DOCSLIB.ORG

Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship— the Three Creative Principles By: Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh the Fourth Successor of the Promised Messiahas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship— the Three Creative Principles By: Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh the Fourth Successor of the Promised Messiahas Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship The Three Creative Principles Consists of Four Addresses by Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Khalifatul Masih IV ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD. Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship— The Three Creative Principles by: Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh The Fourth Successor of the Promised Messiahas First Edition of the first part published in UK (ISBN: 1 85372 567 6) Present Edition comprising all four parts published in UK in 2008 © Islam International Publications Ltd. Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd. 'Islamabad' Sheephatch Lane, Tilford, Surrey GU102AQ United Kingdom. Printed in UK at: Raqeem Press Tilford, Surrey ISBN: 1 85372 741 5 Verily, Allah requires you to abide by justice, and to treat with grace, and give like the giving of kin to kin; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and transgression. He admonished you that you may take heed. (Surah al-Nahl; 16:91) Contents About the Author....................................................................vii Introduction ............................................................................ix Publisher’s Note....................................................................xiii Glossary of Terms ...............................................................xvii __________________________________________________ Part I __________________________________________________ ● Foreword to the First Edition of the First Part ● Prologue 1 The Three Creative Principles Defined......................11 Three Stages of Human Relations..................................11 The Most Elaborate Verse of the Holy Quran ...............14 The Application of this Verse to the Domain of the Plant and Animal Kingdoms .........................................16 The Principle which Governs the Law Responsible for the Creation of Equilibrium and Balance.......................17 2 The Creation of the Universe .....................................27 The Universal Law of Gravitation ................................32 3 The Ecosystem ..............................................................39 Balance between Earth and the Heavenly Bodies..........39 The Earth’s Atmosphere.................................................39 The Troposphere ............................................................41 The Stratosphere.............................................................42 The Magnetosphere........................................................43 The Earth........................................................................47 Mountains.......................................................................49 Balance in the Atmospheric Gases.................................54 Balance in the Vegetative and Animal Kingdoms ........55 4 The Animal Kingdom .................................................57 The Role of Sensitivity and Consciousness in Relation to ‘Adl, Ihsan and Ita’i Dhil-Qurba ...............................68 5 Further Evolution of Man ..........................................71 A Study of the Micro-Universe of Man ........................71 The Bricks of Life .........................................................74 Balance and Consciousness............................................76 6 Different Kinds of Balance within Man’s Body.........79 The Inbuilt Criterion for Good and Bad.........................79 Physical Growth .............................................................83 Protection against Disease..............................................89 The Role of Benevolence in Production of Insulin........91 Calcium .........................................................................94 Sodium and Potassium ...................................................98 Cell Division .................................................................99 An Insight into the Insect Kingdom .............................101 Imbalance and Disease.................................................102 Guardian Angels...........................................................104 The Excesses of Man....................................................105 7 Violations of Justice ..................................................107 The Doctrine of Trinity ...............................................108 A Warning System to Indicate Violations of Justice ...112 8 The Role of the Three Creative Principles in the Shaping of Religion ...................................................119 The Era of Adamas........................................................120 The Paradise of Adamas................................................124 The Development of the Institution of Prophethood....128 The Development of the Teaching of Absolute Justice...........................................................................134 9 Islam as the Ultimate Goal of Religious Teachings 137 Islam and the Advanced Era of Prophet Muhammadsa 137 The Middle Way...........................................................140 The Straight Path..........................................................142 Islam and the Nature of Man .......................................147 Accountability and Inherited Sin .................................153 Guidance for Mankind ................................................159 References Part I __________________________________________________ Part II __________________________________________________ 10 Freedom of Conscience in