The acts of the Apostles makes very interesting reading just now. As Pope John Paul II retraces the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, the Acts provide the bulk of our liturgical reading.
The life of the early Church must have been exciting if dangerous. The first members of the Christian community suffered persecution and hatred in most of the places where they established themselves. But the book is also the testimony of a believing community struggling to establish contacts with people of other faiths and finding its place in the wider society of the Roman world.
There is a strong simile between the Pope praying at the Baptist's tomb and the story of Paul in the Acropolis. It was there that Paul encountered the altar of the "Unknown God" and spoke to the Athenians of "the God who was Father of us all!" (Acts 17). A small number of the Athenians accepted his teaching and formed a small community. But Paul's success was not in confronting the religion of Athens; it was in building a common base between his faith and the faith of the city. When John Paul took off his shoes and entered a Mosque to pray, he expressed the common base between two of the world's largest faiths.
The image of the leader of the largest Christian denomination at prayer with Muslims is powerful. It is not something that would seem possible to imagine if you were to believe everything you read about either the Pope or Islam. Like St Paul in Athens, John Paul acknowledged a common link.
This is a challenge to every Christian and Muslim throughout the world. The conflict between the two faiths in Nigeria, the Sudan and Indonesia offends the integrity of both communities. Paul did not achieve a union between his faith and the religion of Athens, but he did express a unity that was possible between them. Instead of being one of the usual stories of conflict and mistrust, Paul's limited success at Athens is a potent inspiration for people of all faiths, and not just Christians and Muslims, to work together.
As the Pope's travels are always highly publicised, the whole world is aware of what happened last week. The fact that the cameras followed him should not occlude the simplicity of the act itself. All that really happened is that a group of Muslims and Christians prayed quietly together, plain and simple. It is an act that all of us apostles should consider. There will be some who will willingly do this and there will be some who might object to it. Vocal adversaries often oppose efforts towards unity. There have always been people who see the world in black and white: I am right and every other opinion is wrong! I suppose most of us nurture some element of this attitude from time to time.
Paul and the Apostles were often confronted from both within their own community and from without. They were ridiculed, flogged, deported and imprisoned at different times in their efforts to preach the Gospel; but they never gave up and eventually sacrificed their lives for their ideals. Likewise, we should be brave and not lose heart when people protest. It is a good thing to sacrifice your popularity by doing the right thing.
From Athens to Damascus and throughout the world, there are little niches of common ground where we can sow the seeds of unity. We might never achieve union, but then, who says that union is the best thing in the world anyway?
F. MacE.