Pastoral Thoughts

Recently, I was asked to give a reading from the Koran at an upcoming public prayer breakfast.  The breakfast will have, of course, times of prayer.  It will also have scripture readings from Jewish scripture (the Tanak), Islamic scripture (the Koran), and Christian scripture (the New Testament).

If the U.S. was once a Christian nation, it has changed.  This prayer breakfast displays that reality.  Religious pluralism is here.  We now have:  bumper stickers using the symbols of the major world religions to spell "co-exist";  news anchors hosting pictures of people laughing, stating, "An hour of Laughter Yoga ... was just the thing for body and soul";  a Christian pastor being asked to read from the Koran at a public prayer event.

This is a confused and challenging time.  But it is also a time for Christian hope and witness.  I will not be reading from the Koran at the prayer breakfast.  Yes, I plan on attending it.  And, in this case, I think to do so is the right path.

The culture wars are concerned with demarcating the battle lines.  The care and energy of the Christian is not to be on marking lines, but mercy and peace (Matt 5:7, 9).  And yet, that is mercy and peace rightly understood.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ draws us toward something other than (supposed) polite and civil co-existence (Mattt 5:13; see 5:1-12).

Yours,
Pastor Brooks