Matters of Faith............165 11 Islamic Jihad Misunderstood ....................................179 12 Justice (‘Adl), Benevolence (Ihsan) & Kinship (Ita’i Dhil-Qurba) in Worship . ..........................................191 The Philosophy of Prayer.............................................198 The Universalities of Mosques.....................................216 Moderation in Worship ................................................217 Categories of Prayer ....................................................219 13 Absolute Justice May Never be Withheld...............223 14 Trust and Accountability...........................................225 15 Testimony of Muslims against Non-Muslims and Vice Versa ...................................................................237 References Part II __________________________________________________ Part III __________________________________________________ 16 Evidence in Financial Matters .................................253 17 Evidence of the Existence of God .............................259 The Testimony of God, His Angels and Knowledgeable People...........................................................................259 The Evidence of the Existence of God for the Atheists.........................................................................262 The Evidence of the Universe ......................................267 18 A New Category of Testimony .................................271 Evidence of Prophetsas in Favour of other Prophetsas ..274 A Universal Principle Applicable to All Cases where a Testimony is Accepted or Rejected..............................277 Some Testimonies in Favour of the Holy Prophetsa to be Fulfilled in the Future as many Testimonies were Fulfilled in the Past .....................................................280 Another Category of Evidence relating to the Age when the Holy Prophetsa Claimed to be the Messenger from God...............................................................................283 19 The Recording System Operative in the Entire Universe.......................................................................287 20 Covenants, their Different Categories, Punishments and Rewards ..............................................................295 Covenant of Man with God..........................................295 The Covenant of Prophetsas..........................................299 The Covenant of the People of the Book ....................304 Punishment for the Breaking of the Covenant Binding on the Entire People ....................................................308 A Mutual Balance between Crime and Punishment.....312 Some more Punishments in Accordance with the Violation of Covenants.................................................314 The Reward for Keeping the Covenant........................317 A Similar Code of Ethics given to Humans is made Binding by Allah upon Himself ...................................319 Individual Covenants or Contracts...............................320 The Violation of Individual Covenants and the Punishment...................................................................323 21 Covenants with Non-Muslims, Treaties and Contracts ....................................................................327 Two Categories of Treaties with Non-Muslims...........329 The Treaty of Medina...................................................331 The Personal Example of the Holy Prophetsa regarding his Commitment to Contracts.......................................335 A Prophecy Regarding the Moral Decadence of Muslim Political Leaders in the Future ....................................337 Some other Examples of the Honouring of Contracts..339 Reference Part III __________________________________________________ Part IV __________________________________________________ 22 Justice in Speech.........................................................347 One Specific Aspect of Justice in Speech ....................348 Examples of Absolute Justice Dispensed by the Holy Prophetsa of Islam.........................................................351 The First Characteristic of
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Humility, Justice, Goodness
    SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL strives to bring the nurturing charism of Caritas Christi – the love of Christ – to our community of faith and learning. In the 17th century, Jesus revealed a vision of His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the patroness of our school. It is the heart of Jesus that impels us to live Caritas Christi. By embodying Gospel values we can be the heart of Christ in the world today. OUR CORE PRINCIPLES To live CARITAS CHRISTI is to be a person of: COMPASSION, who ACTS and SPEAKS with concern for others. “Do nothing from selfishness; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” - Philippians 2:3 • Affirm the inherent value and dignity of each person • Be present to another’s needs • Forgive another, as you would want to be forgiven HUMILITY, who UNDERSTANDS themselves in relationship to God. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” – Mark 1:45 • Express gratitude to God for life’s many gifts • Engage life as a “We” rather than a “Me” person • Use one’s gifts in service to others JUSTIC E, who RESPECTS and ADVOCATES for the dignity of ALL PEOPLE and CREATION. “Blessed are those who do what is right, whose deeds are always just.” – Psalm 106:3 • Give generously without expecting something in return • Speak and act truefully in all circumstances • Seek and promote the well-being of others GOODNESS, who reflects the image of God in THOUGHT, WORD and ACTION. “You have been told what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8 • Develop and demonstrate moral character that reflects the virtues of Christ • Encourage one another and build one another up • Accompany each other on life’s spiritual journey .
