Our ideas are made brilliant by joining the flames of our inner visions as we share the experience of love within friendship.
~ I Ching, 13th Hexagram
The Essence of Interfaith
Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister
If ever there was a time for the work of interfaith to come into its own fulness, that time is now. We can choose to emphasise hideous examples of religious extremism, violence, and the devastating wars that continue to evolve in the name of religions, or we can choose to see the light of a million hearts shining with pure intent for peace. We can say that interfaith has failed or that it is only just beginning.
Right now, the world seems to be all about separation. The world we know is more about death than it is about miracles—death stalks everywhere, beyond age, education, spiritual understanding, geography, or ethnicity. We are sorely tempted to surrender to fear and grief, blame and vengeance. Yet this is the thinking that has brought us to this place of catastrophic separation. Anything that separates is not God—it is not love.
Looking around, it feels as if the earth herself is dying, soaked in blood and broken dreams. Yet life is alive with miracles. I dare to talk about death and miracles in the same breath, embracing all of them because these two dualities are inexorably intertwined in this polarised world. At the point of deepest despair lies the birth of the next miracle, the dawn that unexpectedly transcends the darkness to reveal a magnificent new day.
And so the darkness became a gift because it turned to gold when offered to Divine Will.
In this way, death and miracles are inseparable. The miracle requires absolute surrender to Divine Will, the death of the ego, just as a seed requires absolute destruction before it becomes a tree.
From this perspective, the interconnectedness of the whole becomes focused, and we learn to share visions through and beyond differences. Common purpose is stronger than separation, and love is stronger than hate. In the end, we want the best for ourselves, and we learn from all our diverse sacred texts that we can achieve it by caring for each other. The essence of interfaith is aligned intention leading to joyful collaboration, beyond differences and united by the One creative Source we know as Divine Will, or God. The destiny of humanity invites us into a shared experience where the flames of our inner visions unite to flare brilliantly in the firmament of God’s unfettered heart.
About Open Windows
We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world’s sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.
We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.
The destiny of humanity invites us into a shared experience where the flames of our inner visions unite to flare brilliantly in the firmament of God’s unfettered heart.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Rev. Behr, I so appreciate the CORE of interfaith with you – our universal identity and oneness with SOURCE no matter what name for SOURCE we choose. And I also highly recommend that attunement course mentioned beneath your text. So much to learn, share, and express together. THANK YOU! Love, Tom C.
Thank you so much, Rev.Berry. The first Biblical communication from the Divine is “Let there be Light”. Through Unity, Compassion, Divine purpose and Love we bring clear vision and a way forward together. 💕
The flame of interfaith shines brilliantly when the dogma of religion is replaced by the primal spirituality of the Truth of Love. No religion needed, just the expression of the essence of who I am!
Thank you Berry. That was very comforting. As you know I have been grieving a lot about what is happening to the Palestinian people. I continue to grieve but I am slowly moving into action to offer what I am being called to offer. I recently learnt the term ‘interspirituality’ referring to the shared spiritual practices between various faiths. The Breath is central to many of those practices and it is my hope that Love will become the one spiritual practice we can all share to create the new world we all deserve as children of The One.
This is so beautifully expressed, it expresses my understanding of interfaith and the current times we live in…the only way for interfaith to lead to peace building is for it to be born out of love and not of the ego. Among all the despair and tragedy there is a common meeting place that embraces love. Only the brave can enter this place because it means to be always be centered in the heart, which is not easy if one is not grounded or selfless. I always see these brave ones as a lotus flower. They stand above the muddy waters showing the way. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.
7 Responses
So very beautiful!!!
The destiny of humanity invites us into a shared experience where the flames of our inner visions unite to flare brilliantly in the firmament of God’s unfettered heart.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Rev. Behr, I so appreciate the CORE of interfaith with you – our universal identity and oneness with SOURCE no matter what name for SOURCE we choose. And I also highly recommend that attunement course mentioned beneath your text. So much to learn, share, and express together. THANK YOU! Love, Tom C.
Thank you so much, Rev.Berry. The first Biblical communication from the Divine is “Let there be Light”. Through Unity, Compassion, Divine purpose and Love we bring clear vision and a way forward together. 💕
The flame of interfaith shines brilliantly when the dogma of religion is replaced by the primal spirituality of the Truth of Love. No religion needed, just the expression of the essence of who I am!
Thank you Berry. That was very comforting. As you know I have been grieving a lot about what is happening to the Palestinian people. I continue to grieve but I am slowly moving into action to offer what I am being called to offer. I recently learnt the term ‘interspirituality’ referring to the shared spiritual practices between various faiths. The Breath is central to many of those practices and it is my hope that Love will become the one spiritual practice we can all share to create the new world we all deserve as children of The One.
So true: death and miracles are inseparable.
This is so beautifully expressed, it expresses my understanding of interfaith and the current times we live in…the only way for interfaith to lead to peace building is for it to be born out of love and not of the ego. Among all the despair and tragedy there is a common meeting place that embraces love. Only the brave can enter this place because it means to be always be centered in the heart, which is not easy if one is not grounded or selfless. I always see these brave ones as a lotus flower. They stand above the muddy waters showing the way. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.