentioned and no god is preferred goes to great lengths to insure the freedom of all religions and their right to compete with one another without the use of coercion, threat or violence.

Ours is a contest only of doctrines, ideals, testimony and witness. Given that all three religions have demonstrated their ability to inspire courage, sacrifice and patience; that all three have a profound sense of God’s holiness, mercy and unbounded goodness; and that all three have been guilty of violence in the name of religion – we can admit our sins to one another and re-engage the sacred conversation that began in Abraham and Sarah’s tent.

Later this month, on June 29, Franciscans will observe the feast day of Blessed Raymond Lull. A man of astonishing energy, zeal, intelligence and courage he gave his life to combating Mohammedan philosophy and religion. While he is revered for his admirable love of God, his teachings are somewhat too zealous and have been suppressed by the Church. Where the Muslim thinkers believed in two truths, philosophical and theological, which were not compatible; this Franciscan insisted theological truths could be fully explained and defined with philosophical premises. He even created some kind of mechanical device to demonstrate the rationality of Christian faith. But he died after being severely beaten in a North African town; he had gone there with the express intention of being martyred. If we admire his courage, we cannot follow his example.  

The reason I recall Blessed Raymond Lull is to remind my readers that Jews, Muslims and Christians have been feuding for a very long time. We have been possessed by a very deep and ineffable mystery for over three thousand years.

This mystery cannot be fully explained, and it will not be easily dismissed. The heirs of Abraham cannot expect to argue one another into solidarity, nor compromise upon a creedal formula to please everyone. It would be easier to make sense of quantum mechanics than to explain the mystery of God. But each person must be guided by his own God; and each tradition must be true to its own integrity. Only God knows how this enigma will be resolved but I believe everyone will be very happy with it, in the end.