    [Show full text]
  • Justice and Humility in Technology Design
    2006-85: JUSTICE AND HUMILITY IN TECHNOLOGY DESIGN Steven VanderLeest, Calvin College Steven H. VanderLeest is a Professor of Engineering at Calvin College. He has an M.S.E.E. from Michigan Tech. U. (1992) and Ph.D. from the U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1995). He received a “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” Award in 2004 and 2005 and was director of a FIPSE grant “Building IT Fluency into a Liberal Arts Core Curriculum.” His research includes responsible technology and software partitioned OS. Page 11.851.1 Page © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Justice and Humility in Technology Design 1 Abstract Engineeringdesignrequireschoosing betweenvariousdesignalternatives,weighing eachoption basedontechnicaldesigncriteria.Broader criteriahave beensuggestedthatencompassthe cultural,historical,andphilosophicalcontextsinwhichthenewtechnology becomesembedded. Thesecriteria,calleddesignnorms,canonly beappliedeffectively by engineerswithastrong liberaleducation.This paperexaminestwodesignnormsinsomedetail.Thefirstnorm,justice, has beennotedinthe pastasanimportantcriterionfordesigndecisions,butnottosufficient depthtoprovide practicaldesigninsights.Designfor justicerequiresconsiderationofall stakeholdersof adesign.Technologicaldesignscanintrinsicallyleadtoinjustice,forexample, iftheydisrespectstakeholdersorcausediscriminatoryinequities.Thesecondnormexploredin this paper,humility,hastypically beenconsideredagoodqualityoftheengineer,butnotoften appliedtotechnology.Theimplicationsofusing humility as adesigncriterionmightinclude moreemphasisonreliability,userfeedback,andmore
    [Show full text]
  • Scales As a Symbol of Metaphysical Judgement – from Misterium Tremendum to Misterium Fascinosum an Analysis of Selected Works of Netherlandish Masters of Painting
    Santander Art and Culture Law Review 2/2015 (1): 259-274 DOI: 10.4467/2450050XSR.15.022.4520 VARIA Karol Dobrzeniecki* [email protected] Faculty of Law and Administration of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń ul. Władysława Bojarskiego 3 87-100 Toruń, Poland Scales as a Symbol of Metaphysical Judgement – from Misterium Tremendum to Misterium Fascinosum An Analysis of Selected Works of Netherlandish Masters of Painting Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze the motif of scales in Netherlandish art from the 15th to the 17th century. The motif of scales was present in art from earliest times, but its role and func- tion differed in various historical epochs – antique, the middle ages, and the modern age. The core part of the article is devoted to the symbolic relationship between scales and different aspects of justice. The first painting taken into consideration is Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgment (approx. 1445 to 1450), and the last one – Jan Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance (approx. 1662-1663). The article attempts to answer some crucial questions. What were the meanings attributed to scales during the two centuries exam- ined? How did these meanings evolve, and was the interpretation of the symbol influenced by the ethos characteristic for particular peri- ods and geographical spaces, as well as transient fashions, religious * Karol Dobrzeniecki, Doctor of Law and art historian, currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theory of Law and State, Faculty of Law and Administration of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Theory of Social Justice in Republic II-IV
    Binghamton University The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB) The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter 12-1981 Plato's Theory of Social Justice in Republic II-IV Edward Nichols Lee University of California - San Diego, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://orb.binghamton.edu/sagp Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, and the History of Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Edward Nichols, "Plato's Theory of Social Justice in Republic II-IV" (1981). The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter. 120. https://orb.binghamton.edu/sagp/120 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter by an authorized administrator of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. f J t u a r l tJ. Lee^ W i Y re t* \ - Piulo} A PLATO'S THEORY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN REPUBLIC II-IV "Actions speak louder than words." (Old saying) After his long construction of a "city in speech" throughout Books II-IV of the Republic, Plato finally presents, as his long sought-for definition of social justice, the enigmatic and ambiguous formula, "each one doing his own." My main aim in this paper will be to search out the sense that he has esta­ blished for that definition: to show how he thinks he has established (by the time he unveils it) that that unlikely formula is in fact a reasonable defini­ tion of social justice, and to analyze what it means (Sections I-III).
    [Show full text]
  • Virtues and Vices to Luke E
    CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY THE LUKE E. HART SERIES How Catholics Live Section 4: Virtues and Vices To Luke E. Hart, exemplary evangelizer and Supreme Knight from 1953-64, the Knights of Columbus dedicates this Series with affection and gratitude. The Knights of Columbus presents The Luke E. Hart Series Basic Elements of the Catholic Faith VIRTUES AND VICES PART THREE• SECTION FOUR OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY What does a Catholic believe? How does a Catholic worship? How does a Catholic live? Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Peter Kreeft General Editor Father John A. Farren, O.P. Catholic Information Service Knights of Columbus Supreme Council Nihil obstat: Reverend Alfred McBride, O.Praem. Imprimatur: Bernard Cardinal Law December 19, 2000 The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed. Copyright © 2001-2021 by Knights of Columbus Supreme Council All rights reserved. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America copyright ©1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Scripture quotations contained herein are adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission.
    [Show full text]
  • COS Statement on Biblical Justice
    COS Statement on Biblical Justice Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.1 The Apostle Paul in Romans The secular community, since it exists for our natural good and not for our supernatural, has no higher end than to facilitate and safeguard the family, and friendship, and solitude. Great sacrifices of this private happiness by those who have it may be necessary in order that it may be more widely distributed. All may have to be a little hungry in order that none may starve. But do not let us mistake necessary evils for good. The mistake is easily made. Fruit has to be tinned if it is to be transported, and has to lose thereby some of its good qualities. But one meets people who have learned actually to prefer the tinned fruit to the fresh. A sick society must think much about politics, as a sick man must think much about his digestion: to ignore the subject may be fatal cowardice for the one as for the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Iowa State Journal of Research 56.1
    IOWA STATE JOURNAL OF RESEARCH I MAY, 1982 4'3 -439 Vol. 56, No. 4 IOWA STATE JOURNAL OF RESEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 56 (August, 1981-May, 1982) No. 1, August, 1981 ASPECTS IN RENAISSANCE SCHOLARSHIP PAPERS PRESENTED AT "SHAKESPEARE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES" SYMPOSIUM, 1981 From the Editors. 1 GALYON, L. R. Introduction...................... ...... 5 BEVINGTON, D. M. "Why Should Calamity Be Full of Words?" The Efficacy of Cursing in Richard III . 9 ANDERSON, D. K., Jr. The King's Two Rouses and Providential Revenge in Hamlet . 23 ONUSKA, J. T., Jr. Bringing Shakespeare's Characters Down to Earth: The Significance of Kneeling . 31 MULLIN, M. Catalogue-Index to Productions of the Shakespeare Memorial/Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1879-1978 . 43 SCHAEFER, A. J. The Shape of the Supernatitral: Fuseli on Shakespeare. 49 POAGUE, L. "Reading" the Prince: Shakespeare, Welles, and Some Aspects of Chimes at Midnight . 57 KNIGHT, W. N. Equity in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. 67 STATON, S. F. Female Transvestism in Renaissance Comedy: "A Natural Perspective, That Is and Is Not" . 79 IDE, R. S. Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy and the Providential Play-Within-a-Play. 91 STEIN, C.H. Justice and Revenge in The Spanish Tragedy... 97 * * * * * * * * * * No. 2, November, 1981 From the Editors.. ... 105 TABLE OF CONTENTS PUHL, J. Forearm liquid crystal thermograms during sustained and rhythmic handgrip contractions . 107 COUNTRYMAN, D. W. and D. P. KELLEY. Management of existing hardwood stands can be profitable for private woodland owners....... .... 119 MERTINS, C. T. and D. ISLEY. Charles E. Bessey: Botanist, educator, and protagonist . 131 HELSEL, D. B.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Theory of Justice
    Department of political science b. a. ii semester iii paper I history of western political thought unit I Plato Plato’s theory of justice “Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only if it first resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” -Plato - Ms Nimisha Singh Assistant Professor Different views/theories of justice Traditional theory of Cephalus:- “Justice consists in speaking the truth and paying one’s debt.” This theory of Cephalus is criticised by Plato and discarded. He gives the analogy of gun and insane man. In this case, adhering to the definition said above would violate the righteousness. Therefore, this can’t be taken as universally sound definition. Improvement by Polemarchus:- “Justice is giving everyone his due.” By this Polemarchus meant- Doing good to friends and bad to enemies. Plato asks how can one know that a friend is a real friend and not an enemy? Also, justice (any morality) will produce virtue only and not vice. This definition can only be applied individually not socially and according to Plato, justice is a social service. Radical Theory of Thrasymachus:- “Justice is the interest of the stronger” “might is right” is what is meant by Thrasymachus. Two views are taken by Thrasymachus here:- 1. Government governs for its own benefit. 2. Injustice is better than Justice. (because unjust man is stronger, wiser and happier than just man.) Plato retorts to this by saying that Governance is an Art and any Art aims at the advantage of its recipient. Therefore, how can government ignore its citizens? It can’t act selfishly.
