Musings

The Center of the Universe

Anne McCormack, a member of my church, took her car and a $10-off coupon to Quik  Smog in Novato, California. The shop consisted of two bays: one for doing the smog check, and one  functioning as an unusually hospitable waiting room. In it was a carpeted area with chairs, a table with coffee and tea, a fridge from which customers were free to take sodas, an electronic keyboard to make music, and four copies of the Koran – two in Arabic, and two in English. In one area was a big framed picture of Mecca, and on a table in front of it were brochures describing the hajj, the pilgrimage made by millions of Muslims every year. Anne felt like she’d entered a  sanctuary. In a smog shop, of all  places!

         

After her car passed its test, the owner of the shop, Mohamed  Abouhagrass, completed her paperwork.  Anne asked him if he had completed the hajj to  Mecca. “Yes, most recently, three years ago,” he  replied. She asked him about the big box  in the middle of the picture. “The  Kaaba,” he replied. “What’s in it?”  asked Anne. “It’s not what’s in it that  matters,” he explained. “It’s where it  is. It’s the center of the  universe.” With enthusiasm, Mohamed described  the seven levels of heaven directly above the Kaaba. “Every day, 70,000 angels make their pilgrimage  to a place directly above this spot in heaven,” he said. “They go there once and stay. They only get to make their hajj one time,  but we on earth can go more than once to Mecca. That makes us more blessed even than the  angels.”

         

For Abouhagrass, the hajj was overwhelming. “You feel you are in heaven, that you are  just about to enter paradise,” he said in a later interview. “It’s tremendous, to be directly under the  throne of God. The simplicity and the unity of people of all colors and languages coming to the same place, just like every prophet from Adam to Mohammed. It’s indescribable. You come away  from it feeling like a newborn baby, knowing that God has accepted your  repentance for your sins.”

         

Pilgrimage is central to his story in more ways than  one. The “hag” in his last name is  pronounced “hajj”. “My name means  ‘father of pilgrimage’ or ‘father of migration’”, he said. He was born in Palestine,  and he and his family migrated as refugees to Saudi   Arabia after the 1967 war with Israel.  He came to the United States as a medical student,  but a serious accident interrupted his studies. “Humans make plans, but God finally decides,” said Abouhagrass.

         

As she was leaving the shop, Anne told him  that she thought that conflict between Christians and Muslims was a terrible  thing. “It is the work of Satan,”  Mohamed replied.
            
“It’s time to stop  being narrow-minded and selfish with opinions,” said Abouhagrass. “The time has come for all of Abraham’s  children to unite, rebuild, love God in the heart, and make peace.”
 

(For a visit to the sacred space in Mohamed Abouhagrass’  waiting room, go to Quik Smog at 7515    Redwood Boulevard in Novato – 878-4955 for a smog appointment.)

Questions, Anyone?

Today, most people associate Christianity with the loud pronouncements of the "religious right".  But what would happen if Christianity was associated with profound questions instead of dogmatic answers?

Silent-meeting Quakers avoided slogans and pronouncements long before the likes of Falwell and Robertston emerged.  The Quakers chose to ask questions instead of taking fixed positions.  They carefully refine "queries" and pose them to their membership.  They keep asking themselves these queries until, by consensus, they determine that it is time to ask different ones.  The queries explore personal spiritual practice, the conduct of silent Meetings, and social and moral issues.  They activate the consciences of individual Quakers and of the community of Friends.  They don’t result in answers that are binding forever.

Asking good questions can change the world.  I spent about a decade as the Protestant campus minister at Stanford.  In that role, I was impressed repeatedly by the effect that students’ questions had on me and on others.  Their questions about religion and spirituality influenced my theological views, and led me to write my book, "Open Christianity".  I led many field trips that put them in contact with policy makers and officials.  The sincere, intelligent questions of students often embarrassed people in power, challenging them to rise to new levels of accountability, or even to change their minds.

I'm troubled by the direction my country is taking.  And I'm concerned that religion is being manipulated in America for destructive and divisive ends.  In my frustration I often succumb to the temptation to make declarations of HTOTB:  "how things ought to be".  A more constructive alternative is to ask questions that invite respectful dialogue among people.  In this spirit, I offer this list of “queries” to ponder.

What would the Christian religion be like if it was as humble, unconventional, and self-sacrificing as Jesus was?

Must it weaken a person's faith to think that their religion is not the one and only true path to God?

What would Christianity be like if Christians interpreted the New Testament in the same free-spirited, creative manner as Jesus used to interpret the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament)?

Could deep respect for Islamic civilizations prevent terrorism?  If so, what can we do as individuals, and as a society, to make our respect palpable in the Islamic world?

What is the best way for America to help Iraqis achieve peace, freedom, and stability today?

Is it acceptable for 45 million Americans to live without health insurance?  If not, how can we create universal coverage that is high-quality and affordable?

Why are there over 2,000,000 Americans in jail?

Is it possible to ensure freedom of speech and at the same time have publicly financed political campaigns with limits on private donations?

What is “homeland security”?  Is it freedom from attacks by politically or religiously inspired terrorists?  Or is it freedom from violent crime in low-income urban neighborhoods? Or both?  In any case, how would it be achieved, practically?

What would be the actual consequences for undocumented immigrants and the general public of each current major proposal for change in immigration law?

What should I do, and we do, about global warming?  What pattern of energy and resource consumption is appropriate for me and others?  How much should government intervene to prevent global climate change?

What is your experience of God?  What is it like for you to commune with God or ultimate reality?  (I find that this question consistently gets past differences among people with conflicting views about religious doctrines.)

What would be the actual effect of legalized same-sex marriage on heterosexual marriage, and on society as a whole?

What questions do you think could change the world for the better?  Which ones transform your anger into shared inquiry with those who have different perspectives on issues that are important to you?  Which ones invite the calmest, friendliest, most constructive conversations with people who see the world another way?  Please send them to me, and I'll compile them into a future issue of my "musings".