Week 1 Day 1

I will be observing Ramadan and meditating on the Bismillah this month. The Bismillah stands for the Arabic phrase Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, a beautiful poetic phrase my Muslim friends say contains the true essence of the Qur’an, indeed the true essence of all religions. Every chapter of the Qur’an (except the ninth chapter) begins with this phrase, which is most commonly translated, “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate”. It is my prayer that this Ramadan all of us may come to know the compassion of God more deeply and reflect the compassion of God more faithfully in our lives.

Week 1 Day 2

‘Bismillah’ or ‘bismi Allah’ means ‘in the name of Allah’. ‘Allah’ is not the Muslim name for God, still less the name of a Muslim God, but the Arabic name of the One True God. The Semitic roots of the word ‘Allah’ extend back thousands of years to the Canaanite ‘Elat’, Hebrew ‘El’ and ‘Elohim’ and Aramaic ‘Alaha’. To recite the Bismillah is to recall there are not many gods but One God and that One God is not Muslim, Jewish or Christian but the One whom we belong to and who belongs to us all.[1]

Week 1 Day 3

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan says there are two ways we can relate to God. One way is to ‘take pride in our religion’ and ‘the perspective of God’ our religion has given us. Which, the Maulana says, makes us partisan, protective of our tradition and reactive against others who may call our doctrine into question. Another way is to ‘be true to the spirit of our religion’ and ‘the compassion of God’ that our religion has given us. Which, the Maulana says, can make us sensitive, appreciative and respectful of not only our traditions, but also the notions of those who call our doctrines into question.[2]

Week 1 Day 4

We all know the commandment: ‘You shall not take name of the Lord your God in vain’. A better translation of this commandment is: ‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God’. What does it mean to ‘misuse the name of the Lord your God’? A Jewish settler misuses the name of God when she builds a house on land taken from her Palestinian neighbor citing God’s promise of the land to all the descendants of Abraham. A Muslim martyr misuses the name of God when he explodes a bomb killing innocent people crying ‘Allah O Akbar’. And a Christian leader misuses the name of God when he goes to war declaring, ‘God told me to strike…and I struck’.[3]

Week 1 Day 5

Some of the agnostic anarcho-syndicalists in my neighbourhood call me ‘Dave the Godist’, because they know I believe in God. Which means, in their minds, as far as they are concerned, my name and the name of God are inextricably linked together. So its easy to see how, from their perspective, my behavior would reflect, for better or worse, on the reputation of God. During times such as these, when I am fasting and praying more reflectively, I am reminded of how all too often my own behavior has not brought honour – but dishonor – to the name of God in my neighbourhood.

Week 1 Day 6

When Moses met God for the first time in the burning bush, Moses asked God who he was. God answered, ‘I am the God of Abraham’. God knew Moses didn’t know who He was, but knew who Abraham was. So God used the name of Abraham to introduce himself, fully confident that Moses would respond by saying to himself, ‘I don’t know who God is, but if He is Abraham’s God, He must be a good God – a God who is committed to generosity, integrity and fidelity like Abraham’. How wonderful it would be if we lived lives of such quality that God could use our name to introduce Himself to others. This is the hope for all true spiritual descendants of Abraham.

Week 1 Day 7

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, the first request he said they should make was ‘hallowed be your name’. To ‘be hallowed’ means to ‘be made holy’. For many, God’s name is ‘not holy’ and we, as God’s people, are encouraged to ‘make God’s name holy’. Jesus suggested God’s reputation would be only restored when God’s will was ‘done on earth as it is in heaven’. And the only way we can guarantee God’s will is ‘done on earth as it in heaven’ is if we do God’s will ‘on earth as it in heaven’ ourselves! Jesus says, ‘Let your light shine before people, that they may see your good deeds and have a (good) reason to praise your Father in heaven’. (Matt 5:16)