Commonalities of Faith. The recurring rituals of Christmas, the…
By: Jack Cumming
Tags: Islam, Christianity, Unity, Christmas, Judaism

Abraham’s Theophany

Commonalities of Faith

The recurring rituals of Christmas, which we also know as the Festival of Lights, remind us of the fusion of Judaism, Hellenism, Paganism and humanity that is the essence of Christianity as we know it. Every culture of which we are aware, worldwide, observes the shortest days of the year to mark the promise of returning sunshine to warm our bodies and grow our crops.

A Common Word.

There are other commonalities of faith as well. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam agree that the central premise of faith is Love of God and Love of Neighbor. That can also be expressed as love of God through love of neighbors, and love of neighbors as love of God. Human relationships with the ineffable and unknowable and with the Divine are the core of all religions.

The three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) differ only in secondary “beliefs”, the Quran as received from Gabriel by Mohammed, the Divinity of Christ, and the call of a Chosen People. These are the dividing points, but they are secondary to the covenantal relationship between God and all humankind. We are all the Children of God.

The Good News.

The “good news” of Christianity is the same “good news” that God brought to Abraham when he dined with Abraham. Yes, God dined in person with Abraham. The God of Abraham was not the scary, aloof God of Moses. Moses tells us that God is “He whose name cannot be said” or at best, “I am who I am.” That distanced god came later as people emerged, as did Moses, claiming a special divine connection for themselves. The earlier God of Abraham was relational as in the story that appears in Genesis 18.

“The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ‘Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.’

“So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’ Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’

“The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. He said, ‘Oh yes, you did laugh.’” (Genesis 18:1–15)

The Broken Relationship.

After Moses enters the picture, the Abrahamic message that God is a relational god who can be reasoned with, that God can appear in flesh and blood and dine with friendly conversation, and that God has called Abraham to be the father of all nations, gives way to a new faith. God, for Moses, is too ineffable for any to speak with him other than a chosen priest. Still more intimidating, no one can behold the face of God and live.

This is a god to be feared. No longer does God work through ordinary people called to extraordinary service as were Sarah and Abraham. The Mosaic God requires the intermediation of authorities; he demands worship as the price of grace; and he is the god of one chosen people, the Jews, and not of the Egyptians who are slaughtered without mercy.

Skip forward past centuries of history — the Babylonian Captivity, the Seleucid Empire, the Hasmonean dynasty — to the time of Jesus and Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, and to the “event” we celebrate as Christmas. Christmas signifies the origin of Christianity though even that is disputed by Johannine and Nicaean dogma. The cadenced beauty of the short poem that opens the Gospel of John distracts from the appealing birth story of Christmas.

What appeals to us about the Christmas story is precisely what “John” found distracting. To begin with there’s its universal attraction. A new mother, an innocent child, shepherds, wise men, humble origins all appeal to the common dream of upward mobility and divine elevation.

Christmas as Threat.

“John” would have none of that. Those concerns are too earthly. The “gospel’s” soaring righteousness, born of Greek idealistic philosophies, gives rise to theological orthodoxy, including the condemnation as heretics of those whose beliefs depart from those of the powerful. The Gospel of John takes us into the realms of philosophical truths transcending the more concrete experiences of the other gospels. Perhaps it’s that very earthiness, though, that makes Christmas so appealing for a world eager for hope.

Many national cultures, as they have evolved from their earlier pagan practices, have embedded the Christmas narrative within their own previous origins. For instance, many of our Christmas traditions today are more German — the Druidic centrality of an evergreen tree — and English — the appeal of the village kirk, the bountiful banquet, the Dickensian celebration of childhood — than they are Biblical.

Our American melting pot was quick to meld these national, some might say tribal, evocations into our own special traditions capped by Clement Moore’s beautiful poem opening with “Twas the night before Christmas.” He is said to have penned it while riding home from Wall Street to Greenwich Village in a horse-drawn open sled. Images from Currier and Ives rise in our minds. We feel safe in a world defined by a loving family scene. That’s what Christmas has become.

It is also commercial. Black Friday is so named because that’s when merchants first move into the profit column as Christmas purchases begin to give them their best month of the year. Commercialization merges with love. People buy presents to give to others and not for themselves. Love of neighbor abounds, especially the centrality of family love. Sometimes the Divine message is lost as the birth narrative becomes a beloved tale that we love to hear repeated.

Childhood Evocations.

To retain our childhood Christmas magic, we harken back to the traditional cadenced language of the King James Bible. It allows us to re-experience the childlike wonder of the tale as first we heard it.

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed…. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:1–7)

That is what faith can come to be. It’s comforting and reassuring to be caught up in the music of repetition, a repetition that evokes our own childhood and the mystery that Christmas was for those of us born into Christian families. We were told the magical story of Luke at an early age. Few know that it mirrors birth stories circulating at the same time about the then governing Augustus Caesar, born humbly as Octavian, but elevated by adoption to be the “son of a god.” Other religions have similar family rituals, though not all at the same time of year. Many “Christians” go to church because they believe that it’s what good people should do and because it can be a time for reflection, quiet, and centering. It repurposes us toward goodness, but it is not goodness in itself.

