Ramadan Gathering: Tuesday's Reflection

  

"Happy Ramadan" 

"Ramadan Mubarak" (moo-BAH-ruk)

On Friday evening members of our congregation gathered in our Fellowship Hall for a time of learning and connecting. And feasting, but trust me, it wasn't our usual Lutheran potluck. The Turkish American Society of Minnesota were our hosts for Iftar, a breaking of the fast, and such delicious food they provided.

Before enjoying the food, however, we learned a bit about Ramadan, which began last week. This is the month in which Muslims believe the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammed, and they celebrate by fasting from sunrise to sunset every day of the month. Fasting, we learned, is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with testimony of faith, daily prayer, charity, and pilgrimage.

We also learned what it takes to be a Muslim.
1.     To accept God or to submit to the will of God.
2.     To accept the message of God and Mohammad, that there's an end to the world, a day of judgment, and to accept all the prophets, including Jesus, before Mohammad.
3.      To act as if God is always with you in your actions and can always see you. 

The five pillars are ways to experience and get closer to God. 

I sat next to a young couple from Turkey who have lived in the United States for many years, and he explained to me how easy it was to fast during Ramadan. "Something happens when you fast then. You want to fast. You want to experience God." He told me how even his young children have fasted at times and want to have that experience. 

He stressed to me that the fasting itself is a way to celebrate this time. I would have thought that fasting was a way to prepare for celebration. 

I've always thought of fasting as a discipline, a way to reveal what controls me and also a call to remember how I am sustained not by food, but by God's love. 

Richard Foster in his classic, Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth, says, "we are not so much abstaining from food as we are feasting on the word of God. Fasting is feasting!"

Fasting as feasting. 
Fasting as celebrating. 
I now see some similarity between the two views. 

Before we ate, however, there was a time of prayer for our Muslim friends. Their prayer rugs had been arranged facing Mecca in our Colonial Room. At times standing and other times in a posture of supplication, they chanted and lifted their prayers. It was a holy time for them and for those of us who stood quietly in the back to not only observe this important ritual, but to hold the space for them. 

And then we ate and continued our conversations about our faith, but also about our work, our families, our concerns for this country. 

My only regret about the evening was that I had not fasted that day as well, and if I attend another Iftar, I intend to do that--both as a symbol of interfaith connection, but also to experience feasting in a new way. 


An Invitation
The last day of Ramadan this year is June 4. Is there a spiritual invitation calling to you during this time? I would love to know. 

Blessed Ramadan: Thursday's Reflection

If you live in Minnesota, perhaps you have noticed recently this sign in yards and in front of churches. The sign says, "To our Muslim Neighbors Blessed Ramadan" and was made available by the Minnesota Council of Churches. Our church, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, was one of many who distributed the sign to our membership. 

To be honest I don't know if I have any Muslim neighbors. At least on our block. I know when I shop at Target and other places I see Somali women who are shopping or working there, and the other night when we attended an outdoor concert at one of the parks, I was mesmerized by a group of women almost floating across the grass in their flowing robes. But I admit with embarrassment that my personal connection with people of the Islamic faith is greatly limited. In fact, my knowledge of Islam is miniscule. 

The signs, therefore, are for me, too. Not only do I want to express support and show respect for one of the great religions of the world and its believers, but the sign prompts me to learn, to extend my understanding, and to uncover my own prejudices and ignorance. And, perhaps, others when they see the sign will be moved to greater awareness, as well.

Now is a good time to do that.  

A Few Basics
This year Ramadan, which is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims, began on Sunday, June 5 and will end on Tuesday, July 5.  It was during this sacred month that God revealed the first verses of the Quran to Mohammed. That time is called "The Night of Power." 

This is a month devoted to deep contemplation of one's relationship with God, a time for extra prayer and study of the Quaran, but is also a time of celebration and joy with loved ones. In fact, Ramadan ends with a three-day" Festival of Breaking the Fast."

Fasting is a key component of this month--fasting from sunrise to sunset. The purpose of fasting is to focus on one's frailty as a human being and to acknowledge one's dependency on God for sustenance, as well as to increase compassion for the poor and needy. 

It strikes me that the goals and focus of Ramadan could benefit people of all faiths. Whose faith and spirituality could not grow from more time spent reflecting and contemplating and also by responding with charity and love towards anyone in need? 

Even if one does not fast from eating sunrise to sunset, imagine what it would be like to fast from thoughts of resentment, envy, even hate? 

Therefore, I wish Muslims and all their neighbors far and wide a Blessed Ramadan.

An Invitation
In what ways might you honor Ramadan? I would love to know. 

blessedramadan.org
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church