Cordoba’s Mosque Cathedral is a real collision of architectural styles and theologies.
Early one morning we attended a service in the Cathedral section and later that day had a tour of the, one time, immense Muslim Prayer Hall surrounding it.
I found myself thinking how great it would be if, today, both Christians and Muslims could co-exist in this holy space, using designated areas in which to worship and pray, and shared ones in which to dialogue.
The three, so called, Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam share many facets of faith. Characters such as Abraham, Moses and Elijah are present in all our scriptures, as is the notion of One God calling us to live lives of peace and compassion.
Of course, all three religions have fundamentalists who preach a depressing extremism.
This blending of traditions will soon become apparent in our Lenten journey. The Christian story of Jesus in the Wilderness clearly draws on the imagery of the Jewish one of a People journeying forty years through the Wilderness.
By the time we get to Maundy Thursday this blending of traditions moves up a gear as we celebrate Holy Communion, as religious observance which has its origins in the Seder Meal observed by our Jewish friends at Passover. Indeed, this year at AFC, on Maundy Thursday, in our church hall the South Bucks Liberal Jewish Congregation will be holding a Passover Meal, whilst AFC’s congregation will be holding a Communion Service further down the corridor!
Whenever I meet Christians from other Churches, Seekers after Truth from other Faiths or, indeed, friends of no faith in particular who want to talk about the meaning of life, I sense a reassuring commonality. I hope such an understanding has at its centre, the idea of seeing the image of God in the face of another, whatever their tradition – and in whatever room at both ends of church corridor they will be spending Passover/Maundy Thursday in just a few weeks time.
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