The message of Jesus, though, was more than dutiful weekly attendance. Jesus shattered the hypocrisy of what religion had become for the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Habit-formed adherence to form, weekly attendance, for instance, had replaced the substance of faith that called Abraham and Sarah to parent the nations. Jesus sought to restore Judaism to the Abrahamic vision of a God to whom we could relate and as a God for all the nations.

Of course, Jesus also, like John the Baptist before him, preached that the end times were at hand. He called people to righteousness so that they might be right with God when those days came.

Our Relational Divinity.

Jesus tells us not only that God’s name can be spoken, but he tells us further that God’s name is “Abba,” father, and that we can open our hearts and minds to relate to him, to speak with him, as a kind, gracious, and giving father.

Jesus doesn’t stop there. He also gives us the message that we don’t have to wait for the coming of a second King David, a warrior Messiah, for which his fellow Jews yearned, nor do we have to wait for a second coming, as some Christians would insist, because Jesus also teaches that the Kingdom of God is within us. “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20–21) The path to righteousness is to repent and purify one’s own thoughts.

The Divine Reality.

Can it really be that simple? Do we enter the Kingdom of God, the active reign of God on Earth, when we strive to purify our own thoughts? Of course, it is not easy to be pure in thought and to love those “who spitefully use you.”

Can that be what Jesus intended that when he taught, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28). The message is that, if we bring our minds and hearts right with God, then our acts will follow. We have that message here from two sources, one in Luke and the other in Matthew. When we are right with God, we will be ready for the end times in whatever form.

It’s not a message that resonates well with clerical authority in a traditional church. It is found within some Quaker meetings, though even there it is a teaching that is so hard to practice that many fall short. Testimonies of integrity, equality, simplicity, community, stewardship for the earth, and peace arise from an inner conviction and imbue Quaker standards for living. Forgiveness and mercy are central to the message of the good news.

The substance of Christianity is not consistent with the hierarchy of “orders” as is found in many organized religions. It’s not surprising that the organized church has adopted canon law, imposed discipline, persecuted nonconformist beliefs as heresy, and taught tithing. Those are all organizational attributes that give power and benefits to the governing authorities.

Organizational Pretense.

It’s also not surprising that many organized churches pursue a salvation theology, teaching that without adherence to doctrine and dogma there is only eternal damnation. Orthodoxy is a weak teacher. The alternative is a creation theology, holding that all are children of God’s creation with the Divine Light dwelling within each and every one, and that God loves all with equal Grace. It would be absurd for such a God to demand the allegiance of belief as the price of salvation any more than a father loves a misbehaving child any less than a goody-two-shoes child.

As Jesus sought to restore the direct relationship of God and humanity that had been given to Abraham, so Luther later proclaimed the priesthood of all believers, and George Fox taught that divinity can be found in everyone. Human nature inclines toward authority, so it’s reassuring that Christmas reminds us each year that we are born equal as creatures of God and endowed by our Creator with equal worth. The cycle of faith is such that leaders emerge from time to time to call us back to the relationship with God that is central to our humanity.

It’s that message of God’s love in the birth narrative with its promise of new life that brings us hope. 2020 will soon pass into history. 2021 brings us a new start and fresh optimism. Christmas connotes the cosmic mystery, now better understood but mystical to the ancients, of the eternally returning warmth of spring that is the central meaning of Christmas. The enduring message is a message of love and continuous renewal. Love is not premised on fear of damnation. Christmas brings new life, new birth, and new hope. Let’s celebrate.

Hope for Everyone.

Christmas is celebrated in one form or another everywhere. It is celebrated in the streets of Tehran and in the streets of New York, the great American metropolis. This year, more than in any since World War II, we need that message of hope, new life, and celebration as we welcome the new year with greater promise for a better tomorrow than what we have experienced during this past year… the year of pandemic and political turmoil. 2020, requiescat in pace.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward all.

Global Convergence.

In our own time, we humans are growing in understanding. Space flight and the mystery of the atom were revealed to us during the last century. We may speak of that as the divine spirit working within us to open our understanding to what previously was hidden. The most pervasive gift is that of global connectivity, made manifest in the internet. We can choose whether to use that gift to bring the world together or to sow divisive seeds of nationalism and authoritarianism.

There comes a time

When we heed a certain call

When the world must come together as one

There are people dying

Oh, and it’s time to lend a hand to life

The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on

Pretending day-by-day

That someone, somewhere soon make a change

We’re all a part of God’s great big family

And the truth, you know, love is all we need

We are the world

We are the children

We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving

There’s a choice we’re making

We’re saving our own lives

It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me

Songwriters: Michael Jackson / Lionel Richie: We Are the World lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC