These are words from the Rev. Dr. Julia Lambert Fogg -- my favorite CLU professor. She instilled in me a love of respectful study of all religions, with Islam dear to both our hearts. She took me to Turkey, walked with me through the words of Paul, and labored with me through Biblical Greek. Her eloquence and elegance in word and in life are that which I strive to emulate. On Isaiah 58 and the Manhattan mosque, she says this:
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness... You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. It is not by pointing fingers that we repair the breach, and rebuild the streets, but by feeding the hungry, something we can do side by side with Muslims in churches and Islamic centers around the country. Perhaps a fast of words and a dedication to service alongside the practice of our Muslim brothers and sisters during Ramadan is in order. Certainly the feeding of the hungry is not contrary to the word of God. We could start here.
We could start here.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness... You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. It is not by pointing fingers that we repair the breach, and rebuild the streets, but by feeding the hungry, something we can do side by side with Muslims in churches and Islamic centers around the country. Perhaps a fast of words and a dedication to service alongside the practice of our Muslim brothers and sisters during Ramadan is in order. Certainly the feeding of the hungry is not contrary to the word of God. We could start here.
We could start here.