Guests:   3

Thanks

Shirley Flacks opened her home and her bountiful table to the group that gathered for the December Dialogue. Eileen Moorman provided both her assistance and also some of the delicious choices set amid the Hanukkiah and the glowing candles. Thank you both!  And special thanks go to Dr Eric Friedland and to Father Bert Buby for the openness they demonstrated as they brought perspectives from each faith tradition and also from their own personal experiences.

 A Line From Lillian

Greetings!  I hope for those of you who celebrated Hanukkah recently, that the eight days were filled with the wonder and hope of the abiding presence of the Lord.  And for those who celebrated Christmas, that the warmth and love of the Lord were felt in a special way.  For all, may 2003 be a year of health and peace.

As the Dialogue looks forward to the New Year, we will return to 101 Alumni Hall for a series of stimulating topics and speakers. The January meeting will be fully dialogue – a chance to share with others our reactions to and thoughts on a document entitled Dabru Emet.  I will be facilitating the meeting. I am in no way an expert on the subject, but I’ll bring background information on the document to share.  You may want to read the document (it is brief) before January 12. If you were at the December meeting, you received a copy.  If not, and you have Internet access, you can find it at: http://www.jcrelations.net/stmnts/njsp_dabru_emet.htm.

There will be copies available at the meeting also. I hope to see you there!

                                                                  Blessings and Shalom,

                                                                                   Lillian 

Looking Back

The group that gathered for the December Dialogue experienced a fresh look at the passages in Matthew and Luke containing what is commonly called The Lord’s Prayer. Most of the group could quote the prayer from memory because it had been used in schools across America since the founding fathers.

 Father Bert Buby spoke first, telling his listeners that he relates personally to the prayer as both a priest and as a Christian believer. He has memorized it in Latin, Hebrew, German, French, Italian and of course English, thereby keeping it fresh and with reverence for himself because his faith tradition encourages its frequent repetition.

Dr. Friedland related his personal experience as a high school student, saying that he would not recite the prayer with his classmates because of his upbringing, but that parts of the prayer resonated within him because of the similarities to the Hebrew prayers from his faith tradition. Dr. Friedland said that he was intrigued by the phrase “…Hallowed be Thy Name…”. It contains a similar expression as an ancient Jewish prayer which begins, “Thou art the same before the world was created…” which speaks of God’s empowering of His people to sanctify or hallow the Name. The act of “sanctifying” God’s name is called in Hebrew, Kiddush Ha-Shem, an expression that resonates powerfully for Jews.

Dr. Friedland listed ways to sanctify God’s name and to enable others to sanctify it:  regular prayer, study of the Torah, by fostering peace where there is strife, by visiting the sick, by bringing relief to the suffering and consoling the bereaved, by doing everything in our power to eliminate poverty and, if need be, by martyrdom. It can be said that this very old Jewish prayer, said in the synagogue to this very day, may even shed some light on the import of the familiar, little-understood phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “…hallowed be Thy Name”.

The phrase  “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…” is a concept common to both faith traditions, speaking about the need to seek forgiveness for sins from the ones who have been wronged, first, and then from God Himself.

Father Bert said that the phrase  “…Thy Kingdom come…” speaks to the believing Christian about the person of Jesus, the Messiah who has brought in the Kingdom of God.  Thoughts and phrases regarding this Kingdom are found in King David’s blessing of the Lord, as recorded in I Chronicles 29:11-12.  Both the Tanach and the New Testament contain prophecies about this future kingdom…structured into both faith traditions, for the future redemption of the world.

Thought for the Month

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen 

Matthew 6: 9-13

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