    [Show full text]
  • The Discovery of a Normative Theory of Justice in Medieval
    Medieval Philosophy and Theology 9 (2000), 1–14. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright © 2001 Cambridge University Press 1057-0608 THE DISCOVERY OF A NORMATIVEMATTHIAS THEORY LUTZ -BACHMANNOF JUSTICE View metadata, citation and similarThe papers at Discovery core.ac.uk of a Normative Theory of brought to you by CORE Justice in Medieval Philosophy: On the provided by eCommons@Cornell Reception and Further Development of Aristotle’s Theory of Justice by St. Thomas Aquinas MATTHIAS LUTZ-BACHMANN Institute for Philosophy of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt Translated from the German by John D. Cochrane Aristotle earns the distinction of having put forward the first comprehen- sive philosophical theory of justice. After the end of the antique world, St. Thomas Aquinas was the first philosopher and theologian to return to Aristotle’s theory of the just. Not only did he do so with the requisite systematic precision; he also developed a new philosophical interpretation of justice. In the present article I shall outline, with the brevity expected of me here, the fundamentals of Aristotle’s theory of justice. This will be followed by a summary of the core aspects of Aquinas’s notion of justice, whose grounding in normative reason will be identified in Aquinas’s trea- tise on law and political theory, and explicated accordingly. I. Aristotle’s theory of justice had its precursors; there were interpretations of the just in Greek literature, rhetoric, and politics, as well as philosophy, to which Aristotle also makes explicit reference on a number of occasions. Aristotle, however, is the first to formulate a comprehensive theory of justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Justice in St. Augustine's Political Philosophy and Nigerian
    International Journal of Education and Human Developments, Vol. 6 No 2; July 2020 ISSN 2415-1270 (Online), ISSN 2415-1424 (Print) Published by Center for Global Research Development Analysis of Justice in St. Augustine’s Political Philosophy and Nigerian Political System ONUCHE, Joseph PhD. Department of Philosophy Kogi State University Anyigba, Kogi State Nigeria Abstract St Augustine of Hippo (354-430CE) is the most influential Christian philosopher in western Christianity after Paul the Apostle. This paper analyses justice in Augustine‟s political philosophy as contained in His „City of God‟. It will be argued that, we could learn from his answers to bad politicking which resulted in destruction of State. His answers on various theological and philosophical issues have continued to be relevant in modern theological and philosophical debate. A lot can still be learnt from him even in the area of Church‟s response to bad governance. Augustine‟s argument is that Kingdoms (Countries, nations) without justice are robberies, as Kings (Governors) of such are robbers. This supposition is illustrated with three historical allusions namely: the encounter of Alexander the Great with a Pirate, the establishment of Roman Empire by Romulus, and the establishment of Assyrian Empire by Ninus. Contextually, Nigeria as it is today falls into this category of robberies as the British colonial masters forced this unequal union for their personal, self-seeking and self-interest, to satisfy their libido dominandi. An analysis of what Augustine meant by justice will be carried out. Philosophically, Augustine evaluated justice from Neo-Platonic background and theologically from Pauline concept of justice.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Justice and Prudence of This War
    Catholic University Law Review Volume 51 Issue 1 Fall 2001 Article 3 2001 On the Justice and Prudence of This War James V. Schall S.J. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview Recommended Citation James V. Schall S.J., On the Justice and Prudence of This War, 51 Cath. U. L. Rev. 1 (2002). Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview/vol51/iss1/3 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by CUA Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Catholic University Law Review by an authorized editor of CUA Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMMENTARY ON THE JUSTICE AND PRUDENCE OF THIS WAR James V. Schall, S. J.' Ad hoc quod aliquod bellum sit justum, tria requiruntur. Primo quidam auctoritasprincipis, cujus mandato bellum est gerendam . Secundo, requiritur causa justa, ut scilicet, illi qui impugnanturpropter aliquam culpam impugnationem mereantur . Tertio, requiritur ut sit intentio bellantium rectam qua scilicet intenditur vel ut bonum promoveatur, vel ut malum videtur.' Prudentia est bene consiliativa de his quae pertinent ad totam vitam hominis, et ad ultimum finem vitae humanae. Sed in artibus aliquibus est consilium de his quae pertinent ad fines proprios illarum artium. Unde aliqui, inquantum sunt bene consiliativi in rebus bellicis vel nautibus, dicuntur prudentes duces vel gubernatores, non autem prudentes simpliciter, sed illi solum qui bene consiliantur de his quae conferunt ad totam vitam.2 James V. Schall, S. J. is a Professor in the Deparment of Government at Georgtown University. He received his Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly”: Sometimes It Takes a Miracle! (John 6:9-21)
    “Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly”: Sometimes it Takes a Miracle! (John 6:9-21) In the name of the God: Creating, Redeeming, Sanctifying. Amen. Bread. The staff of life. The disciples of Jesus clearly knew this. The one who taught them to say “give us this day our daily bread” would also have offered a blessing, called the “motsi”, at the beginning of every jewish “chabura”, or fellowship meal: “Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth”. And they would also understand, and celebrate the feast of the unleavened bread, usually of unleavened barley flower--the food of the peasant class--which also reminded them of God’s later provision of manna in the desert during their 40-year long and winding road to the Promised Land. And all of this would be, and still is, remembered every Passover, when Jews worldwide remember not only their own deliverance from slavery 3,000 years ago, but the continued outpouring of God’s Liberating Love for all who are poor and oppressed, regardless of ethnicity or religious faith. So, as John tells it, the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. Time, again, to break bread together. Gandhi, a Hindu and deep admirer of Jesus and His way of Peace through nonviolence, put it this way: “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Let me share, then, a personal story that relates directly both to Gandhi’s observation, today’s Gospel, and today’s world.
    [Show full text]