Yesterday morning, (Monday) we listened to a brilliant presentation by Msgr. Andrew Tanya-anan on "Mission and Interreligious Dialogue". Msgr. Tanya-anan was born in Indonesia and his service and gifts for the church have taken him to Morocco, the Sudan, India, Japan, Dublin Ireland and back to Indonesia fostering dialogue with Muslims, Buddists, Hindus and those of the New Age faith. Dialogue does not happen at arms- length but rather requires face-to-face contact between people. Dialogue is not ordinary conversation, nor negotation, not political persuasion, nor conversion. Rather, dialogue is seeking a way to grow up together with respect and understanding. He mentioned foru elements of dialogue: 1) dialogue of life, where we meet others in their own way of life, understanding who they are, how they live and the expressions of their faith. 2) Dialogue of Action where those of various faiths may come together over particular projects for the sake of healing and justice, eg. interfaith projects working for the Sunami recovery, or building projects for the homeless. 3) dialogue for theological understanding. It is critical to understand our own faith clearly and that of others. This requires study, listening and learning from those who teach their faiths. This is a must in order to help us understand why we do what we do. 4) Dialogue of Experience--living in another's way of life, eg. a period of time in a Buddist monastery. Rather than threatening our own faith we come to an even deeper understanding of who we are and a deeper respect for who the other is. While religions and faiths are not the same, human dignity is. Msgr. Tanya-anan pointed out that in our Ecumenical relations if we are not able to talk together as Christians we are in no position to talk to others. Respect and humility are the foundation stones of dialogue. Msgr. Tanya-anan's wisdom was food for mind and heart, filled with love.
It is a great gift to be here as a team from St. John's. Thank you for your prayers of blessing upon us last July for this journey of faith together.
God's peace be with you.
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