It's true we are different. But then so were our founders. Jesus Christ was a Jew who gave birth to Christianity. The Holy Prophet was steeped in study of the books of the Bible and was chosen to recite the Qur'an. Each was made to feel an outsider. Each stood out against the conventional teaching of the time. Each believed in the universal appeal of God to humanity. Each was a change-maker.
The best hope for faith in the twenty first century is that we confront all of this together. This is not because we intend to have the same faith. We don't. Our separate beliefs will remain. But our coming together, will allow us to speak in friendship to one another about our own faiths; and also speak to the world about faith.
So how do we make our relations, so fraught in the past, fruitful in the future? First, we need to understand each other, learn about our roots, how and why we are as we are, learn the essential spirituality, peacefulness and goodness of the others' faith. This means we educate each other about each other.
Secondly, we need to respect each other. We must do this, not pro forma, to be polite or courteous but do it deeply, beyond tolerance or acceptance. We say it is Love that motivates us. We must demonstrate it in our dealings with each other, as indeed both our Lord and the Prophet exhorted us to do. One reason why peace between Israel and Palestine matters so much is: that it is a test, not just of conflict resolution but of even-handedness and respect. We share our common heritage in Abraham and Moses. Peace between Jews and Muslims in the Land holy for all of us, would be such a powerful symbol of peaceful co-existence of faiths as well as nations or peoples.
Third, we must act. Our relationship with each other and both of us with Judaism that in time I'm sure will be part of the Common Word, will best be judged in action, in the work we can do together in relieving poverty, fighting injustice, preventing disease and bringing hope to those in despair.
