The Children of Abraham

It's easy to become dispirited by disputes that intrude all around us. In the evening news, it seems that the primary news is about hatred and its progeny. For me, this is crystalized by reports from the Middle East and the power it holds over my fears for the future. "How will we ever address reconciliation in that part of the world?" If I can't address the far away "stuff," then do I have permission to let my cynicism intrude upon the here and now?

I'm sure guilty of that sentiment from time to time (more frequently than I'd like to acknowledge). But just when I think I'm off the hook, someone comes along and throws cold water over my selfish attempts to disengage.

I read an amazing story yesterday. You can read it too, at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_105480_ENG_HTM.htm

In Omaha, Nebraska, the children of Abraham are on a bold journey together. They are out to show the world that members of the three Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- can work together, trust and accept each other, counter misunderstanding and fear, and even build and co-exist on an interfaith campus.

The witness that this endeavor provides is a powerful reminder to my arrogant self that the work of reconciliation can succeed without regard to whether my small mind can see the way forward. Unless I need the self-indulgent comfort of hiding, I have always known that God can do infinitely more than I can ask or imagine. So the story is powerful witness, but should come as no surprise.

I pray that the TriFaith Project in Omaha shines the lamp of God's power and presence upon a world that too often takes false comfort in the darkness of division.