Genesis 21:8-21; Mark 12:30-31
Our nation now remains embroiled in Marawi in a seemingly- never-ending battle for control and restoration of government and law and order in that city.
So many lives have been lost among civilians and the military, valuable properties leveled to the ground, and schools have been destroyed — especially our church-owned Dansalan College Foundation Inc. with its main academic buildings gutted down by fire, and some of its faculty still missing and unaccounted for. With no classes possible with its destroyed facilities, and no enrollment, and no income expected, with the students and their families having evacuated to safer grounds like Iligan, the faculty and staff are now facing days of deprivation because no salaries can be given out to them.
Those who remain trapped in the City have to remain in hiding for more than a month now, especially if they are Christians; the militant perpetrators of the attack have been identifying, and then separating the Christians from the other Muslim residents in the City, allowing the Muslims to go and evacuate, but keeping captive the Christians to be used as human shields in their continuing battle with government forces.
In fairness to the people of Marawi, it is also the residents of the City — especially families of alumni and students of Dansalan College, 95 percent of whom are Muslim — who sheltered and hid most of the Christian faculty members, and even clothed them in Muslim attire to allow them to escape without being detected by the Islamic militants.
Even then, never has it become so critical, and a life-and-death issue to be identified either as Muslim or Christian, as in this battle in Marawi.
An old woman was rescued by government soldiers a few days ago from the battle zone, and she was asked: “Ano po kayo, Lola, Christian?” The old woman replied, “Oo, Christian ako.” Immediately, they whisked her to safer ground.
When it is a Muslim being rescued, the soldiers would spend more time interviewing the person, verifying his identity, interrogating him/for possible links to the attackers.
Identity distinction has now become so important in a situation like this. It is as if it will determine who can be trusted and who can be considered suspect; who can be considered harmless and who can be considered as potentially-dangerous.
Never has the religious divide been so emphasized as these days of the Marawi conflict.
This is another unfortunate and sad development in the history of Muslim-Christian relations when in fact, Christians and Muslims are supposed to be kins or brothers — if we consider the biblical roots of Islam and Judaism from where Christianity eventually emerged.
Yes, we are actually brothers and sisters under one common ancestor in the faith — that is, Abraham. From Abraham came Isaac, who became the ancestor of Israel, and his faith eventually inherited by us Christians.
But also from Abraham, whom Muslims call as Ibrahim, came Ishmael or Ismail, who became the ancestor of all Arab and Muslim peoples.
God has also blessed Ishmael as a young boy, child of Hagar (slave-servant of Sarah) who became the concubine of Abraham.
Sarah became so jealous of Hagar having Ishmael as the first born of Abraham which entitled him to a double share of the inheritance from the father. This is the so-called “right of the firstborn”. Sarah insisted on Abraham that her slave Hagar be sent into the wilderness together with the boy Ishmael to be left there to die of hunger and thirst, just to get rid of them. Abraham had to give in to the demand of his wife Sarah even though he was so distressed in doing it.
In the wilderness of Beersheba, Hagar ran out of water for her child. Knowing there was no way to find water to quench their thirst in this barren desert, Hagar just waited for the moment when her son would die of hunger and starvation. But then God intervened because God heard the voice of the boy. It turned out that God was with the boy. And water was provided for them by God right there in the desert, together with a declaration from heaven, a divine promise that God will make a great nation of him: Ishmael will grow to become the father of a great nation. And he dwelt further south in the wilderness of Paran which is northern Arabia.
Thus, the promise was fulfilled as the Arab people, the originators of the Islamic faith, looked up to him as their own ancestor.
Ishmael was also a recipient of God’s compassion and promise that he will also be the father of a great multitude of peoples.
We have one father in Abraham. We are brothers/sisters who should actually embrace and accept each other, instead of hating and fighting each other.
But history and the march of civilization and culture did not look too kindly on the descendants of Ishmael. Ishmael himself was not given any recognition of legitimacy as a son of Abraham.
In fact, in the popular Sunday School song, basing it also on Genesis 25 on the list of the sons of Abraham, the song claims that “father Abraham had seven children”.
The basis of this is the six sons that Abraham had with his second wife Keturah in Gen. 25:1-2 who were added to the child of Sarah, Isaac.
The eighth child, who is actually the first born, Ishmael, was never recognized as a legitimate child of Abraham.
From the very beginning, the biblical roots of the ancestors of Islam had been long denied and suppressed even in the course of history.
The result now has become so tragic for our nation and even for the rest of the world, especially in the wake of the continuing deadly conflict in the Middle East.
Polarization and the rise of extremist views, consequent division, violent confrontation, and antagonism, and looking at each other with suspicion have always marked the relationship of the two faith groups.
We note with alarm the violence and cruelty on the part of radical extremists that we see in the news; on the other hand, some Christians, including pastors and priests were heard to have burned copies of the Quran, and thus, exacerbating the mutual hatred.
At the same time, both sides have been using our respective Scriptures, the Bible and the Quran, as a source of justification and fuel to further inflame their respective followers into hating, rejecting, and even destroying the other.
Friends, it is time to heed the words of Jesus to all those who want to follow him: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are the meek or the humble, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
These are the more important things that matter in our faith, and not any other law (Mark 12:30-31).
The fact that there were many Muslim families in Marawi who helped many Christian residents escape the City is a sign of hope that “the other side” is just as capable of following the commandment: Love thy neighbor.
You will be surprised. That other son of Abraham is also a neighbor we need to love, and who can also love us.
In fact, far more than being a source for conflict and division, our own Bible has always been a rich and powerful resource for peacemaking and reconciliation.
This is because we have a Lord in Jesus Christ, who, more than teaching us to love, forgive, and work for peace and reconciliation, has demonstrated with his own life and death the power of love that is devoted to making peace, seeking reconciliation of enemies, and seeking the redemption of the lost.
We can never do less than this if we claim to be followers of Jesus.
The Marawi incident impels us now to act in faith response. From there, we need to discern, and hear the voice of God calling us to respond to the voices of the various victims of this conflict both Muslims and Christians.
At the same time, let’s pray for an eventual end to the fighting; for a just, peaceful, and lasting resolution to the conflict there; we pray for the affected people, that God grant them even greater courage, strength, faith, and trust in God, to enable them to rebuild their lives, and be healed of the deep, social, emotional wounds inflicted on them.
Most of all, let us pray for the kind of faith that will enable us all, both Muslims and Christians, to reach out to one other in the spirit of brotherhood and oneness as a people of one nation, in the spirit of acceptance, forgiveness, and love for each other.
