Apparently we humans, especially we “religious,” haven’t learned much in a hundred years and more, if anything.

I’m referring to a few lines by Henry Van Dyke in a book called, “Out of Doors in the Holy Land.” Van Dyke is traveling over much of Palestine with three others and a crew of aides, who set up their tents each evening, fix their camp meals, take care of their horses and do whatever other chores need attention.

As they prepare to enter the gates of Jerusalem, Henry writes: “The Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians who flock to those gates are alike in their sincerity, in their devotion, in the spirit of sacrifice that leads them in their pilgrimage. Among them all there are hypocrites and bigots, doubtless, but there are also earnest and devout souls, seeking something that is higher than themselves, ‘a city set upon a hill.’ Why do they not understand one another? Why do they fight and curse one another? Do they not all come to humble themselves, to pray, to seek the light?”

Those lines from 1911 I read before going to sleep at night. Only to rise in the morning to the news in our year of 2023 that the cease fire is over; Israel is bombing southern Gaza (where everyone has been told to flee) and Hamas has resumed sending rockets into Israel. Then you see pictures of youngsters so traumatized by the destruction and loss of life around them, you know they will be the fighters of the next generation.

What will the weapons look like in 2073, should the human race survive their warring ways that long?

One doesn’t need to take sides in this most recent “Holy Land” war to recognize it is morally and religiously abhorrent. Let’s be honest. Civilians are the primary target for both parties! Genocide is the intended result!

Still, Jerusalem holds symbols of interfaith possibility and harmony. There is the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall. They are living signs that Jews, Muslims and Christians are cousins, descended from the same forefathers, worshipping the same Creator, holding the same city and land as holy.

We can’t continue pretending that separate faiths can be participants in violence and war. They are not meant to be aides to those bent on power and privilege, fighting for land that ultimately belongs to all and none. The faiths are not in their essence opponents of others who think or believe differently. They have the same roots.

For me, a Christian community should include Jews and Muslims. Churches that follow Christ (who came for all) should include Muslims and Jews. Both traditions have beliefs and practices that would broaden and deepen those who claim Christ, as well as help them live out the love of neighbor, even of enemy.

Call it a church, mosque, synagogue; or find a new and inclusive term. Why can’t people pray together in different ways. I am grateful for someone praying for me in Arabic, even if I don’t understand the words. The intention is what matters. Why can’t we all share bread and wine? Ultimately, isn’t the intention what matters?

In such a time as ours, of war and hatred, ecocide and genocide, religiously integrated worshipping and politically functioning communities, are the only ones that make any sense. They just might provide some hope and light for a dark and war weary world. It is past time for the Abrahamic faiths to have a family reunion!

Van Dyke doesn’t spend a lot of time in Jerusalem. He’s not that fond of cities and urban life. Even in the city he avoids hotels or other luxuries, preferring to sleep under the stars or under canvas in the out of doors. They used circular tents, 15 feet in diameter. I was reminded of how circular structures for sleeping or living are without the sharp corners or edges of houses and most churches. They blend more naturally into the environment.

There’s something to be said for the peace that comes in nature, with quiet places and wide open spaces; for seeing the stars at night and a sun that rises and sets in the day.

Perhaps participating more fully in the harmony of God’s good creation, could enable us to see more clearly and realistically the fruitlessness of violence and war, and the fruitfulness of human religious and environmental harmony.