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God has designed our world
for peace. He wants us to live side by side as
brothers and sisters. To achieve this worldwide harmony we must
not only pray for peace, but we must strive to avoid hostilities
and violence. We promote the climate of peace by obeying the
Golden Rule. It appears in different forms, but the message is
essentially the same everywhere.
Buddhism: Hurt not
others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. (Udana-Varda
5, 18).
Confucianism: is
there one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's
whole life? Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not
unto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Analects
15,23).
Hinduism: This is
the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain
if done to you. (Mahabharata 5, 1517).
Taoism: Regard
your neighbor's gain as your own, and your neighbor's loss as
your own loss. (Tai Shang Kan Ying Pien).
Islam: No one of
you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he
desires for himself. (Sunnah).
Judaism: What is
hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. (Talmud, Shabbat 3id).
Christianity: All
things whatsoever you would that man should do to you, do you so
to them. (Matthew 7:12).
For Jesus Christ, spirituality was not a private affair.
He immersed Himself in the joys and woes of this world. He
commanded His followers to go into the highways and by-ways to
teach us to love one another as He had loved them. For Jesus
Christ, spirituality was not reserved for a sainted few, it was
intended as a way of life for the well-being of all His
followers. For Jesus Christ, spirituality was not a static
reality, justifying all resistance to change. Jesus was a
catalyst for change throughout His life. The Advent hymn clearly
proclaims His purpose among us. He comes to break oppression To
set the captives free, To take away transgression, And rule in
equity. He comes with succor speedy To those who suffer wrongs,
To help the poor and needy And bid the weak be strong. Having a
Christian faith does not separate us from the world but immerses
us in it. Church is not a fortress set apart from other groups,
but a follower of Jesus who loved, worked, struggled and died in
the midst of the whole human family.
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