Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 17.22-31; John 14.15-21
The Church and Other Faiths – Catherine Gibson
In speaking to his disciples about the coming Holy Spirit, Jesus says that, “The world cannot receive [him], because it neither sees nor knows him.” And in last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard Jesus tell them, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The reading from Acts shows Paul building on openings and points of contact with Christianity in the beliefs of his Gentile audience as he argues that the truth to which they have been fumbling is revealed in Christ.
And in the Coronation Service we saw representatives of other faiths making a prominent contribution within a very Christian act of worship. The conjunction of these readings and events prompted me to wonder “What is the Church of England’s current teaching about inter-faith relations, and how does it fit with mission?”
In 2005, the Church of England set up a programme entitled “Presence and Engagement”. This was designed to resource churches serving multi-faith parishes, and is concerned with the local Church, rather than inter-faith dialogue at other levels or across wider geographical networks.
The Church continues to uphold the aim of maintaining a Christian presence in every community, although this can be very challenging for some inner city churches, most of whose members live outside the parish.
Engagement is expressed in building bridges with members of other faiths, working together on projects for the common good. For instance, one church provides a “Memory Café” to help combat loneliness among older people of diverse faiths, and this puts the church at the heart of the community in an area with few other facilities, and has resulted in an increase in Sunday worshippers. Practical support for asylum-seekers has produced numbers of conversions in some churches.
The “Presence and Engagement” section of the Church of England website includes not only the various reports to General Synod on the subject, but also the text of a very interesting address given by Dr Sam Wells to a Diocesan Interfaith Advisers’ Conference. He speaks of “being with” adherents to other faiths: of “paying attention”, “mystery”, “delight” and “enjoyment”. He highlights the value of seeing other faiths as a mystery rather than a problem to be solved. Christians shouldn’t approach those of other faiths seeking some sort of hybrid faith; but being exposed to very different traditions can enrich one’s own faith, and forces one to name and appreciate its key elements. Dr Wells cites many instances in the Old and New Testaments where Gentiles bring gifts or reveal qualities to the people of God.
At the same time, we must be confident in our own faith, and ready to express it.
God has created all people with a spiritual capacity. Why, then, is “the world” incapable of receiving the Holy Spirit? Why does it neither see nor know him?
By “the world” John means those who live as though there is no God. Wherever there is love, joy, peace and the other fruits of the Spirit, he is at work, whether or not the people through whom he is working are believers. But the indwelling of the Spirit is the specific privilege of Christians. He is to be to us everything that Jesus was to the apostles during his earthly life. Jesus has been their Advocate, standing beside them to plead their cause and strengthen them; and so will the Spirit be. Jesus has prayed for Peter, and has defended the disciples against the charge of breaking the Sabbath. He’s pleaded with those who arrested him to let the disciples go free. After he has returned to the Father, the Spirit will continue to perform this role, although “the world” will not be able to recognise or understand it.
Paul’s speech in the Areopagus is perhaps not our best model for evangelism among people of other faiths. Paul was not merely being given a hearing: he was on trial – the Areopagus was a court; and while he finds some points of contact in his hearers’ beliefs and culture, the thread running through his speech is their ignorance.
Nevertheless, he gained one or two converts, and was allowed to go free. And the confidence and clarity with which he expresses his Christian faith is something to which we should all aspire. Maybe, in conversation after the service, you might like to practice your listening and speaking skills by inviting one another to recount your own faith journeys.