Following the tradition of Silsilah to send a message to the Christians on the occasion of Advent and Christmas and to the Muslims on the month of Ramadan we focus this year the message for the Christians recalling the voice in the desert of John the Baptist crying in the desert the message of prophet Isaiah:
“… prepare the way of the Lord, make this path straight …” (Lk, 3, 5). “Advent” is, indeed, a time of preparation for the event of the coming of Jesus, the Emmanuel ( God among us). This reality has been a sign of hope and conflict in history, in different forms. It is time to recognize the difference existing and not to minimize them especially among Muslims and Christians, but at the same time to accept that a Muslim is convinced of his/her faith and also a Christian is convinced of his/her faith. The effort to put down the faith of other religions is not dialogical. Today we are called to respect. The mission of the Christians is to live and witness the Christian faith. This is the primer mission of “Evangelization” and the primer effort of the Muslims is to live the faith and the mission of “dawa” witnessing their faith.
Unfortunately, in the name of religion, some often project a wrong perception of the meaning of the faith that one professes. We believe that the words of prophet Isaiah are still very actual today for all.
The great event that is emerging in this new era of Interreligious Dialogue for those who are sincere in their efforts is to rediscover the importance of respect for other faiths and religions.
This is still very far from reality, especially in some areas and with the emerging of new forms of terrorism justified by the religion they believe. This is today more visible in some countries and also in the Philippines.
Why? There are power struggles in business, political ambitions and wrong ways of perceiving religion. This deteriorates relation among groups and religions.
This message is especially for the Christians to help them to be authentic and believe that the law of Love that Jesus brought to the world is a very touching way of love as it happened in Bethlehem and celebrated during Christmas by the Christians. For this reason the message of prophet Isaiah to ” prepare the way of the Lord and make this path straight” is an important reminder in this special time of advent and Christmas.
We hope that this will be the time to look to the others as part of the same ‘Human Fraternity” and not as enemies.
Today, more than before, we have to see the face of the love of God. The pandemic has been, and continues to be a big reality and reminder for humanity. Unfortunately in these critical times some sectors of society continue to use their power for personal or group advantage.
Each one of us has to ask: ” what can I do better now?” This is especially the question that we address especially to the Christians in this special time of advent and the coming of Christmas.
Silsilah Dialogue Movement