The difficult dimension of Dialogue

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 10th week in Ordinary time

June 8, 2022: 1 Kings 18: 20-39; Matthew 5: 17-19

Today we have one of the strange passages or events in the Old Testament history of our faith - Elijah vanquishing the priests of Baal. Although this has come to be regarded as one of heroic accomplishments of Elijah, this is one of the things that we need to unlearn from our collective memories as People of God. Let us see just three premises to understand, taking both the readings of the liturgy of the Word together.

Firstly, Apologetics is not the best of dispositions, although it is important. It is important to know one's faith, his or her faith tradition and the journey that the faith community has made thus far and defend the reasonableness of it all, in the face of oppositions or critiques. But it is not the best of rapport to be developed with the "others".

Secondly, Proving oneself, proving one's faith and defending cannot be the principal motivation of one's relationship with others, at times it is viewed as defending none less than God! We see this much in the present experience when a group of faithful (belonging to all religions, invariably) think they have to defend God by all means! What kind of a God are we speaking of here and what kind of a defense are we thinkning of. 

Thirdly, Dialogue is seeking that common ground where we can stand shoulder to shoulder, without losing individual identity, but not on a note of contrast, competition or conflict! This is where the self identity is never lost, but the identity of the other is respected without any compromise. It looks complicated, doesn't it? That is what dialogue is all about and it is difficult.

Jesus while he reinterpreted the laws that the Jews held high, he insisted that he was not doing away with them, but bringing them to completion...and what completes them? It is the difficult dimension of Dialogue!