LESSON 44
EXPLAINING CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES TO MUSLIMS

The Incarnation: As can be seen in Lesson 39, one of chief objections of Islam to Christianity is belief in the divinity of Jesus. We should be able to explain the distinction of his natures and unity of his person, but it is more important to start any explanation with broader principles. First, God's power brings activity and life to all his creatures without suppressing or by-passing their own natures. Secondly, God adds to our own nature a supernatural power enabling us to believe in him and love him as a friend, and thereby share in his life (See Lesson 37). Thirdly, the gift of prophesy or doing anything wonderful in his name operates in and through our own power to think, imagine and plan, so that we are in action in unison with God. Only when a Muslims sees that it is possible and reasonable for God to wed his own power to that of creatures in these ways will he be able to entertain the possibility of a human nature being actually one person with the divine Word, as we believe Jesus to be.

The points listed above should satisfy an open-minded Muslim that the Incarnation is a rational possibility and not something impossible. But it cannot convince him of the fact of the Incarnation. He can only gain that by a personal encounter with the love and power of Jesus in his own life. There are ways God provides that, sometimes by an answer to a prayer, sometimes by a dream, sometimes by interaction with a friend. A Christian can only pray and act as a midwife to God's inner action of grace.

The Trinity: As seen in Lesson 39, the unity of God should be affirmed in everything but the relational differences of Speaker - Word, Breather (Father & Son) - Breath. Discussion of the Trinity would make no sense unless the Incarnation is first understood.

The Church: The Church is very easily misunderstood by Muslims, who imagine it to resemble the Islamic umma. Like Islam, the Church is a community and claims to be the "people of God". Besides that, Islam is a political community with its own structures that are incompatible with and replace other structures once an Islamic state is in place. The Church, on the other hand, is the body of the living Christ, with power to teach and sanctify in his name, and lives within existing social and political structures.

The Church should be presented as a society of those who believe in God, accept Jesus as a Prophet and a Saviour, are mystically united with him and endowed with the gifts of his Spirit, and who are shepherded by the successors of the Apostles of Jesus. Muslims who know about Hadīth and Sūfic baraka transmission will readily understand "apostolic succession".

Sacraments & worship: The worship of the Church will seem strange to a Muslim because there are no fixed rules governing the detailed times and manner it should be carried out. One problem is that most Catholics only know the Mass and various optional devotions and are unfamiliar with the official five daily prayers of the Church's Liturgy of the Hours, which Muslims easily appreciate when celebrated in choir. In fact most lay Christians appear embarrassed or at a loss when Muslims begin their prayers at fixed times and the Christians have nothing comparable.

Christians should show that, whatever the format, they have at least morning and evening prayers; if some action, song (especially Psalms) and ceremony is attached to them, all the better. Besides that, they should stress that they are to pray "always" (Eph 6:18), "regularly" (Rm 12:12), "constantly" (1 Thes 5:17), "perseveringly" (Col 4:2). Anna served God "day and night" with fasting and prayer (Lk 2:37; cf. 1 Tim 5:5), as was the Old Testament ideal (Ps 1:2): "to you I cry all the day" (Ps 86:3). The disciples prayed "constantly" awaiting Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

Besides, Christians have the Eucharist, which not only recalls Jesus' death, but makes really present the Christ who suffered and rose, "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8). He is the High Priest who offered his life-blood on the cross and through his resurrection entered the heavenly Holy of Holies where he continues his eternal priestly action of presenting himself to the Father and interceding for us (Heb 7:24-25).

Jesus' internal act of offering, initiated at his conception, anticipated at the Last Supper, actualized on the cross, and continuing forever as his priesthood is eternal, becomes present under the visible signs of bread and wine when an ordained priest acts in his name. In this action the entire assembly exercises their general share of Jesus' priesthood given in baptism (1 Pt 2:9; cf. Ex 19:6), and all offer to the Father the everlasting sacrificial act of Jesus made present before them. In this way the sacrifice of Jesus becomes the sacrifice of the Church. The Church offers the Father Jesus himself and the infinite value of his own offering. At the same time the participants become beneficiaries of his sacrifice, according to the ancient prayer: "Whenever the commemoration of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is enacted."

The Eucharistic commemoration is not simply a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus. It envelops as well the entire lives of the participants. Peter's lofty description of the priesthood of all the baptized who make "spiritual sacrifices" and "sing the praises of God" (1 Pet 2:4-10) is concretized by Paul who describes the help that the Philippians gave him as "a pleasing smell, the sacrifice which is acceptable and pleasing to God" (Phil 4:18). All these are sacrifices in the wide sense, and should include everything that a Christian does. In the Eucharistic commemoration these are united with the sacrifice of Jesus and offered "through him, with him, and in him" to the Father.

The Eucharistic commemoration is thus a cosmic communion, uniting the participants in a particular celebration with one another and with all those redeemed by Jesus from the beginning of time. It is an exercise of the "communion of saints", and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet (Mt 8:11; 22:1-14; Lk 12:37; Rev 19:7).

QUESTIONS

  1. Discuss how to present the person of Jesus to a Muslim.
  2. Discuss the difference between the Church and the Islamic community.
  3. What actions and explanations would be necessary to convince Muslims that Christians pray in a way worth emulating.
  4. Besides lively music and good preaching, what might a Muslim learn to appreciate about the Mass.
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