Today is Friday.  It’s the last day of the first class I am taking here.  Most people have gone off campus to return on Monday, and I am driving down to a little town called Floyd, to investigate the music.  http://www.floydcountrystore.com/

Mark 3:19b-27  

I probably should have been putting links in to the relevant Bible passage, so here it is if you want to read it:

http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Mark+2:23+-+3:6&vnum=yes&version=nrsv

Jesus comes home, at least that’s what it most likely means.  He was probably living at the home of Peter’s extended family.  The crowds are back again.  And for some reason, people close to Jesus try to ‘lay hold on him’.  They’re not happy with the way things are going, and they have some concerns about the way Jesus is in himself.  The Greek word is existemi, which means in this context – out of balance, out of alignment, out of his mind … 

That gives Jesus’ opponents a way in to score a point.  Their thinking might have been along these lines:  if Jesus’ own friends are concerned about him, use this to take advantage of the situation.  They go a step further and say that Jesus is evil – his power comes from the devil.

Well, if I’m looking at the Gospel through conflict eyes, there’s no shortage here!  All the various conflicts that have been referred to in the Gospel already are here! Conflict between Jesus and his own circle, (whether it is family or friends), between Jesus and the authorities and between Jesus and evil.

I’m making connections now with the political situation here in America.  I’m a novice when it comes to American Politics, so these observations may not be very deep or well informed, but what I think they do is point to the insecurities that we all feel, and the speed with which we can make judgments, usually to bolster our own position.

President Obama just made a speech at Cairo University.  

Link to the relevant page on the  BBC website (which has a video link for the whole speech)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8082676.stm

The speech has generally been well received as good news.  It seems to build on other things that the president has said that indicate some changes of the approach to the Middle East in this American administration.

However, one of the members of our class, a church pastor, had a call on his mobile phone that took him out of class this morning.  It was a member of his congregation, ringing to ask if he (the pastor) thought that President Obama is the antichrist because of the nature of his engagement with the Arab (Muslim) world.

Sometimes we confuse what is good with what is evil.  We wrongly identify a work of God as a work of the devil.  Or sometimes we’re just not quite sure to make of what we see and hear.  Our beliefs and preconceptions prevent us from seeing and hearing things clearly.

Again, a question I want to ask is ‘What are you afraid of?’

Mark 3:13-19

How about this for a map ?

I have three more days to go with my course on Biblical Foundations for Peacemaking.  I have decided that the best use of my remaining time in the US would be to take advantage of what’s on offer here at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute.  So I have put my name down for what they call the STAR course – STAR stands for – Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Healing.  

I’m here in Harrisonburg Virginia, doing a Peacebuilding Summer School.  Today is Saturday, a day off, and most people have gone to Washington D.C. for the day.  Steve and I decide to go up into the Shenandoah National Forest and do some hiking.  The weather is glorious, and we walk down from the road to a magnificent waterfall.  The hike back up is strenuous, and all the way I’m thinking about those hardy souls who thru walk the Appalachian Trail.

After 9/11 the Muslim community here in Harrisonburg Virginia felt very insecure. In a largely traditional Christian area, some Muslims felt afraid to go out even to shop. The Christian churches in the town made contact with them, to assure the Muslim community that the churches were there to support and help – for example to accompany them to the store to do their shopping.

The place where Muslims felt safest was store run by Old Order Mennonites. Two peoples with deep roots into their faith tradition, very different, but one providing a safe place for the other. As one Muslim woman put it “They wear the veil, we wear the veil”

One of the great things about being here, is meeting people from different countries, and hearing stories of life and faith, often in places where there is ongoing violence and injustice. I can’t go into any detail on this blog, aware that anyone can read this, and not wanting to put anyone in a dangerous position. That comment alone is enough to remind me that however much we want to be open and talk freely about these things, there is a wisdom that is needed here.

Perhaps it is enough for the moment to say that this rich environment gives me stories that, even if I cannot share them in this medium, will give me the encouragement and some of the resources that I need to connect more effectively with those who speak from another faith tradition.

In class today we were talking about the need to speak from ‘deep to deep’ in our inter denominational and inter faith dialogue. By that I mean – we need people who hold their faith positions strongly and passionately to be willing to engage with others with a different viewpoint. Dialogue, particularly inter-faith dialogue is viewed by some with suspicion, and a concern that we might be ‘selling out’. The result may be that it is those more on the fringes that engage in dialogue, those who therefore have less at stake.

It is important that those who have very deep convictions are willing to enagage with those who are different.

 This post is about just one of a collection of ‘stories of ordinary people behaving with extraordinary hope’ that are told in a book by our class teacher – N.Gerald Schenk.  The book is entitles ‘Hope Indeed!”