The Peacemaker's Path (Jerry Zehr) -- A Review
THE PEACEMAKER’S PATH: Multifaith Reflections to DeepenYour Spirituality. By Jerry Zehr. Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2021. Xi + 201 pages.
Having been
involved in interfaith efforts for more than two decades I have found that not
only has my Christian faith been strengthened but it has been enhanced by my friendships
with folks whose faith/religious confessions are different from my own. I've
learned much from our conversations and through experiencing the religious life
of my friends. Sharing in an Iftar dinner at a mosque (or in co-hosting with a
Muslim group one at the church I served as pastor) or a Seder at the local
synagogue have proven to be blessings. I am fortunate to have, in recent
decades to have lived in very diverse religious contexts. That is especially since
we moved to Michigan thirteen years ago. I realize that not everyone has the kind
of opportunity to build close friendships with persons whose religious confessions
are different from their own, nevertheless, whether our communities are
religiously diverse or not, we can take advantage of resources that will
introduce us to the religious life of others whose confessions are different
from our own. There are a plethora of recent contributions available to readers—consider
for instance Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, (HarperOne, 2019)—that offer appreciative looks at other faith
traditions. The key to the kind of resource that helps open one’s heart and mind
to the other is the attention given to the best in our neighbors' traditions.
Too often we compare the negative elements of the other in comparison to the
best in our own. That's really not fair. At the same time, it's important that
we not simply merge these various religious traditions into one mass of
religious life.
In this
review, I offer up another possible resource that might prove useful to persons
interested in exploring other traditions and how they conceive of living life
in the human context. How might different traditions envision compassion or
empathy? Where are there commonalities and differences, even if in emphasis? I
need to add into this conversation my own belief that while commonalities are
important we should not paper over the differences. In fact, it’s the differences
that make the conversation interesting. My friend Amin and I have been having
these conversations for thirteen years and we never get tired of exploring
those intricacies of our different faith traditions.
In
reading Jerry Zehr’s The Peacemaker’s Path, I found a resource that made
sure that both the commonalities and the differences are present. Zehr is a
Disciples of Christ minister (as am I) who serves as the pastor of the Carmel
Christian Church in Carmel, Indiana (a suburb of Indianapolis). He notes that
he has spent the past thirty years of pastoral ministry involved in interfaith
dialogue. It is out of this experience, which includes being an active leader
within a local interfaith group, that he created this important resource. While
he is a Christian he wrote this in partnership with friends from other faith
traditions for people of faith whatever their background. So, no matter whether
you are Christian or Buddhist, Muslim or Baha’i, you will find yourself
represented on its pages.
The
author writes in his introduction that the world is in disarray, with people
painfully divided. Unfortunately, "many people use their religious beliefs
to justify separation and even acts of cruelty against others" (p. xiii).
With that in mind, he offers us this collection of daily reflections that draw
on the faith expressions of the major religious traditions in the world. He
does so with a statement from theologian Hans Küng as a starting point, a
statement that the interfaith group I'm involved with also draws upon: "No
peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the
religions without dialogue between the religions."
Zehr
wrote the book, which offers the reader forty daily reflections/devotions, for
three reasons. The first was a desire "to make a healing contribution to
the ethnic and religious polarization of our time." Second, he wanted to
"deepen and broaden our relationships as individuals and congregations
with people of other religions." Finally, he wrote the book out of an
interest in helping "people find inner peace and become peacemakers in our
world." (p. xiii).
The forty
daily reflections that comprise the book are organized around six themes. The
first focuses on "walking the enlightened path." There are six daily
reflections under this heading. The first is titled "Awakening." That’s
an appropriate place to begin because the journey begins with an awakening to the
importance of faith in one’s journey. From there we move to the "Universal
Mind," which involves an exploration of God's role in our lives. Then we
move to "Respecting Others' Beliefs," "Connecting to
Creation," "Faith/Trust," and then "Wonder." Each of
these daily reflections begins with a reflection/story that introduces the
concept. This is followed by a selection of statements from five to eight
different faith traditions, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Baha'i, and more. These excerpts from different
faith traditions are followed by a set of reflection questions and a call to
action. Then, there is a closing prayer from various traditions, most of which
were written by friends and colleagues of the author.
Each of
the themes is developed through six daily reflections that follow the same format as I
outlined above. On the seventh day of each week, Zehr opts to provide an
opportunity for the reader/user to review and reflect on what has transpired
during the week. This seventh reflection point is usually briefer offering a
statement that reflects what has transpired earlier in the week, followed by a
set of reflection questions, and then a closing prayer.
The
pattern is repeated for each theme. These themes include "the Power of
Prayer," "Loving Yourself," "Loving Others,"
"Actions and Impact," and finally "Quest for Peace." Over
the course of these weeks, the reader/user will explore a variety of important
comments from being created in the image of God to initiating reconciliation.
In the Epilogue to the book, after we've moved along this peacemaker's path,
Zehr notes that “the concept of loving God and loving our neighbor seems so
simple, and yet it is much harder when we must live it out in our day-to-day
lives" (p. 185). From experience, I know that this is true. It may look
easy but it's not. However, if we are to experience peace in this world it is a
path that must be taken. And, on a personal level, blessings will flow from the
effort put into the work of relationship building.
I am
grateful to have been asked to read and review The Peacemaker's Path by its author, Jerry Zehr, because it
reflects my own commitments to interfaith/interreligious dialog and
friendships. I know it will enhance the experiences of those who are already
engaged in such conversations because it allows the user to reflect on the
journey that has been undertaken. It will help deepen the relationships with
others even as it assists in deepening one’s commitment to one’s faith. It will
also serve as a helpful and encouraging resource for those who are interested in
taking this journey and yet are not sure what to make of the commonalities and
the differences. The important thing is to remember, as Zehr does, that true
peace will not come through being assimilated into the beliefs and practices of
the larger group so that the differences that make each tradition unique no
longer exist. In other words, this isn’t an invitation to join a religious
melting pot. Rather, it is as we grow to appreciate our differences as well as our
commonalities that we will find our path to peace. The rest is up to God!
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