A Special Interfaith Blessing

Yesterday evening I had the privilege of offering the opening blessing at the annual interfaith dinner in Louisville sponsored by Highlands Community Ministries. The dinner included presentations on the topic of "What is Happiness", delivered by representatives of the Baha'i faith, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

As I prepared this prayer, I apprached it by delving deeply into the core
of each of these religions not so much with my brain as with my heart. I humbly
share the result with you:

Friends,

The great interfaith leader Mathew Fox uses a wonderful metaphor to describe the relationship between God and the world’s great religions. He says that the Divine is like a great underground river and that each of the world’s religions digs its own well to tap into the beauty and power of the Divine.

Recognizing both the diversity and unity of
those of us gathered here
tonight, we call upon the Divine to bless this
gathering and the food we are
about to eat,

In the name of:

• Our Baha’I friends who possess such a profound understanding of our
  universal oneness,


• Our Buddhist brothers and sisters with their great concern to end the
  suffering of all beings,
  


• Our Jewish companions and their invocation of the concept of Tikkun Olam to
  mend our broken world,


• Our Hindu comrades and their realization that the Transcendent has many
  faces and can be approached in different ways,


• Our Christian partners who so powerfully incarnate God’s love for the world
  through the corporal acts of mercy,


• Our Muslim neighbors who believe that submitting to God’s will means working
  for peace and justice,


• And the practitioners of other religions in the greater Louisville area who
  so richly reflect the diversity of our world.
  
  Amen