Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 2:02am
God's face next door
Column: All Paths
You know one morning I saw Allah working in my neighborhood. Another day I saw Lord Krishna helping someone very close to where I saw Allah. And guess what, I always see Jesus Christ fast at work in my community. By now you probably think that I am crazy because I can claim to have seen so many divine beings. It may seem even crazier that I saw all of them in the same community. Hey, this is a good neighborhood.
I'm not unique and certainly not crazy, and neither is my neighborhood. As a matter of fact, you have probably seen these divine beings in your community as well. I bet you see them a lot. Are you crazy? If you look in your community, there you will see people from various faith traditions and ethnic backgrounds regularly practicing good works that lead to peace and community-building. Good works are the cornerstone of just about every faith tradition.
When I saw Allah, it was in the form of a Muslim shop owner bring peace to a racial incident between two fellow community members. Lord Krishna was in the form of a woman offering a homeless man a very generous donation to buy food. And, since my neighborhood is predominantly Christian, Jesus takes the form of the members of the many churches in my community who help the needy and provide valuable community services. I am sure that if I continue to look, I will see Buddha, the Orishas, Yahweh, and many other representations of God helping build the peace and enrich life as well.
If you think about it, there are always accounts of selfless acts of love and compassion from war zones to communities devastated by floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, or anywhere there is suffering, strife or someone in need. Some stories are more personal and not highly publicized. Those selfless beings that freely and quietly give or gave of themselves in the name of love, compassion, community and peace, are manifestations of The Divine Universal Presence or God. They are the faces of God.
We should honor the quiet and selfless good deeds of these individuals. They make our communities better and enrich our lives. Through their simple acts of compassion, they are promoting and highlighting the shared moral and community values that all religions share. They are one of the best hopes that we have to counter the abiding hatred, intolerance and mistrust that plague so many of our communities.
The Muslim shop owner who I referred to, who diffused a racial incident, will not receive an award for his efforts. Other than those involved in this incident, and the one or two people who witnessed it, very few will know about his peace-building effort. That's a shame. I bet if this Muslim shop-owner chose not to build the peace, and instead become an agent of hate and intolerance, he would have received more attention. He probably would have made the news or at the very least been the subject of protest and a community meeting.
It is important that when we see selfless acts of love, compassion, peace and community building, we must take note and talk about them. Yes spread the news about these good works! Community peace and harmony are usually not the result of a single act or built on the efforts of one person. It is the product of many acts committed by many people, or faces of God.
Finally, on January 11, 2007, there will be an arts competition, held at The United Nations in New York, honoring those whom I call "The Faces of God." If you want to know more about this competition, please visit the New Seminary website.
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Rev. Jay Speights is an interfaith minister and main United Nations representative for The New Seminary in New York. He has an MA in public policy. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org} jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Jay Speights
I'm not unique and certainly not crazy, and neither is my neighborhood. As a matter of fact, you have probably seen these divine beings in your community as well. I bet you see them a lot. Are you crazy? If you look in your community, there you will see people from various faith traditions and ethnic backgrounds regularly practicing good works that lead to peace and community-building. Good works are the cornerstone of just about every faith tradition.
When I saw Allah, it was in the form of a Muslim shop owner bring peace to a racial incident between two fellow community members. Lord Krishna was in the form of a woman offering a homeless man a very generous donation to buy food. And, since my neighborhood is predominantly Christian, Jesus takes the form of the members of the many churches in my community who help the needy and provide valuable community services. I am sure that if I continue to look, I will see Buddha, the Orishas, Yahweh, and many other representations of God helping build the peace and enrich life as well.
If you think about it, there are always accounts of selfless acts of love and compassion from war zones to communities devastated by floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, or anywhere there is suffering, strife or someone in need. Some stories are more personal and not highly publicized. Those selfless beings that freely and quietly give or gave of themselves in the name of love, compassion, community and peace, are manifestations of The Divine Universal Presence or God. They are the faces of God.
We should honor the quiet and selfless good deeds of these individuals. They make our communities better and enrich our lives. Through their simple acts of compassion, they are promoting and highlighting the shared moral and community values that all religions share. They are one of the best hopes that we have to counter the abiding hatred, intolerance and mistrust that plague so many of our communities.
The Muslim shop owner who I referred to, who diffused a racial incident, will not receive an award for his efforts. Other than those involved in this incident, and the one or two people who witnessed it, very few will know about his peace-building effort. That's a shame. I bet if this Muslim shop-owner chose not to build the peace, and instead become an agent of hate and intolerance, he would have received more attention. He probably would have made the news or at the very least been the subject of protest and a community meeting.
It is important that when we see selfless acts of love, compassion, peace and community building, we must take note and talk about them. Yes spread the news about these good works! Community peace and harmony are usually not the result of a single act or built on the efforts of one person. It is the product of many acts committed by many people, or faces of God.
Finally, on January 11, 2007, there will be an arts competition, held at The United Nations in New York, honoring those whom I call "The Faces of God." If you want to know more about this competition, please visit the New Seminary website.
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights is an interfaith minister and main United Nations representative for The New Seminary in New York. He has an MA in public policy. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org} jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Jay Speights