Paul Knitter, “New Possibilities for Interreligious Dialogue” in Beatrice Bruteau, ed., The Other Half of My Soul: Bede Griffiths and the Hindu-Christian Dialogue. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1996, p.169.
The first commandment of Christ to Christians is not a “missionary mandate” to go forth and make disciples of all nations, but is, of course, to love one’s neighbors. Many people feel that there is a certain clash between this commandment and the missionary mandate. Previous attitudes towards and ways of approaching other faiths have not allowed Christians to properly love their non-Christian neighbors. What, after all, does love mean, but to respect someone, to honor them, to really listen with an authentic openness to what they are saying?
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Paul Knitter reminds us here that it’s important for each of us who is struggling to be a Christian to ask ourselves what Christianity means to us. We may be embarrassed by the way that Christianity is represented in our culture and ideas about how to be a Christian that seem to us wrongheaded. It is up to each of us to find a way to be truly loving. This is the heart of Christian faith.
Please help me, loving God, to have the strength, courage, and patience to be your love in the world. Help me to represent you in the world by following your voice, respecting the ways in which those of other faiths others hear you differently.
God, may I love others as I wish to be loved, and find my source of Loving in Your pure pure love, which I've been told is unconditional, though I don't know what that really means in terms of You.
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