As of Jan 12 the Church entered into what is known as Ordinary Time on the Church liturgical calendar. Besides a return to a more simple and green environment in the Church, the Scripture readings speak of how we are called to discipleship and live the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The use of the word TIME has great implications for us as Christians if we grasp the Biblical concept of time as what we call KAIROS vs. KRONOS (our usual sense of time like minutes and hours).

The Scripture readings of Ordinary Time week 3 Jan 25 see Paul reminding us “The world as we know it is passing away”. In the Gospel of Mark we hear Jesus say “The Kingdom of God is at hand”. These are powerful words of KAIROS indicating that God is truly breaking into our present to offer us love, compassion and a great challenge for renewal and repentance (literally “turning oneself inside out”).

We are all shocked and set on edge by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere and rightfully so. However, what is God asking of us in the midst of this crisis? Is it only to condemn and express hatred and allow ourselves to be paralyzed by fear? Or, is God asking us to change as well as difficult and bizarre as it might seem?

The first Scripture reading of Jan, 25 is the condensed story of Jonah. For many of us we only think of the story of Jonah as a cute read about a man being swallowed and thrust onshore by a big fish. However, Jonah is far more important and challenging than that. It is a powerful satire ridiculing and challenging the Jews of Jonah’s time who are set in their belief that God only loves them and that they alone can be about bringing about the Kingdom of God in our midst. We are faced with that same challenge today.

At times fear and upset push us off into corners of fear and trepidation and make us see all people as either enemies or on our side. It is what we call “dualistic” thinking. As Christians we are challenged to think and live in a “unitive” fashion seeing ourselves as one with a loving God and one with the human family. In time we are called to go beyond setting up strong boundaries and seeking healing and reconciliation in life.

Can we take to heart the message of Jonah and seek deeper understanding and appreciation of the faith traditions of others like Jews and Moslems? Can we come to grasp the truth that Jews, Christians and Moslems are all children of Abraham, our common father in faith and all of the three major faith traditions are known as “people of the Book” ( a people who believe that One God reveals Himself through writing : the Bible and the Koran)?

It is surely a challenge to us in our contemporary world so influenced by the secular media and the constant call to fear and hate others different from ourselves.

I would like to offer an invitation to respond to this KAIROS of time proclaimed in the Scriptures for the Third Sunday of ordinary Time. Seek understanding and appreciation of other faith traditions.

We will be welcoming Rabbi Menasche East of the Mt Freedom Jewish Center this coming Lent 2105 to offer a program on the Biblical Prophets.

We hope to sponsor a speaker on Islam in the spring of 2015.

Please go online to the website of the American bishops and read the succinct but comprehensive article by John L Esposito entitled “The Islamic Tradition”.