Ramadan Reflections: Day Seven — Seek Ye First
I spend more time in a chapel than I do a mosque. I sing hymns. I wear ugly Christmas sweaters. I am going to hell.
Spoiler alert: I do not actually believe I am going to hell (well, not for the aforementioned reasons, at least). I work at a school that incorporates chapel into our daily schedule, and it is often my favorite part of the day. I am fortunate enough to work at a place that strives to be inclusive — we have students of all faith backgrounds, and all are welcome. The best part about attending chapel is that it makes time for all of us to share a space and reflect, however we choose to do that.
The purpose of chapel reminds me of Ramadan. It is a time to reflect. This also makes me think that Ramadan does not have to be exclusive to Muslims. Anyone can use this time to be more intentional about bettering themselves, practicing patience, and giving to others.
Today, I have had a hymn stuck in my head that we sang yesterday called “Seek Ye First.” One of the verses is:
“Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.”
I am asking questions and searching for open doors this Ramadan. For instance, I wonder a lot about what it means to be a good person. One of my best friends, who is kind and wonderful in every possible way, is not religious, but often assumed to be Christian. In high school, people would always ask her which church she attended (they would jump right to which church and not if she practiced any faith tradition). When she would tell people that she does not go to church, there were audible gasps.
This fascinates me.
There are people who truly believe that religion is a prerequisite for being a good person. This simply is not true. Religion can certainly provide a beautiful framework for living life, but dismissing someone or deeming them “bad” or “immoral” for not having the same (or any) religious belief system is never fair. Unfortunately, I see that happen all the time. It has been my experience that great people come in all packages. Many of them believe differently from me and are lovely, moral, good, and other fantastic qualities. I would never change that. The world should not either.
Ramadan makes me reflect on the role of religion in my life and how religion manifests in the lives of others. Islam is important to me and plays a part in how I view the world. Any guiding set of beliefs or principles would serve that purpose for a person. We are all seeking answers however we can.
Life has tough questions and I do not have all the answers. In fact, I generally have few answers and most of them could absolutely be wrong. I am skeptical of anyone who claims to have all the answers or who pushes their answers over someone else’s answers. Regardless, we all seek guidance when it comes to tough questions: What is the meaning of life? What happens after we die? Is God real? How do we know any of these things?
Of course, I do not have all the answers. I do, however, have a mechanism for understanding those questions. For me, that is Islam. This is not the part where I yell, “Surprise!” and try to convert you.
In an article called “Why I am a Muslim,” writer Reza Aslan puts it best, “Let me be clear, I am Muslim not because I think Islam is ‘truer’ than other religions (it isn’t), but because Islam provides me with the ‘language’ I feel most comfortable with in expressing my faith. It provides me with certain symbols and metaphors for thinking about God that I find useful in making sense of the universe and my place in it.”
I think anyone can replace “Muslim” and “Islam” with what works for them, and I encourage more people to view religion that way — as a language to express faith, rather than the only way to express faith or be a good person.
So, I hold on to my faith and I will always let people hold on to theirs. At the end of the day, what you believe is just that: It’s your belief system, and not up for judgment by any person. I will sing in chapel and wear my ugly Christmas sweaters because I can appreciate other faith traditions while the language in my heart stays the same. You can, too. And you can learn a new language if you ever choose. We are all searching.
To all who seek — I hope you find.
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