It has been a weary time in our land.
Personally, what added to the weariness is not being able to gather with family, friends and our church families.
I was very mindful how very different the holy time of Passover and Easter were this year. One friend relayed this was the first time in his 83 years he had not been in church on Easter morning.
As we continue this journey of social distancing and gatherings – limited to 10 or less – the weariness will continue.
I was reminded that there is another holy time in the faith calendar. For those of the Islamic faith, this is Ramadan which began April 23 and ends May 23. Islam is one of the three Abrahamic faiths, which also include Judaism and Christianity, faiths which all look to Abraham as a spiritual father.
My understanding of Ramadan is it is similar to the season of Lent in the Christian faith. For Christians, Lent is a time of
40 days before Easter where we fast, pray, deny ourselves and draw closer to God. It commemorates the time Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness where he stood strong against Satan.
Muslims believe Ramadan is the time when Muhammad received the revelation of their book, the Quran. During this month, a faithful Muslim is to fast during the day, no water or food is allowed. Exceptions are made for the sick, pregnant women and for other circumstances. The fast is broken with a great evening meal with family and friends called the iftār.
Ramadan is a time of both private and communal prayer. Some Muslim countries change work hours to allow the people to gather in prayer at the Mosques. With the CDC’s request that gatherings be limited to no more than 10 people, like churches, the Mosques in America are closed. With not being to gather for prayer or have dinner with extended family it is a sad and weary time.
One part of Ramadan is performing acts of kindness. A story is told of the Imam of the Mosque (much like the role of preacher) was teaching and asked the people to perform acts of kindness. He said, “The one who has many camels should give to the one who has none.” To which one of his members replied, “The ways things are today, who has an extra camel to spare?”
So much for my attempt at Middle Eastern humor.
The end of Ramadan is celebrated with the great feast of Eid al-Fitr, (Festival of Breaking Fast). I imagine this is similar to family reunions, Church homecomings or Decoration Days with good fellowship and great food.
Whatever our faith, we all share in this misery and sadness brought about by this pandemic. For all faiths, this is a time of prayer and deeds of kindness, great and small.
As we make Father Abraham proud, let us not grow weary of doing good.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church.