Close Encounters

In 1977 Steven Spielberg made the term "Close Encounters" popular. It was not until doing some superficial research that I discovered there are Close Encounters of the First Kind; Close Encounters of the Second Kind; and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. All of these deal, in some way, with unidentified flying objects. For those who want to do some superficial research on their own I refer you to Wikipedia.

I do not know why, but the idea of close encounters came to my mind as I reflected on a recent happening in my life. My close encounter had nothing to do with UFOs. My close encounter had to do with people, real, living human beings. Further, my close encounter involved three of the world's living faiths: Christianity; Islam; and Hinduism.

A few nights ago a Muslim friend introduced me to a young man from India. I sat down with the young man and we talked. We talked about many things. We talked about his being away from home for the first time in his young life. We talked about how difficult it is for him to not only be away from family and friends, but how difficult it is for him to get food to eat. He is a vegetarian. While India may be an easy place to live if you are a vegetarian, Malaysia is not. We continued to talk about his life, his difficulties living here, his longing for his family and friends. I asked him where in India he was from and learned he was from Punjab. This has particular relevance to me as our son-in-law's parents are originally from Punjab. We talked about many things that evening. I asked him if he was a Sikh. "No." He said. "I am a Hindu." I asked him if he had found a Hindu Temple yet. Again, he said "no." I told him I would help him find a Hindu Temple where he could go for prayer. I also gave him my card which had my name, phone number, and my responsibility for theological education in the Asia Pacific Region.

A couple of days later my new acquaintance came to talk with me in my room. As we talked, almost out of the blue, he asked, "Do you believe in God?" I said, "yes." He reached out his hand to shake mine and said, "So do I. I believe that we all believe in the one true God, although we have different understandings of this one God." We continued to talk. He asked me another question, "Do you believe in reincarnation?" I told him "No. I believe in the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ." Then my new acquaintance said, "I have never been to a Christian service. I would like to go some day." I told him I would take him.

Why do I tell this story of a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu? Because I think it reflects something very important, at least about me. As I understand Christian evangelism, it does not begin with trying to convince people to become Christian. It begins by becoming a friend, someone who will share with the other person their life, their story, their hopes and dreams, and allow the other person to do the same. Those of us who are Christians believe that God has created all creation, and in a very real sense we are all sons and daughters of God, sisters and brothers to each other. As Christians we believe that for the sake of all God's creation Jesus lived, died, was raised from the dead, and ascended. In the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, Christians believe that God has inaugurated God's reign, God's kingdom, which will be brought to fulfillment and completion in a material new heaven and a new earth. Indeed, as John 3:17 reminds us, "God sent the son into the world not to condemn the world, that in order that the world may be saved through him."

The questions I have been thinking about, and which I invite you to think about as well are: "Are we interested in being friends with those who are different from us; different religiously; different socially; different in whatever way?" "Are we interested in being friends with others, not in order that we might change the other person, but that in our being together we both will, by God's actions, be changed, transformed, made new?" As Christians, we have a story to tell, a story which brings meaning to our lives, and which integrates all that we do. However, non-Christians also have a story which brings meaning to their lives, and which integrates what they do.

When I was teaching in the seminary I usually asked the students about to graduate, "How difficult would it be for you who are Christians, to give up being a Christian and become a Buddhist; Hindu; Muslim; Sikh, or something else?" Invariably, they would answer that they could not give up being Christian. Being Christian was what gave meaning to their life. I then asked, "What makes you think that it is any easier for a non-Christian to give up the story which gives meaning to them and integrates their life?"