“Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” [1 Corinthians 13:8-13]
About a month into second grade Nirit joined my class. Nirit is an Israeli Jew who had recently moved to Chicago with her family. It did not take long for Nirit and I to become friends. Over the course of our friendship I was frequently invited to Nirit’s house and got to know her family. I spent many Friday nights enjoying candlelight Sabbath dinner and finding creative ways to play without electricity. There was a special warmth around the Sabbath table and a peaceful energy around Saturdays at Nirit’s house.
One Saturday afternoon Nirit and I asked if Nirit could spend the night at my house. Nirit’s mom said no because my family would be going to church Sunday morning. Neither Nirit nor I was satisfied with this answer. I frequently spent the night at Nirit’s house but Nirit had never spent the night at my house. I went to synagogue with Nirit; we did not understand why Nirit couldn’t go to church with me. Nirit’s mom explained that Nirit could not go to church because their family did not believe in Jesus and she did not want Nirit to be exposed to Christianity until she was older. This was the first time I realized that Nirit’s family didn’t believe in Jesus. I knew our religions were different, but we prayed together to the same God, and knew most of the same bible stories. Up until this conversation it seemed like our religious differences were about practices not beliefs. Not believing in Jesus seemed very strange to me and so I asked “why don’t you believe in Jesus?” Surprisingly this rude and childish question did not end my friendship with Nirit. Her mom made us a snack and talked to us about the different ways Jewish and Christian people view Jesus, and about how it was possible to disagree about Jesus and still be friends. I don’t remember everything Nirit’s mom told us that day but I remember my friend’s mom engaging two 8 year old girls in an age appropriate interfaith conversation that did not avoid the challenging issues and emphasized the fact that people of all religions should be friends. I also remember it was not our last conversation. Over the years Nirit and I had multiple conversations with her mom about Israel, the holocaust, and faith. I will always be grateful for these kitchen table conversations. They help me understand my faith better and they helped me understand another part of the world better.
God help us lovingly engage other people’s questions even when they seem childish and rude. Allow us to see a lovable child of God behind every question so that meaningful dialogue can grow. Amen. –Kate Byers